Universities today exert an ever-increasing stimulus to small business development, contributing to national and local economic development as the general economy becomes increasingly knowledge-based. The transition to a knowledge-based economy, coupled with the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, has resulted in stronger university-industry partnerships in technology transfer, promotion of business incubators, and entrepreneurship development. Today, over two-thirds of all licenses and options executed annually by academic institutions are conducted with small businesses; in 2002, academic discoveries led to the formation of 450 companies, and 569 products based on university research were made commercially available. At the local level, about 25 percent of business incubators are sponsored by universities, while institutions of higher education are also emerging as major players in local community revitalization and economic development through funding from federal agencies including HUD, Labor, Commerce, and the SBA.