SBIR/STTR BAA & CSO Release 6 is sponsored by Department of Defense (DoD) SBIR/STTR Program Office. DoD issues monthly SBIR and STTR Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) and Contracting Solicitations (CSO); Release 6 opens 25 Mar 2026 and closes 22 Apr 2026, potentially including topics in advanced materials and protective equipment.

Tutorial 1 Department of Defense (DOD) - Services Hide Options Show Options The mission of the Army SBIR program is to provide, small high-tech businesses with the opportunity to propose innovative research and development solutions in response to critical Army needs.

The Army SBIR Life Cycle begins with input from Army Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories, Army Program Managers, Army Program Executive Offices, Army depots and arsenals, and of course Army soldiers. These technology needs are reflected in Technology Roadmaps and considered when generating SBIR and STTR topics.

Army topics are written by scientists and engineers from the Army Labs, R&D Centers, Program Executive Offices, and user community. Army SBIR topics are released throughout the year, following both the standard Department of Defense solicitation cycle and ad hoc solicitation releases throughout the year.

The topics support the Army’s Modernization Priorities and include: Long-Range Precision Fires, Future Vertical Lift, Air and Missile Defense, Command and Control/Networks, Next Generation Combat Vehicles and Soldier lethality. Typically, the Army receives around two thousand SBIR Phase I proposals a year and funds between 10 and 13% of them.

As of March 2021, Phase I SBIR awards are for up to $111,500 and have a performance period not to exceed six (6) months . A Phase I Option of $56,000 is provided for those selected for Phase II to cover the period between the time of selection and putting the Phase II contract in place. Phase II typically lasts for up to 2 years and as of March 2021 has a ceiling of $1,100,000.

Phase II provides the opportunity to validate and mature the topic solution, and deliver a prototype to the Army customer. The Army also participates in the STTR program which requires the involvement of a research institution as a subcontractor to the small business. Army Phase I STTR awards are for up to $166,500 for 6 months with no option.

Phase II STTR awards are also for 2 years for up to $1,100,000. The Army also has a Phase II Enhancement program which as of March 2021 enables it to provide up to an additional $550,000. The primary objective for SBIR/STTR technologies is a transition to Phase III, assuming that the need persists and the solution is cost effective.

The hallmark of Phase III is that the company will continue the maturation of the technology with non-SBIR/STTR funding from either the government or the private sector. The end result of sustained and collaborative efforts during Phase III is that solutions needed by the war fighter are provided.

To facilitate Phase III Transition, the Army SBIR program office has developed a unique network of subject matter experts strategically placed within various Army organizations to provide expert advice and analyses to SBIR and STTR awardees to improve technical decisions, solve technical problems, minimize risks, and assist with commercializing SBIR/STTR technologies.

The Army is also launching an accelerator to provide resources for participating companies to navigate the Army technology ecosystem. Army SBIR and/or STTR awardees are strongly encouraged to develop relationships with relevant prime contractors and PEOs as potential transition partners. We encourage you to review the Defense Acquisition Tutorial to learn more about the defense acquisition process.

The Army also participates in the Army Commercialization Readiness Program (CRP) to increase Army SBIR transition. Army CRP uses an investment fund of SBIR money to enhance or expand on-going SBIR efforts with a focus on additional research, development, testing and evaluation.

CRP has five main objectives: (1) to assess SBIR projects and companies that have high transition potential and meet priority requirements; (2) match SBIR companies with potential customers; (3) facilitate technology transition plans and agreements; (4) make recommendations for additional SBIR funding; and (5) track metrics for SBIR projects under CRP.

Be sure to review the success stories on the Army’s SBIR/STTR website in order to gain insight into how others have been successful in the transition process. Recent Army SBIR commercialization brochures can be downloaded from the Army SBIR/STTR website Videos to help you learn about some of the Army Commands that sponsor SBIR and STTR topics (This will make you smile!)

Army Test and Evaluation Command The Engineer Research and Research, Development, and Tank Automotive research Development and Engineering Center U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) - SERVICES - Army (1) Which of the following statements is correct regarding the Army SBIR program? (a) Typically, the Army receives about five thousand SBIR Phase I proposals a year.

(b) Typically, the Army receives about two thousand SBIR Phase I proposals a year. (c) Typically, the Army funds between 20 and 25% of the received Phase I proposals a year. (d) The Army does not participate in the STTR program.

(2) True or False? Phase I Option funding is provided for those selected for Phase II to cover the period between the time of selection and putting the Phase II contract in place. (3) Which of the following statements is false?

(a) Army SBIR/STTR awardees are encouraged to develop relationships with prime contractors and Army PEOs as potential transition partners. (b) The Army has a Phase II Enhancement program. (c) The Army does not participate in the Commercialization Readiness Program (CRP).

(d) The Army has a network of subject matter experts to provide advice to SBIR and STTR awardees to assist with commercializing their technologies. (4) True or False? Phase III funding can come from either the government or the private sector, but not from Army SBIR/STTR funds.

(5) True or False? Suggestions from Army Soldiers cannot be considered when generating SBIR and STTR topics. Hide Options Show Options 2020 was a pivotal year for the Air Force SBIR/STTR programs when the office moved to AFWERX and was adopted under its AFVentures arm.

So, what is AFWERX and how have things changed for the Air Force SBIR/STTR programs? AFWERX was established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force to facilitate collaboration among the Air Force, industry and academia. Removing barriers and speeding up the process of innovation have been fundamental to AFWERX mission.

As a result, today’s Air Force SBIR/STTR programs are unique. Most Air Force Phase I SBIR awards are made in response to open topic Commercial Solution Openings (CSO) . The CSOs are still released at the same time as the traditional Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) – but are released in a CSO document used to acquire innovative commercial items.

The open topics invite industry to propose solutions to Air Force problems which may or may not be identified in the CSO. Proposed solutions are based on existing products that can be adapted to meet the needs of the Air Force. If you are not sure what the Air Force needs, take a look at the AFVentures Focus Areas or participate in the numerous events AFWERX has designed to facilitate the exchange of information within this ecosystem.

Air Force Phase I SBIR awards are described as “small bets. ” The Air Force provides between 1,000 and 1,500 Phase I awards annually. Each award is for $50,000 and covers a period of three months.

The proposal preparation process is streamlined with the Technical Volume submitted as a 25-page slide deck accompanied by other required items. Awards are made within 90 days. Approximately, a third of Air Force Phase I awards transition to Phase II.

Air Force SBIR Phase II awards are referred to as “medium bets” and are for up to $750,000 for 15 months prototype development. Matching funds are encouraged. Funding for the STTR program Phase I awards is structured in a similar way, but by definition the STTR program must include a research institution.

Businesses (the applicant) that apply to STTR awards must complete at least 40% of the proposed work, while the research institution must perform at least 30% of the proposed work. The remaining 30% can be split in a discretionary fashion. The Air Force SBIR/STTR program provides additional Phase II funding through the Supplemental Funding Pilot Program.

This funding is referred to as a “few big bets” and comes in two flavors STRATFI and TACFI. In both cases matching funds are required and different levels of funding are available depending on whether the application is defense only or dual use. To be eligible for either form of supplemental funding, the small business must have a current Phase II or have completed a Phase II award within the past three years.

The purpose of STRATFI/TACFI is to catalyze relationships between Air Force and Space Force end-users and acquisition professionals, private-sector innovators, and investors. STRATFI/TACFI bridge the capability gap between current SBIR/STTR Phase II efforts and Phase III scaling efforts, facilitating delivery of strategic capabilities for the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

Phase III involves non-SBIR funding from any source – the Air Force and other Department of Defense (DoD)/federal agencies, major defense contractors and non-DoD investors – which translates to a small business selling its products in a commercial manner.

Phase III is defined as: “Work that derives from, extends; or completes an effort made under prior SBIR/ STTR funding arrangements … but is funded by sources other than SBIR/STTR set-aside funding. ” Be sure to monitor the AFVentures website for upcoming opportunities regarding special Pitch Day events and useful Open Topic Webinar series .

Videos to help you learn about some of the Air Force Commands that sponsor SBIR and STTR topics The Air Force SBIR/STTR Opportunity Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Space and Missile Systems Center DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) - SERVICES - Air Force (1) Most Air Force Phase I awards are made in response to topics from: (a) The traditional Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) (b) The Commercial Solutions Openings (CSO) (2) What percentage of Air Force Phase I awards transition to Phase II?

(3) True or False? Air Force Phase III awards are referred to as "a few big bets." (4) True or False?

The Technical volume of a Phase I application to an Air Force CSO includes a 25-page Slide Deck. (5) True or False? Phase II funding through the Supplemental Funding Pilot Program requires matching funds.

Hide Options Show Options The primary goal of the Department of the Navy’s SBIR and STTR programs is to use small business to develop innovative technologies that meet a broad range of Navy and Marine Corps needs. The ultimate goal is to insert SBIR/STTR technologies and products into platforms and systems that help the Department of the Navy, also referred to as DON, to achieve its mission.

The Navy’s process is acquisition-driven with strong technology pull from the various Systems Commands, referred to as SYSCOMs. Given the size and diversity of the Navy, there are multiple SBIR/STTR program managers associated with the eight participating SYSCOMs.

Navy topics address a broad range of needs associated with ground, sea, and air platforms; as well as Command, Control, Communications, Computers & Intelligence or C4I; and weapons technologies, to name a few. The Navy releases over 200 topics a year; receives over 3,000 proposals and makes about 550 Phase I awards.

In order to determine if there is an alignment between what the Navy needs and what your company offers, it is important to watch for the dates when the SBIR/STTR Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) are released and then take advantage of the one-month pre-release period when you can talk to the Technical Points of Contact (TPOC).

Talking to the topic author enables a small business to gain clarity, so that it is better prepared to write the best possible proposal. Everyone hopes that their Phase I award will move on to become a Phase II. There’s usually about a 50% down-select rate between these two Phases.

Navy Phase II awards are valued between $1. 5 and $1. 7M for a two-year period.

Phase II enables the awardee to take the proof of concept developed in Phase I and mature that into a prototype during Phase II. The Navy provides about 300 Phase II awards a year. In addition, one may be eligible for a second (Sequential) Phase II, which is an additional Phase II award for the same project from the same SYSCOM to continue work on that project.

The SBIR and STTR Policy Directive also allows a company that receives a Phase I and Phase II from one agency to receive a single, subsequent Phase II award from another agency. Direct to Phase II is another opportunity for selected topics. This enables a company to start with a Phase II award if you can demonstrate that you have already accomplished what would typically be addressed during Phase I, but with non-SBIR dollars.

This enables the Navy to get the technology to the warfighter a little faster. What does the life of a topic look like? How do things transition to Phase III?

In this diagram, we use 200 topics as the standard. For this number of topics, we would anticipate receiving a little over 3,000 proposals. Multiple awards would be made within each topic area and on average 550 awards would be made – almost three awards per topic.

Once awarded approximately half of those that receive a Phase I award would receive a Phase II award [275]. Phase III is the ultimate goal – and is achieved when a program of record or the private sector provides non-SBIR/STTR funding to continue the maturation of the technology that was initially funded by the SBIR/STTR programs.

Based on past experience, we would anticipate that of the initial 550 Phase I awards made, approximately 189 or 34% would receive Phase III funding. How is funding provided? The Navy’s Phase I award is comprised of a Base and Option.

Phase I awards are Firm Fixed Price contracts with a maximum dollar amount not to exceed $140K Base and $100K Option. The award of an Option is not guaranteed and depends on performance against various milestones. Phase II is comprised of a Base and up to two Options.

This is a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract not to exceed $1. 7M for either the SBIR or STTR award. For prototype testing and evaluation, the Navy does utilize Subsequent Phase IIs where a cost match is required.

As noted previously, the ultimate goal is transition to Phase III when technology pull is evidenced by providing additional funds from a non- SBIR/STTR source. This whole process commonly takes up to 6-9 years, depending on the technology and the application. The total amount of SBIR/STTR funding that a small business could receive to develop a technology from one topic and utilizing all of these mechanisms is up to $3.

64M, but non-SBIR/STTR sources of funding may be unlimited. Why work with the Navy? This chart shows it all.

The Navy accounts for over 50% of all Phase III commercialization dollars for DoD SBIR/STTR programs. When the Navy puts out a topic, it already knows which system, platform, or warfighter capability could use it, if it works,. It’s not enough just to do good research – it has to end up in the hands of the warfighter.

It’s a simple proposition, we don’t get a solution to help the warfighter unless you are a success and we use 11 months to grow through some of those challenges. Another service the Navy provides is called the SBIR/STTR Transition Program or STP. Every Navy Phase II awardee is invited.

We usually see a 20% higher Phase III award rate for STP participants. What is success? For the Navy success is the transition or commercialization of a technology to a warfighter.

Example of Navy success stories can be found on the Navy SBIR/STTR website, www. navysbir. com .

We have changed our program as much as we can to move at the speed of small business. We have reduced proposal size from 20 to 10 pages. We have accelerated our awards time schedules so that you get your awards and money as quickly as possible.

We dedicated resources in support of underserved communities with a focus on veteran-owned, woman-owned, and minority-owned small businesses. The small business partner experience is a priority—be a partner in maintaining our decisive edge. Be sure to explore the Navy SBIR/STTR Broad Agency Announcements.

Videos to help you learn about some of the Navy Commands that sponsor SBIR and STTR topics Innovations for Today and Tomorrow DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) - SERVICES - Navy (1) True or False? Navy awardees that submit a Phase I proposal with a base and an Option will always receive funding for both. (2) How many Options does a Navy Phase II SBIR award have?

(3) What is the average size of a Phase I proposal? (4) True or False? Within DoD, the Navy has the highest Phase III commercialization rate.

(5) True or False? Phase III awards are funded with SBIR dollars.

Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Aviation and Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center Armaments Research, Development & Engineering Center Army Test and Evaluation Command Communications-Electronic Research, Development and Engineering Center Commercialization Readiness Program Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Engineer Research and Development Center Medical Research and Materiel Command Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center Program Executive Officer, Program Executive Office Research, Development & Engineering Command Space and Missile Defense Command Simulation and Training Technology Center Technical Assistance Advocates Tank Automotive Research, Development & Engineering Center Technical Point of Contact Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Broad Agency Announcement Commercial Solution Opening Small Business Innovation Research Supplemental Funding Pilot Program Strategic Funding Increase Small Business Technology Transfer Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Broad Agency Announcement National Defense Strategy Special Operations Command SBIR/STTR Transition Program Technical Point of Contact Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Army SBIR/STTR Programs & BAA Schedules https://www.

armysbir. army. mil Army SBIR/STTR Technical Assistance https://www.

armysbir. army. mil/Process/TAA Army Program Executive Offices (PEOs) https://asc.

army. mil/web/peos/ Army SBIR/STTR 2020 Commercialization Brochure & Success Stories https://www. armysbir.

army. mil/Commercialization Army SBIR & STTR Help Desks https://www. armysbir.

army. mil/Contact Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 https://www. navysbir.

com/ Navy SBIR/STTR Transition Program Navy Systems Commands SYSCOMS https://www. navysbir. com/syscoms.

htm Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 https://www. afwerx. af.

mil/AFV%20Overview. html https://www. afwerx.

af. mil/ Air Force SBIR/STTR Proposal Tracking Tool https://www. afsbirsttr.

af. mil/SBIR-STTR-Tools/ Commercial Solution Openings (CSO) https://www. afwerx.

af. mil/cso. html https://www.

dodsbirsttr. mil/submissions/login Open Topic Webinar series https://www. afsbirsttr.

af. mil/Events/AFVentures-Weekly-Webinar-Series/ https://www. afsbirsttr.

af. mil/Events/Pitch-Days/ https://www. afwerx.

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html Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 ARL - Army Research Laboratory Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 ARL - Army Research Laboratory Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 ATEC - Army Test and Evaluation Command Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 ERDEC - The Engineer Research and Development Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 RDECOM - Research, Development, and Engineering Command Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 TARDEC - Tank Automotive research Development and Engineering Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 USAMRMC - U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Agency Introductions - Tutorial 1 The Air Force SBIR/STTR Opportunity Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFLCMC - Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFLCMC - Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFNWC - Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFRL - Air Force Research Labs Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFRL - Air Force Research Labs Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 AFTC - Air Force Test Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 SMC - Space and Missile Systems Center Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 Air Force SBIR R&D Technology Analysts (TAs) anthony.

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mil michael. bilinski. ctr@us.

af. mil shelly. leugers.

ctr@us. af. mil AFRL-711 HPW, RQ, RX and RY donna.

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mil joseph. minior. 1.

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ctr@us. af. mil Agency Introductions - TUTORIAL 1 DON Commercialization Manager Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) loreanne.

ponirakis@navy. mil Space & Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCOR) Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) Mark Hrbacek, Program Manager mark. hrbacek@ssp.

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