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Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase IA (2026) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). This solicitation invites eligible for-profit small business firms and partners to submit proposals for the development and evaluation of a prototype of an entirely novel education technology product.
The goal is to support ground-breaking, high-risk, high-reward approaches to solve pressing problems in education. Successful Phase IA awardees will be eligible to apply for a Phase II award.
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Search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Eligible for-profit small business firms and partners with strong research and development and evaluation capabilities for education technology products. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $250,000 for Phase IA (9 months). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
The published deadline was June 1, 2026, which has passed. Check the official notice for any future application windows before investing time in a proposal.
Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase IA (2026) is funded by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The solicitation lists 3 required documents: SAM.gov registration, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and proposal per solicitation specs. Check the official notice for formatting and page-limit rules.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase IB is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). This program offers funding for small businesses to research, develop, and evaluate prototypes of a new component to be added to an existing research-based education technology prototype or product. The new component must be distinct from the existing product.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (Phase IA and IB) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The ED/IES SBIR program provides funding to for-profit small businesses to develop and evaluate new, research-based education technology products. Phase IA supports novel approaches, while Phase IB strengthens existing prototypes or products.
Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program (Stepping-up Technology Implementation competition) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education. This program aims to improve results for students with disabilities by promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology; supporting educational activities of value in the classroom for students with disabilities; providing captioning and video description; and ens…
The Robotics Grant Program is a grant from the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) that funds school-based robotics programs for elementary, middle, and high school students. Awarded through a competitive application process, the program provides up to $3,500 to eligible local education agencies (LEAs) in Alabama. Applicants must be public school systems submitting on behalf of schools with K–12 students. The grant supports the purchase of robotics equipment and program development aligned with AMSTI guidelines. Applications are submitted online through the AMSTI Robotics Grant portal. The Fiscal Year 2026 application deadline was September 30, 2025. Questions should be directed to robotics@amsti.org. The program is managed by the Alabama State Department of Education under State Superintendent Eric G. Mackey.
The Department of Education's IES SBIR program is one of the most overlooked non-dilutive funding sources for education-technology startups. It funds prototypes at $250K and proven products at $1M with no equity taken. Here is how the FY2026 tracks work, what reviewers reward, and why the June 29 deadline is tighter than it looks.
Read articleThe Institute of Education Sciences released its FY26 SBIR solicitations on April 30 with a single hard deadline of June 29. The triple-track structure — Phase IA for novel concepts, Phase IB for new components, and Direct-to-Phase-II for evidence-based scale-up — codifies a sharper theory of how federal dollars should move education technology from research bench to classroom.
Read articleED/IES released its FY2026 SBIR solicitations on April 30, 2026, with Phase IA and Phase IB closing June 29 at 11AM EDT for \$250,000 nine-month feasibility awards, and Direct-to-Phase-II closing the same day at 2PM EDT for \$1,000,000 two-year commercialization awards. The program funds edtech for special education, general education, and education research tools — a structurally underserved category that most SBIR-active founders never consider. Direct-to-Phase-II requires evidence-based innovations originally developed by universities or non-profit research organizations, which makes it one of the cleanest IP-licensing-to-commercialization paths in the federal portfolio. Here is the eligibility analysis, the phase structure, the question deadline that already closed, and how to position for the June 29 windows.
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