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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (Department of Education - Institute of Education Sciences) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The ED/IES SBIR program provides funding for rapid prototype development and evaluation of new education technology products. It emphasizes rigorous research and commercialization potential in the education sector.
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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) | IES Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program & Applicant Information Fiscal Year 2026 ED/IES SBIR Program Solicitation Information ED/IES SBIR: Frequently Asked Questions Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is administered out of its research office, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
ED/IES SBIR provides up to $1. 25M in funding in 2 phases: Phase I for $250,000 for 9 months for rapid prototype development and evaluation of new education technology prototypes and Phase II for $1,000,000 for 2 years for the full-scale development and evaluation of new education technology products. Program solicitations for Phases I and II are released annually.
Proposals are due approximately 60 later with award notifications announced 90 days or less from the submission date. Projects begin shortly after the award date. Since its inception as a program in 2002, ED/IES SBIR has made 258 Phase I awards and 99 Phase II awards, including one Direct to Phase II award.
Product Innovation. ED/IES SBIR-supported awardees have brought emerging and innovative forms of learning and instructional technologies to classrooms, such as games, assessments, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D-printing, simulations, virtual worlds, artificial intelligence (AI) adaptive tutors, data dashboards, and assistive technologies.
Many of our products have won national industry awards for technological innovation in education. Research. ED/IES SBIR emphasizes rigorous and relevant research for all projects – through cycles of iterative studies with end-users (e.g., students, teachers) to inform refinements to prototypes and pilot studies.
Many ED/IES SBIR awardees publish research results in refereed journals and briefs summarizing key findings. Many awardees partner with researchers to continue evaluating their product's effectiveness after commercial launch. Read how one firm received an IES Research Grant for a multi-year efficacy evaluation after the conclusion of its ED/IES SBIR project.
Commercialization. ED/IES SBIR focuses on private sector commercialization after development is complete so that products can be disseminated to schools and be sustained over time. Each year, more than a million students and teaches from thousands of schools across the country use technologies developed through ED/IES SBIR.
Read these Success Stories. Bringing Research and Practice. Many ED/IES SBIR awards focus on developing products to advance previous IES-supported or university-based basic research into modern, scalable products ready for commercialization in schools.
Here’s how one firm developed a technology-based platform in support of an IES-supported evidence-based intervention. Annual Innovation Showcase. The ED Games Expo is an annual public event in Washington, D.
C. , attendees of all ages can demo more than 100 educational learning games and technologies and speak directly with the developers. The technologies at the Expo were developed through the ED/IES SBIR program and across more than 20 other government programs.
Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Federal Agency Sponsors About SBIR and Federal Agency Sponsors The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (P. L. 97-219).
Federal agencies with extramural research and development budgets over $100 million are required to administer SBIR programs using an annual set-aside of 2. 5% for small companies to conduct innovative R&D that has potential for commercialization and public benefit. At present, 11 federal agencies provide more than $2 billion annually to for-profit small business firms and their partners.
The federal agencies participating in this program include: the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation. The U.S. Department of Education operates its SBIR program through the Institute of Education Sciences.
The current SBIR Policy Directive is posted on this page. For more information on the SBIR program, please go to www. sbir.
gov . Technical Assistance Disclaimer ED/IES SBIR program personnel are permitted to address questions about the programs and provide technical assistance related to project ideas prior to the release of the annual solicitation.
Following the FAR regulations, please note that during the period of time when the annual solicitation is open, program personnel and other government officials are not permitted to provide technical assistance or respond to questions from individuals who are preparing proposals in response to the program solicitation.
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According to the current listing, eligibility includes: For-profit small businesses developing education technology with potential for commercialization and public benefit. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows phase I: $250,000; Phase II: $1,000,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
The most recent published deadline was June 29, 2026, which has passed. This is an annual program, so a new cycle should follow. Check the funder's website for the next application window.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (Department of Education - Institute of Education Sciences) is funded by U.S. Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a grant from the U.S. Department of Education that funds innovative education technology prototypes and products developed by small businesses with potential for commercialization. The two-phase program supports rapid prototype development in Phase I and full-scale product development in Phase II, including games, simulations, virtual reality tools, AI adaptive tutors, and assistive technologies for classrooms. Awards are up to $1.25 million total — $250,000 for Phase I (8 months) and $1,000,000 for Phase II. Eligible applicants are for-profit small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (ED/IES SBIR) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The ED/IES SBIR program provides funding for the rapid prototype development and evaluation of new education technology prototypes and products. This includes innovative forms of learning and instructional technologies such as games, assessments, virtual reality, augmented reality, simulations, virtual worlds, and AI adaptive tutors.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (ED/IES) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Education (ED), Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The ED/IES SBIR program funds small businesses for rapid prototype development and evaluation of new education technology products. This includes innovative learning and instructional technologies like games, assessments, VR/AR, AI adaptive tutors, and assistive technologies. Behavioral science and human-centered design research would be highly relevant for developing user-friendly and effective educational tools.
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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