Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is sponsored by Various Federal Agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, NASA, NIST). The SBIR program is a highly competitive program that encourages U. S.

small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

Innovation/SBIR - NH Economy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) The objectives of the SBIR/STTR program are to stimulate technology innovation, use small business to meet federal research and development needs, foster and encourage participation by minorities and disadvantaged groups, and increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal research and development.

To be eligible for participation in the SBIR/STTR program, a business must: be American-owned and independently operated, be for-profit, have the principal researcher employed by the business, and be limited to 500 employees. Through the SBIR and STTR programs, America’s Seed Fund awards non-dilutive funding to develop your technology and chart a path toward commercialization.

SBIR/STTR is coordinated by the Small Business Administration and funded by 11 participating federal agencies.

FOSTER (FOcused SBIR/STTR Teaching, Equity and Results) UNHInnovation is leading a U.S. Small Business Administration initiative called FOSTER (FOcused SBIR/STTR Teaching, Equity and Results) to increase proposals for SBIR/STTR contracts and grants in the State of New Hampshire Participating federal agencies may have a single or multiple application opportunities each year.

The schedules are published on the SBA’s SBIR site, as well as on those of the individual agencies. Looking for NIH SBIR contracts? View SBIR contract solicitations .

Department of Defense SBIR/STTR Information: The Department of Defense (DoD) SBIR/STTR programs are Congressionally authorized small business set-asides established to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy.

To respond to critical Army needs as they arise, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) – the Army’s Chief Scientist – releases SBIR topics on a rolling basis on an always-open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which maximizes the initial cash-flow for companies while minimizing the time to contract.

The Army Futures Command (AFC) SBIR and STTR Programs develop a set of research topics that represent the Army’s current and anticipated warfighting technology needs and release topics during three specific solicitation periods throughout the fiscal year.

Department of Navy SBIR/STTR The Navy issues SBIR Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) or "announcements" (formerly called solicitations), usually 3 per year, that contain a series of "Technical Topics" that describe the areas of interest and needs of the Navy and its SYSCOMS. Small businesses are invited to submit proposals targeted at one or more of the technical topics listed in the announcement.

The STTR program works in the same manner but has only 2 announcements per year. Department of the Air Force The Air Force Office of Small Business Programs utilizes DoD SBIR and STTR programs to harness the talents of our nation's small technology companies.

These two similar programs stimulate technological innovation and accelerate development and production of promising technologies that can help the Air Force accomplish its mission. SBIR and STTR provide over a billion dollars in seed capital each year for early-stage R&D at small technology companies. They fund projects that serve a DoD need and also have commercial applications.

SBIR focuses on small technology companies and individual entrepreneurs STTR funds cooperative R&D projects between small businesses and research institutions Both programs reach out to socially and economically disadvantaged firms Funding is awarded competitively, but the process is streamlined and user-friendly.

Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics The USSOCOM SBIR/STTR program supports the full spectrum of the Special Operations Forces Acquisition Technology & Logistics Science & Technology commodity areas by stimulating technology innovation in small businesses through contract awards aimed at discovering, developing, and rapidly inserting new capabilities to solve Special Operation Forces' needs.

MDA's Innovation, Science & Technology (MDA/DV) administers the agency's SBIR and STTR programs, which are the fourth largest in the Department of Defense.

The agency's focus for the SBIR and STTR programs is to pursue technologies that could spur a revolutionary leap or enhancement, decrease the time required to transform them into products for insertion into the Missile Defense System, and benefit from commercialization of the technology. MDA prepares research topics which are relevant to components of the missile defense system.

Radar and Electro-optic Sensors, Manufacturing, Materials Development, Modeling and Simulation, Command and Control, and Propulsion are all example topic areas.

Other federal agencies SBIR/STTR Information: Through the SBIR/STTR program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with less than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important problems facing our country.

Whether your destination is the Moon, Mars, or the marketplace, the NASA SBIR/STTR program wants to help get you there! National Science Foundation The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funds for use-inspired research and development (R&D) of unproven, leading-edge, technology innovations that address societal challenges.

By investing federal research and development funds into startups and small businesses, NSF helps build a strong national economy and stimulates the creation of novel products, services, and solutions in the private sector. NSF seeks unproven, leading-edge technology innovations that demonstrate the following characteristics: The innovations are underpinned and enabled by a new scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation.

The innovations still require intensive technical research and development to be fully embedded in a reliable product or service. The innovations have not yet been reduced to practice by anyone and it is not guaranteed, at present, that doing so is technically possible. The innovations provide a strong competitive advantage that are not easily replicable by competitors (even technically proficient ones).

Once reduced to practice, the innovations are expected to result in a product or service that would either be disruptive to existing markets or create new markets/new market segments. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs fund broadly across scientific and engineering disciplines and do not solicit specific technologies or procure goods and services from startups and small businesses.

Department of Agriculture The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer competitively awarded grants to qualified small businesses to support high quality research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that could lead to significant public benefits.

Awards are based on the scientific and technical merit of investigator-initiated ideas. The SBIR/STTR programs do not make loans and do not award grants for the purpose of helping a business get established.

Department of Energy – Office of Science DOE SBIR/STTR offers more than sixty technical topics and 250 subtopics annually, spanning research areas that support the DOE mission in: Energy Production & Use, Fundamental Energy Science, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Environmental Management.

To learn about the technology areas with available DOE SBIR/STTR funding, view either the Topics documents or webinars in the Funding Opportunity Announcements FOA table. The 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 8-months for rapid prototype development and evaluation of new education technology prototypes and Phase II for $1,000,000 for the full-scale development and evaluation of new education technology products. ED/IES SBIR releases program solicitations for Phase I and Phase II annually, typically in early winter, with proposals due approximately 60 days later.

To learn more about ED/IES SBIR, click here . Department of Health and Human Services Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) manages DHHS SBIR/STTR initiatives. The mission is to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into healthcare solutions.

SEED envisions a world where scientists are empowered to improve the lives of patients and their families.

SEED’s core business objectives are to: Identify and scale approaches that enable investigators to convert scientific discoveries into impactful healthcare solutions Coordinate early-stage product development activities across the NIH Inspire and support a diverse entrepreneurial workforce Demonstrate NIH’s role in improving patient care and driving economic growth Department of Homeland Security The DHS SBIR Program issues an annual solicitation with topics that cover DHS mission areas for which proposals are sought.

Topics for solicitations address the needs of DHS Operational Components including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Secret Service—as well as first responders.

As such, the solicitations typically consist of topics relevant to the following organization focus areas: Borders and Maritime Security Chemical and Biological Defense Critical Infrastructure and Resilience Explosives Detection and Aviation Screening Technical Capability Standards for Radiological Detection Department of Commerce - NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issues an annual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for SBIR Phase I proposals.

Science and technology-based firms with strong research capabilities in any of the areas listed in the NOFO are encouraged to participate. Phase II awards are limited to small businesses that have successfully completed Phase I projects.

Department of Transportation | Volpe National Transportation Systems Center The U.S. Department of Transportation’s highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awards contracts to U.S. small businesses to pursue research on and develop innovative solutions to our nation's transportation challenges. Environmental Protection Agency Are you an entrepreneur with an idea for environmental technology?

EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program may be an opportunity to help advance and commercialize your innovation. Learn About SBIR. Other Research and Development Connections: The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the nationwide network of over 300 federal laboratories and research centers dedicated to accelerating federal technologies into the marketplace.

Through taxpayer-funded research and development (R&D), the FLC fosters scientific breakthroughs that drive economic growth by creating new industries, businesses, and jobs through technology transfer (T2). Our mission is to maximize the impact of technology transfer, aligning with federal agencies' goals and enhancing their effectiveness.

DEFENSEWERX is a neutral facilitator and trusted counselor, connecting a national network of individuals, businesses, academia, and government organizations to enable creative and integrated solutions for our DOD customers. We are dedicated to expanding the capabilities and strategic leadership of today’s warfighters, private sector industries, and farmers to ensure national security.

ERDCWERX provides a streamlined path to collaboration and contracting with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). It was created under a Partnership Intermediary Agreement between DEFENSEWERX and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to serve as a neutral facilitator and help identify new partnerships for innovation and commercialization.

ERDCWERX is of particular interest because the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH is one of the ERDC labs. As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), AFWERX brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the Air Force.

As the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a unique division within AFWERX, SpaceWERX inspires and empowers collaboration with innovators to accelerate capabilities and shape our future in space. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SpaceWERX employs 40 military, civilian and contractor personnel executing an annual $457 million budget.

This APEX Accelerator is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense.