Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Topic H: Bioinspired Materials

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Topic H: Bioinspired Materials is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Funds SBIR projects on bioinspired structural materials for revolutionary defense technologies. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $50,000 - $1,750,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Small businesses If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Topic H: Bioinspired Materials.

How to Participate in DARPA’s SBIR and STTR Programs An official website of the United States Government Official websites use . mil . mil website belongs to an official U.

S. Department of War organization. Secure .

mil websites use HTTPS ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the . mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

How To Participate In DARPA’s SBIR and STTR Programs How to Participate in DARPA’s SBIR and STTR Programs Our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are competitive contracts managed by our Small Business Programs Office.

Step 1 – Determine eligibility Review eligibility requirements – See section 6 of the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive or review the Guide to SBIR and STTR Program Eligibility . Step 2 – Find a topic and review instructions Review open SBIR/STTR topics . Each topic announcement includes instructions for proposers.

Step 3 – Ask questions and monitor published Q&As Contact information is provided within each topic announcement. We strongly encourage direct communication during the pre-release period, including technical questions. Once the open period begins (i.

e. , when proposals can be submitted), direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed. However, proposers may submit written questions via the email address listed in the topic instructions.

We publish all questions and answers received during the open period on the topic announcement page. We recommend monitoring these pages during the open announcement period updates about topics of interest. Step 4 – Prepare your proposal All proposals are initially screened to determine responsiveness with submission requirements as defined in the announcement, including DARPA-specific instructions.

Proposals that do not comply with the requirements are considered non-responsive and are not evaluated. Proposals that do comply with the requirements are evaluated by engineers and/or scientists to determine the most promising technical and scientific approaches.

Step 5 – Submit your proposal All SBIR/STTR proposals must be prepared and submitted electronically through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) and in accordance with the program announcement. Proposers can edit the cover sheet and proposal volumes at any time until the announcement closes (or due date for the Phase II proposal). Note: To submit, you must click "Submit Proposal."

Otherwise, the status will remain “In Progress” and it is not considered submitted. In the upper right corner, click “Login/Register” Follow the instructions and prompts to create a login. gov account.

You will be redirected to DSIP to verify your DSIP account or to register as a new DSIP user. For more information, see the DSIP training materials and FAQs . DoW Interactive Participation Guide SBIR.

gov: America’s Seed Fund Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) Transition & commercialization support RSS feed for Opportunities Be part of a cutting-edge research and development agency that’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, in an energetic environment with excellent benefits. Find your future with DARPA Careers Our program managers are visionary leaders whose experience spans industry, government, and academia.

They conceive, plan, and oversee the high-risk R&D efforts for which we are best known. Research Opportunities View Programs DARPA has pushed, and will continue to push, the boundaries of technological possibility.

See the dreams we turned to reality Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency To create and prevent technological surprise for our national security Investors & Entrepreneurs Podcast (Voices from DARPA) Communications & Public Affairs Think beyond the impossible Accessibility/Section 508 Freedom of Information Act Privacy and Civil Liberties