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To participate, a company must:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Technology oversees the SBIR and STTR Programs. Through these two competitive programs, SBA ensures that the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government's R&D efforts. Participating Federal Agencies post solicitations throughout the year. Small businesses compete by submitting proposals to these agencies. A winner in the competitive solicitation process is awarded a grant.
The SBIR program provides funding to small, high-tech businesses to research, design, develop, and test new technology ideas related to specific needs defined in competitive solicitations floated by the federal agencies. The program stimulates technological innovation by funding new ideas that would not otherwise be funded, and helps introduce small business solutions into the market and to meet a wide range of Government research priorities, from national defense and renewable energy systems to new medical or educational solutions.
Congress started the STTR program in 1992. The program funds cooperative R&D partnerships between a small business and a research institution such as a university, Federal R&D center, or a non-profit research institute. The STTR program is an effective vehicle for moving ideas from our nation's research institutions to the market, where they can benefit both private sector and military customers. Both the SBIR and STTR programs follow a similar solicitation and award process.
Agencies post solicitations describing the technical areas and seek proposals from small businesses. Each agency has its own proposal submission guidelines. A few agencies follow an annual solicitation proposal cycle, while others float solicitations as the need arises. Agencies post solicitations on their sites as well as grants.gov. In general, an SBIR Phase I proposal submission package has the following components:
Hint: grants.gov is a good place to start looking for SBIR/STTR program opportunities. Just type "SBIR" in the basic search, and off you go!
Here's a list of resources and links to the agency SBIR/STTR programs to get you started.