You must respond to a funding solicitation from a particular agency, because the SBIR/STTR programs do not accept "unsolicited" proposals (a proposal that does not address a topic specified in a currently open agency SBIR/STTR solicitation). Solicitations are known by many names including Request for Proposals (RFP), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), or simply Solicitation. No matter what it's called, this document provides the rules and guidance on how to prepare a response, also called an application or a proposal. Solicitation documents include Proposal Preparation Instructions, Application and Submission guidance, and Evaluation criteria. They typically include the specific topic areas of interest as well.
To browse through current topic areas of interest, which topics are coming up, and what topics were of interest in the past across all participating agencies, search Topic Areas. Keep in mind that some agencies have solicitations that accept proposals in broad research areas related to the agency’s mission and are not limited to a specific list of pre-determined topics.
Planner
Participating Agencies post SBIR/STTR funding opportunities on a regular periodic basis throughout the year. Some agencies have multiple solicitations throughout the year, while others may only have one solicitation release each year. Once you identify a relevant agency to target, learn more about that specific agency's process.
![A visual calendar representation of the typical release schedule on upcoming funding opportunities data from the schedule table down below on this page](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218022850im_/https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/solitication-static-image-03_0.jpg)
While there are core parts of solicitations that are the same across the SBIR/STTR programs, solicitation guidelines are quite different at different agencies, especially between agencies that provide awards as grants and those that use contracts. The solicitations and topics listed on this site are copies from agencies to be used for general planning purposes, but they may not be the most up-to-date.
For these reasons, you should visit the agency SBIR program sites to read the official version of the solicitations and download the appropriate forms and rules.
Schedule: Phase I
AGENCY |
PRE-RELEASE |
OPENS |
CLOSES |
Department of Health and Human Services |
|
Multiple Dates |
Multiple Dates |
Department of Commerce: NOAA |
|
Oct-15-2020 |
Jan-13-2021 |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
|
Nov-09-2020 |
Jan-08-2021 |
Department of Education |
|
Dec-01-2020 |
Jan-21-2021 |
Department of Energy |
|
Dec-14-2020 |
Feb-22-2021 |
Department of Homeland Security |
Nov-12-2020 |
Dec-11-2020 |
Jan-15-2021 |
Department of Defense: 21.A and 21.1 BAA |
Dec-8-2020 |
Jan-14-2021 |
Feb-18-2021 |
Department of Defense: 21.B and 21.2 BAA |
Apr-21-2021 |
May-9-2021 |
Jun-17-2021 |
Department of Defense: 21.C and 21.3 BAA |
Aug-25-2021 |
Sept-23-2021 |
Oct-22-2021 |
National Science Foundation |
|
Dec-2020 |
Dec-2021 |
Department of Commerce: NIST |
|
Jan-2021 |
Apr-2021 |
Department of Transportation |
|
Jan-2021 |
Apr-2021 |
Environmental Protection Agency |
|
Jun-2021 |
Sep-2021 |
Department of Agriculture |
|
Jul-2021 |
Oct-2021 |
* Solicitation dates for NSF, NIST, DOT, EPA, USDA are estimated dates based upon their last solicitations, and will be updated once exact dates are known.
*Table was last updated on 12-14-2020.