The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, a highly competitive three-phase award program, utilizes 2.5% of each of the eleven participating federal agencies' extramural R&D budget for awards to small businesses. The program provides qualified small businesses with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the federal government. SBIR help to funds the critical start-up and development stages and encourages the commercialization of technology, products, or services, which stimulate the economy. The program is divided into three phases of incremental funding:
Phase III is the period during which Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory into the marketplace. No SBIR funds support this phase. Small businesses must find funding in the private sector or other non SBIR federal agency funding.
The NIH SBIR Program offers two stages of grant support to small companies. Phase I SBIR grants are intended to determine initial feasibility, allowing the company and the grant program to determine whether a particular product warrants further investment.
To qualify for an SBIR grant, the company must be American owned (>51%), independently operated "for profit" entity with less than 300 employees, have a principal place of business in the U.S., and control its own research space and be able to carry out innovative research. Additional information can be obtained at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/welcomewagon.htm.
Several states have SBIR funding and assistance programs (see Appendix II below) in place to increase the success and maximize the number of small companies moving from Phase I to Phase II. These programs encourage businesses which have won SBIR Phase I awards to pursue SBIR Phase II awards and/or sustain small businesses through the funding gap which occurs between completion of the Phase I grant and the initiation of a Phase II award.
Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Grants
An STTR grant funds a collaborative effort between a company and an investigator at a university or research institution. The institution personnel must perform >30% of the research, the company must perform >40% of the research, and up to 30% can be outsourced during the Phase I grant period. Eligibility for STTRs is very similar to that for SBIRs. The major difference is that the principal investigator does not have to be employed by the applicant company at the time of or during the course of the award. Documents detailing the intellectual property must be in place.
NIST/ATP:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), which awards grants to support the commercialization projects that have a high degree of technical risk but an obvious and rapid path to the marketplace. In addition, the product being developed must have the potential to significantly impact the US economy. The program funds research on enabling technologies but does not support subsequent product development.
Up to $2 million for 2 years may be awarded to an individual company, but the company must be able to match this funding either with cash or in kind
Accomplishments
