What is the SBIR Program?
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the Federal Government. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC.
It is a Federal program that requires federal agencies and departments to allocate part of their R&D budgets to small businesses. Only the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense had such programs before federal legislation in 1982 required other federal agencies to participate. Public law 102-564, Small Business Research & Development Enhancement Act of 1992, extended the program through September 30, 2000. This law was passed unanimously by Congress and signed by the president. There is no reason to believe that the law will not be extended beyond 2000. For more information about SBIR/STTR visit the Small Business Administration website.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the Federal Government. The Phase I is typically a study phase to evaluate the scientific merit of the idea and or perform small scale testing. The Phase II is typically a demonstration phase in which prototypes are built and tested. The Phase II usually lasts two years and in the Navy has a base award of $600,000 with a $150,000 option. The Phase III is for production units or additional R&D for a DoD Program. It can be for any amount of money and time period, but can not use SBIR dollars.
Related Questions
- How are supplementary resources treated within a program, particularly for SBIR applications? New application priority scores will not be available in advance of a program a score?
- How does the Small Business Administration define "small business concern" for the purposes of the SBIR program?
- What is NISTs SBIR Program?
