SBIR & STTR Funding Innovation with Federal R&D Grants

$70-100 million in federal research and development grants is awarded to NYS companies annually through the SBIR and STTR programs. These programs, providing up to $1,150,000 per project, are available to firms with up to 500 employees.

What are SBIR & STTR?

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards are federal grant programs for early stage innovative technology development. Eleven federal agencies independently and competitively award grants in categories of research supporting their strategic priorities:

• Dept of Agriculture
• Dept of Commerce
• Dept of Defense
• Dept of Education
• Dept of Energy
• Dept of Health & Human Services
• Dept of Homeland Security
• Dept of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• National Aeronautics & Space Admin.
• National Science Foundation

Products and services developed through these programs profit the company and the country.  Over 50% of both innovations and new jobs are created by small businesses. By supporting companies during the early, high-risk, stages of development, the government stimulates innovation and helps to build a strong economy.

Three-Phase Program

Following submission of proposals, agencies make SBIR awards based on small business qualification, degree of innovation, technical merit, and future market potential.  Award recipients follow a three-phase program:

• Phase I is the start-up phase.  Awards of up to $150,000 for approximately six months support exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology.
• Phase II awards up to $1 million for as many as two years to expand Phase I results.  During this time, research and development is performed and the developer evaluates commercialization potential.  Only Phase I winners are considered for Phase II.
• Phase III is the period during which Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory into the marketplace.  No SBIR funds support this phase, but companies are eligible for contracts to implement the technology on a non-competitive basis. 

Qualifications

Businesses must meet certain eligibility criteria to participate in the programs:

• American-owned & independently operated
• For-profit
• Principal researcher employed by business
• Company size less than 500 employees

 

AM&T – Your Partner in Success

 

AM&T offers Southern Tier companies the following types of assistance:

• Strategies on approaching SBIR/STTR
• Coaching on licensing issues
• Coaching through the proposal writing process
• Proposal review before submission to the funding agency
• Transition assistance, Phase I to Phase II and Phase II to Phase III
• Understanding what improvements are needed on a rejected proposal
• Commercialization assistance

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4613/7286/1307/2013-07.pdf

Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org