US Government Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program is a great, low cost, low risk approach for small companies to pursue Federal funding and contracts. The SBIR program is utilized by over a dozen Federal Agencies including NASA, Dept of Defense (DoD) and DHS with each individual agency administering its own SBIR program.

The goals of the SBIR program are to: stimulate technological innovation, meet government R&D requirements, foster and encourage participation by innovative small businesses and increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and development funding.

The SBIR program consists of 3 phases:

Phase 1 funded demonstration and prototype development

Phase 2 funding for actual enhancements and production deployment- this phase can award up to $1.5M and is seen by many small companies as a non-dilution round of funding.

Phase 3 is a production deployment where agencies purchase production licenses.

Development funding can range from $50K up to $1.5M + depending upon the phase and the work to be performed.

The application process for companies wishing to participate in the SBIR program starts with a technical write up and solution overview outlining the problem your technology will solve, how the particular agency will utilize the technology and how your organization plans to continue commercialization of the product post contract award.

Keep in mind the Government doesn’t want to fund technologies or solutions that are built as one offs, specifically for their use. The Government wants to know the technology will continually be offered, updated and supported for commercial clients going forward.

If targeting Government markets is something your organization has been considering, the latest set of SBIR topics has recently been released. Spend a few minutes reviewing them to see if your technology would be a fit and consider pursuing one. The latest topics can be found at https://www.sbir.gov/