What is the SBIR Program and why is it Potentially Valuable for your Organization?
Are you an innovative small company that has a technology you believe will solve a Government problem or provide an innovative solution to a Government need or requirement? Are you actively pursuing commercial customers or do you have a presence in the commercial markets today? Are you seeking non-dilutive types of funding to complete the development of your technology?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you may want to consider researching the upcoming SBIR topics to determine if they are a fit for your technology. (Pre-release for the latest round of topics is due the 20th of April) The US Governments Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program as described on programs website (About | SBIR.gov) is a "highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development with the potential for commercialization".
The SBIR program is designed to encourage US based, small businesses (less than 500 employees) to explore their technological potential with the 12 US Governmental agencies that participate in the program. Agencies participating in the program range from NASA to DHS and DoD. Typical SBIR program has 3 phases: Phase I awards can be worth up to $275K while a Phase II award can top $1.8M. Phase III are typically production product deployments and can potentially be worth well more than a Phase II.
The funding provided for a Phase I or Phase II award are designed for research and development work. This R&D work typically involves engaging with a Government program office, identifying functional capabilities the program would require to deploy your solution, and building a joint SOW which the Government would fund to complete the work via the SBIR.
(Note: the Government is seeking to fund technologies that have a dual use component, meaning there is not just a market in Government but also a market in the commercial sector as well)
Ideally once your Phase II is completed the Government Program Office would then fund the purchase of your solution for product usage. With this approach the SBIR program is a great way for small companies to:
Get introduced into Government- each SBIR comes with a sole source contract.
Pick up non-dilutive funding to add functionality and capabilities to your technology which can be sold not only to Government but also commercial clients.
If the SBIR program sounds interesting you there are a few strict requirements that companies must meet in order to participate, want to learn if you are eligible? Click here to take our quick survey!