Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants are highly competitive programs with set-asides established to encourage U.S. small businesses to engage in research and development with commercialization potential.
Each year, federal agencies with extramural research and development (R&D) budgets that exceed $100 million are required to allocate 3.2% of this extramural R&D budget to fund small businesses through the SBIR program. Agencies with extramural R&D budgets over $1 billion are required to reserve 0.45% of this extramural R&D budget for the STTR program.
Currently, 11 federal agencies participate in the SBIR program and five of those agencies also participate in the STTR program. Each agency administers its own individual program, designates R&D topics in their solicitations and accepts proposals from small businesses. Awards are made on a competitive basis after proposal evaluation.
NJSBDC’s Technology Commercialization Team provides professional, confidential one-on-one advising to small business owners and startups to compete and win federal research funding for early-stage product research and development (R&D). These services are available to businesses across New Jersey and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).