Small Business Innovation Research Grants

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Stored: Small Business Innovation Research Grants

Small Business Innovation Research Grants
Type Program
Sponsor Organization National Institutes of Health
Top Organization Department of Health and Human Services
Creation Legislation Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982
Website Website
Purpose SBIR Grants, run by agencies like NIH, fund small businesses for R&D with commercial potential, driving health tech innovation in three phases.
Program Start 1983
Initial Funding $45 million
Duration Ongoing
Historic No

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants, established in 1983 under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, are administered by multiple federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide competitive grants to small businesses (fewer than 500 employees), allocating over $50 billion since inception to support approximately 5,000 projects annually by 2025. Initially funded with $45 million across all participating agencies, it has grown to distribute $1.2 billion in FY 2024 across 5,000 awards at NIH alone, funding innovations like medical devices, biotechnology, and health IT for small businesses nationwide.[1] Despite its impact, challenges like funding competition and commercialization barriers persist (web ID: 4), but it remains a cornerstone of federal innovation support under HHS and other agencies.

Official Site

Goals

  • Stimulate technological innovation in small businesses through federal R&D funding.
  • Meet federal research and development needs, particularly in health and science.
  • Increase the commercialization of innovative products and services with public benefit, especially in health-related fields.[2]

Organization

The SBIR Grants program is managed by NIH and other federal agencies (e.g., NSF, DOE, NASA), overseen by NIH Director Monica M. Bertagnolli since 2023, with the Small Business Administration (SBA) coordinating across agencies under federal oversight. It operates via annual appropriations, guided by the Small Business Innovation Development Act and subsequent funding acts like Public Law 117-328 (2022).[3][4]

Partners

History

Authorized by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-219) and launched in 1983 with $45 million across agencies, the SBIR Grants program expanded with annual appropriations, reaching $1.2 billion in FY 2024 at NIH alone.[5] It grew from funding 1,000 projects annually in 1984 to 5,000 by 2025, addressing disparities with innovations like health tech startups (web ID: 4). By 2025, it has awarded over $50 billion across all agencies, though GAO notes funding competition concerns (web ID: 4).

Funding

Initial funding of $45 million in 1983 (across all agencies) supported the program’s launch, with over $50 billion appropriated by 2025 via annual HHS and other agency budgets—e.g., $1.2 billion in FY 2024 at NIH.[6] Ongoing appropriations under the Small Business Innovation Development Act sustain its operations, with no fixed end as it addresses ongoing innovation needs, requiring a 3.2% set-aside of extramural budgets for participating agencies (web ID: 4).

Implementation

SBIR distributes competitive grants annually in three phases (Phase I: Proof of Concept; Phase II: Development; Phase III: Commercialization), requiring small businesses to demonstrate innovation potential, tracked via agency-specific systems like NIH’s eRA Commons.[7] It progresses through partnerships with small businesses—e.g., 5,000 projects yearly—and program expansions, adapting to innovation needs with no set end, though commercialization barriers remain a challenge (web ID: 4).

Related

External links

Social media

References

  1. ↑ "SBIR at NIH". National Institutes of Health. https://sbir.nih.gov. 
  2. ↑ "SBIR/STTR Policy Directive". U.S. Small Business Administration. https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBIR-STTR_Policy_Directive_2023.pdf. 
  3. ↑ "About NIH Leadership". National Institutes of Health. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/leadership-director. 
  4. ↑ "SBIR Program". U.S. Small Business Administration. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/sbir. 
  5. ↑ "Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982". U.S. Congress. https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/house-bill/4326. 
  6. ↑ "SBIR at NIH". National Institutes of Health. https://sbir.nih.gov. 
  7. ↑ "eRA Commons". National Institutes of Health. https://era.nih.gov/. 
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