About the SBIR/STTR Webinar Series This monthly webinar series will explore topics relevant to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs. It will also discuss how researchers and small businesses can use this funding source. The series will begin with an overview of the program and its implementation at the participating agencies. On some webinars, winners of the prestigious Tibbetts Award who have successfully brought their SBIR/STTR technologies to market will share their stories and tips on how they progressed from SBIR/STTR seed funding to commercialization. The series also will include several webinars highlighting how large corporations can partner with SBIR/STTR awardees to integrate SBIR funded technologies into their supply chain. Other relevant and interesting topics pertaining to the SBIR/STTR program will also be discussed throughout the series.
About the SBIR/STTRs SBIRs/STTRs are the principal federal programs to fund research and development for the express purpose of commercialization. These programs are designed to stimulate small business technological innovation and cutting-edge research that addresses the nation’s most critical scientific and engineering needs, and to provide incentive to profit from its commercialization. Often times, university research results in a discovery that may have commercial potential but needs further research. The SBIR/STTR program may be a natural next step for those university investigators with commercially viable ideas that need to be proven and further developed.
Federal agencies with extramural (external) R&D budgets in excess of $100 million must allocate 2.6% of these funds for competitive grants with a cap to 3.2% by FY 2017.
There are presently 11 participating agencies with a total of almost $2.5 billion available for SBIR/STTR annually:
- Department of Defense - Department of Health and Human Services (NIH, CDC, FDA) - National Science Foundation - NASA - Department of Energy - Department of Homeland Security - Department of Agriculture - Department of Commerce (NIST, NOAA) - Department of Education - Department of Transportation - Environmental Protection Agency
