- agency
- Coordinated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); funded and administered by 11 participating federal agencies (DoD, NIH/HHS, NSF, DOE, NASA, USDA, EPA, DOT, Dept. of Education, DOC, DHS)
- amount
- As of April 2026, Phase I awards up to $323,090 and Phase II awards up to $2,153,927 (including modifications) without SBA approval; over $4 billion per year flows to small businesses. Phase III (commercialization) is funded by non-SBIR sources but provides sole-source federal contracting authority.
- country
- United States
- deadline or recurrence
- Recurring; each agency issues its own solicitations on rolling/periodic schedules. Programs reauthorized through September 30, 2031 via the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act of 2026 (signed April 13, 2026). Agencies with >$100M extramural R&D must set aside at least 3.2% of that budget for SBIR awards.
- eligibility
- U.S.-based, for-profit small businesses developing innovative technology with commercialization potential. SBIR requires the small business to perform the majority of the R&D work; STTR requires formal collaboration with a nonprofit research institution that performs a defined portion of the work. Non-dilutive (no equity given up, no loan to repay).