Congress established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs in 1982 to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy.
Federal agencies with large research and development budgets set aside a small fraction of their funding for competitions among small businesses only. Small businesses that win awards in these research and development programs keep the rights to any technology developed and are encouraged to commercialize the technology.
SBIR and STTR have three distinct phases:
Phase I - Release 1
Phase I - Release 2
Phase II - Release 1
Phase II - Release 2