To ensure that the small innovative businesses in the US gets to play their part in the federal government's research and development, the Small Business Administration (SBA) generated the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) along with the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. These programs were set up through the extramural budgets of participating federal agencies. The goal of the programs is to carry out innovative research or research and development which have latent for commercialization and public gain.

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SBIR

About 2.5% of a participating agency's annual extramural budget goes to the Small Business Innovation Research program. This is for the domestic small businesses to engage in the federal government's Research/Research and Development and conduct research on something useful and likely for commercialization. The participating federal agencies are those with extramural research and development budgets over $100 million.

At present, about eleven federal agencies are participating, they are: the Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Agriculture (USDA), Commerce (DOC), Defense (DOD), Education (DoED), Energy (DOE), Homeland Security (DHS), and Transportation (DOT); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Various small businesses have been awarded over $12 billion by the SBIR program.

What Is It For?

Although the main objective of this program, which was made by Roland Tibbets, is to induce technological innovation, it also aims to fortify the role of small businesses in Federal Research/ Research and Development needs. Through this, they can also increase private sector commercialization of innovations that will be generated. Not only does it encourage participation of small businesses, it also cultivates and persuades involvement of socially and economically deprived small business and women-owned business.

According to Roland Tibbets, the concept for this program is "to provide funding for some of the best early-stage innovation ideas -- ideas that, however promising, are still too high risk for private investors, including venture capital firms" (wikipedia.org). One example of a Small Business Innovation Research project is the ?Revolutionary Genome Sequencing Technology? also known as ?The $1000 Genome?. The participating organization here is the National Institutes of Health or NIH, with its component, the National Human Genome Research Institute. The purpose of this is to suggest developing novel technologies that will allow extremely low-cost, high quality DNA sequencing. It aims to reduce the cost of sequencing a mammalian-sized genome to approximately $1000. Every project has a deadline and has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Development and Translation of Medical Technologies that Reduce Health Disparities and the Probes for Micro imaging the Nervous System are some of the other projects in the SBIR and STTR Programs.

Any Small Business Company (SBC), provided that it is located in the United States and passes all the criteria, is eligible for application in the Small Business Innovation Research Program. This is a great opportunity to boost your business and help others in your own little way. It is truly a rewarding experience and a worthy prospect for any small business owner.