In November, DoD released information about additional funding opportunities for U.S. small businesses, this time through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program office. The office announced over 400 new research topics, and is expected to award up to $100K to U.S. small business to investigate each topic.
As in the past, the most promising projects will be awarded up to $1 million in Phase 2 funding. But it doesn't end there. Companies can compete for yet another tranche of up to $1 million to assist with the commercialization of the research, whereby the company's product can be integrated onto an existing military system, or be acquired by the government as a standalone system.
The DOD continues to improve the SBIR program, in part by offering small businesses a variety of benefits that are intended to help them achieve commercialization and attract private investment. Awardees are allowed to maintain ownership of any intellectual property or technical data developed under the program. Topic sponsors often help awardees identify a military and commercial market, like those drafted by the U.S. Air Force (see the "Phase III Dual Use Commercialization" section under each Air Force SBIR topic). When the product’s market potential is unclear, the SBIR office can match small companies with experts who assist in drafting business plans, and facilitating face-to-face meetings with potential government and private-sector customers.
By providing critical 'seed stage' non-equity capital, the DoD SBIR program could one day serve as a pipeline of early-stage venture capital deals, and help the DoD reassert their dominance as a primary source of American technical innovation.
