Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase I | USDA NIFA SBIR 009301

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA SBIR 009301

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I opportunity is a competitive federal grant program designed to help small businesses turn research ideas into real products and services that have clear commercial potential and/or meaningful public benefit. The program is intentionally geared toward applied innovation rather than basic, open-ended academic research. In practice, that means Phase I funding is meant to support early-stage research and development that proves feasibility, reduces technical risk, and positions a technology to move closer to the marketplace. Across all topic areas, USDA especially encourages projects connected to agriculturally related manufacturing as well as alternative and renewable energy technologies, reflecting the agency goal of a healthy, productive nation that stays in balance with land, air, and water.

A major distinction between the two tracks is the role of a research institution. SBIR is built around the small business as the main driver and primary performer of the work. STTR, on the other hand, is specifically structured to promote technology transfer by requiring a formal cooperative R and D relationship between a small business and a nonprofit research institution (for example, a university or federal lab). In other words, STTR is the pathway if the innovation depends on a true partnership with a research institution and you want that collaboration formally integrated into the project plan and budget.

Eligibility is tightly defined and applicants are expected to meet every requirement by the application deadline, because missing an eligibility condition can lead to an application being rejected or, even if it is reviewed, can prevent NIFA from making an award. Applicants must qualify as a Small Business Concern (SBC) and must be registered with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for R and D purposes at the time of selection. The program also addresses corporate structure: if the applicant is a subsidiary, it must show that its parent company or parent companies are also small businesses and must include documentation supporting that status in the application attachments. A key limitation is that if a parent company is a nonprofit organization, the subsidiary becomes ineligible for SBIR/STTR submission under this opportunity.

The rules for the Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) also differ slightly between SBIR and STTR, but both focus heavily on where the PD/PI is primarily employed. For SBIR, the PD/PI must be primarily employed by the small business both at the time of award and throughout the project period. “Primarily employed” is defined as spending more than half (51 percent) of their time employed by the small business during the award period, which effectively prevents the PD/PI from simultaneously being a full-time employee of another organization or academic institution. Notably, while the PD/PI must maintain that employment relationship for the duration of the grant, the solicitation clarifies there is no specific time-percentage requirement for how much of the PD/PI’s time must be spent on the proposed research itself. For STTR, the PD/PI (or, if there are multiple PD/PIs, at least one of them) must spend more than half (51 percent) of their time employed by either the small business or the partnering nonprofit research institution; at least one PD/PI meeting this standard must serve as the contact PD/PI. If a team applies to both SBIR and STTR, the PD/PI must meet the SBIR standard (more than 51 percent employed by the small business). The opportunity also notes that prior federal employees must provide documentation that post-termination requirements from federal service have been completed at the time of submission.

Small business size and the division of labor are central compliance points. The awardee, together with its affiliates, must have no more than 500 employees. The small business must be the primary performer of the proposed research effort. For SBIR Phase I specifically, at least two-thirds (66 percent) of the research or analytical work (measured by budget expenditures) must be performed by the small business. For STTR Phase I, the nonprofit research institution must perform a minimum of 30 percent and a maximum of 60 percent of the work (again measured by budget expenditures). If an applicant wants to be positioned to apply under both SBIR and STTR, the required STTR research institution share is narrower: at least 30 percent but not more than 33 percent must be conducted by a single nonprofit research institution. These budget-based performance thresholds are not just planning suggestions; they are core program rules and a common area where proposals can become noncompliant if the budget and workshare are not aligned.

There is also a strong domestic performance requirement. For Phase I, the R and D work must be performed in the United States. The solicitation allows that, in rare and unique situations, a particular portion of the work may be permitted outside the U.S. if a required supply, material, or capability is not available domestically, but this is framed as an exception rather than a norm and would typically need clear justification.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by USDA NIFA under CFDA 10.212. The listed award ceiling for Phase I is $181,500. The funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA SBIR 009301, and the original closing date shown is 2023-01-31. The program has a long track record, with USDA reporting more than 2,000 awards since 1983, and it is explicitly intended to help small businesses de-risk innovations, demonstrate feasibility, and build a bridge from research results to commercialization.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase I" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.212.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-07-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-01-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $181,500.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA SBIR 009301

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