• Federal Collaborative Research Programs
  
• Sponsored Research (Work For Others)
  
• International Proliferation Prevention (IPP) Program
  
• University of California Discovery Program
  
• Technical Assistance
  
• User Facilities
• Berkeley Lab Economic Impact Report

Federal Collaborative Research Programs

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and STTR

SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to utilize or develop their technological potential and provides incentive to profit from the commercialization of new technologies. These grants are used to support the development of new technologies that have potential to be successful commercial products or processes. Many companies partner or subcontract with a National Lab to conduct part of the research. If you are interested in working with LBNL on a particular SBIR proposal, contact Chris Kniel at 1-510-486-5566 or crkniel@lbl.gov.

To participate in an SBIR Program, companies must met the following criteria:

• American-owned and independently operated
  
• For-profit
  
• Principal researcher employed by the company
  
• Company size limited to 500 employees

Each year, the following TEN federal departments and agencies are required by SBIR to reserve a portion of their R&D funds for small businesses.

• Department of Agriculture
  
• Department of Commerce
  
• Department of Defense
  
• Department of Education
  
• Department of Energy
  
• Department of Health and Human Services
  
• Department of Transportation
  
• Environmental Protection Agency
  
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  
• National Science Foundation Each agency designates R&D topics relevant to its mission and accepts proposals for research and development of new technologies within these designated areas.

Three-Phase Program:

Following the submission of proposals, the agencies make SBIR awards based on the business’ qualifications, degree of innovation, technical merit of the proposal, and future market potential of the proposed technological development. Small businesses that receive awards or grants then begin a three-phase program.

• Phase I: Awards of up to $100,000 for approximately 6 months provide support for the exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology.
  
• Phase II: Awards of up to $750,000 for as many as 2 years are used to expand Phase I results. During this time, the R&D work is performed and the developer evaluates the commercial potential of the new technology. Only Phase I award winners are considered for Phase II.
  
• Phase III: In this phase, Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory to the marketplace. No SBIR funds support this phase. The small business must find funding in the private sector or other non-SBIR federal agency funding.

For further information on SBIR and STTR -a similar program in which the participation of a government entity such as a National Lab is required, whereas with SBIR, it is optional - see the Small Business Administration website: http://www.sba.gov/sbir/indexsbir-sttr.html

For information on the DOE SBIR/STTR program see:

http://www.science.doe.gov/sbir/

Remember each of the above TEN AGENCIES have SBIR/STTR programs – substantial funds are involved and some agencies are more flexible re: how precisely a proposal must adhere to the designated research topics.