USDA is offering the Small Business Innovation Research Program – Phase II grant to advance agricultural innovation and commercialization.

All Phase II projects must have previously completed a successful USDA Phase I project before applying for a Phase II grant. Success rates for applicants have been 40-50% for Phase II. Projects dealing with agriculturally-related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy technologies are encouraged across all SBIR topic areas. USDA SBIR’s flexible research areas ensure innovative projects consistent with USDA’s vision of a healthy and productive nation in harmony with the land, air, and water. USDA SBIR has awarded over 2000 research and development projects since 1983, allowing hundreds of small businesses to explore their technological potential and providing an incentive to profit from the commercialization of innovative ideas. Click below for more SBIR information.

Each applicant submitting an application must qualify as a Small Business Concern (SBC) through registration with the SBA for R/R&D purposes at the time of award (see Definitions in Part VIII).

SBIR/STTR program eligibility requirements are in place to ensure that the funds go only to small, independent businesses within the United States. The regulations include restrictions about (1) the type of firm, (2) its ownership structure, and (3) the firm’s size in terms of the number of employees. The purpose of the requirement regarding type of firm is to target the awards to firms with an economic interest in developing the idea or research into a commercial application. The purpose of the ownership requirement is to limit the program to independent firms controlled by United States citizens or permanent resident aliens as a way of maximizing the likelihood that the funding will stimulate innovative activity within the United States economy. The purpose of the size restriction (number of employees of the firm and its affiliates) is to limit program funding to small business concerns which have a unique capacity for innovation and are more likely to be constrained by lack of access to such funding.

All Phase II projects must have previously completed a successful USDA Phase I project before applying for a Phase II grant. Success rates for applicants have been 40-50% for Phase II. Projects dealing with agriculturally-related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy technologies are encouraged across all SBIR topic areas. USDA SBIR’s flexible research areas ensure innovative projects consistent with USDA’s vision of a healthy and productive nation in harmony with the land, air, and water. USDA SBIR has awarded over 2000 research and development projects since 1983, allowing hundreds of small businesses to explore their technological potential and providing an incentive to profit from the commercialization of innovative ideas. Click below for more SBIR information.