NIH awards grants under the Small Business Technology Transfer Program for research or research and development of new technologies and methodologies that have the potential to succeed as commercial products. This support is provided to small business concerns in collaboration with U.S. research institutions because innovative technologies and methodologies fuel progress in biomedical and behavioral research and represent an increasingly important area of the economy.
The applicant organization must be the small business concern, which must perform at least 40 percent of the project. At least 30 percent of the project is to be performed by the college, university or other research institution.
The STTR Program consists of three phases:
Phase I (R41) determines the scientific, technical and commercial merit and feasibility of the proposed cooperative effort and the quality of performance of the small business concern, prior to providing further Federal support in Phase II.
Phase II (R42) continues the research or R&D efforts initiated in Phase I. At this time, only Phase I awardees are eligible to apply for Phase II funding.
The objective of Phase III, where appropriate, is to pursue with non-STTR funds the commercialization of the results of the research or R&D funded in Phase I and Phase II.
According to new statutory guidelines, total funding support (direct costs, indirect costs, fee) normally may not exceed $150,000 for Phase I awards and $1,000,000 for Phase II awards. With appropriate justification from the applicant, Congress will allow awards to exceed these amounts by up to 50 percent ($225,000 for Phase I and $1,500,000 for Phase II, a hard cap). NIH, including NIGMS, has received a limited waiver from the Small Business Administration, as authorized by the statute, to exceed the hard cap for specific topics [PDF, 70 KB]. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH program officials prior to submitting any application in excess of the hard cap. In all cases, applicants should propose a budget that is reasonable and appropriate for completion of the research project.
Grant solicitation announcements and additional information are available on the NIH Small Business Funding Opportunities Web site. To discuss NIGMS program interests, e-mail Dr. Scott Somers or call him at 301-594-3827.
List of NIGMS funding announcements (program announcements, requests for applications and notices) for the SBIR and STTR Programs.