April 13, 2026 Breaking News: S. 3971 has been signed into law. This reauthorizes the SBIR/STTR programs through 2031. See below for latest information, including agency updates, new regulations, and how you can prepare.
The Latest Updates by Agency
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- There are currently 24 SBIR/STTR topics on the DoW SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) website that are open for proposal submission, with a deadline of May 13, 2026.
- An additional 91 topics are in pre-release, with proposal submission set to open May 6, 2026, and a deadline of June 3, 2026.
- New topics will be released on the first Wednesday of every month.
- Decisions on applications submitted in late 2025 will be released in the coming weeks.
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- NIH has posted forecasted SBIR/STTR solicitations on grants.gov. The anticipated posting date for these solicitations is June 1, 2026. Note: not all forecasted opportunities have been updated as of April 15, 2026.
- NIH has also confirmed that the next standard deadline for proposal submission will be September 8, 2026 (as September 5 falls on a Saturday and the following Monday is the Labor Day holiday).
- Individual Institutes and Centers (ICs) will have different timelines for funding previously submitted applications. IC-specific updates are provided below:
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- NIGMS – Some JIT requests have been sent out for proposals submitted in September 2025.
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NINDS – Program staff has indicated that proposals submitted in September 2025 may be selected and funded before the end of Fiscal Year 2026. They have also announced they will be holding open Office Hours through Teams:
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Thursday 4/16, 3:00pm ET – Teams link
- Monday 4/20, 1:00pm ET – Teams link
- Wednesday 4/22, 12:00pm ET – Teams link
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- NHLBI – Program staff has indicated that proposals submitted in September 2025 may be selected and funded before the end of Fiscal Year 2026.
- NIAID – Program staff has indicated that proposals submitted on or after April 2025 will be considered for funding in Fiscal Year 2027.
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- DoE has stated that there will be no official statement on when the next solicitation will be released until reauthorization.
- Ongoing organizational changes are expected to delay the release of new DoE SBIR/STTR solicitations even after reauthorization.
- Moving forward, applicants will submit proposals for both Phase I and Phase II funding simultaneously. The Phase II portion of the award will be released as an option, contingent upon the successful completion of Phase I milestones.
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- According to NSF Program Officials, the agency is prepared to release a new solicitation and reopen the Project Pitch submission portal as soon as the program is reauthorized.
- Project Pitches in queue are being reviewed. Invitations for full applications are being issued.
- Submitted full proposals are being reviewed, and pre-award negotiations are happening. No awards will be issued until reauthorization, however we are seeing proposals being recommended for funding, which is the final stage before award issuance.
- Open invitations for small businesses to submit full proposals (following their successful Project Pitch) remain valid.
- NSF typically offers three submission windows per year. We anticipate the next full proposal deadline to be around July 2026.
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- NASA will transition to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) mechanism, releasing Phase I subtopics throughout the year rather than in a single January batch and summer Ignite release, as in previous years.
- NASA has announced that they are preparing to release the new solicitation as soon as possible. Updates on the 2026 BAA release will be posted on their website here.
- NASA has also announced that the 2025 Phase II solicitation will not be included in the BAA and will be emailed directly to Phase I awardees as applicable.
- New funding amounts have been released for Fiscal Year 2026 as of February 3, 2026:
- Phase I amounts increased from $150,000 to $225,000.
- Phase II amounts increased from $850,000 to $1,275,000.
- These new maximums will go into effect for future solicitations, beginning with 2025 Phase II and 2026 Phase I.
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- Review of Phase II applications submitted in September 2025 has been paused during the lapse in SBIR/STTR authorization. USDA has indicated that they are starting to plan for this process, and there will be varied timelines for each topic area.
- USDA has stated that there will be no official statement on when the next solicitation will be released until reauthorization.
- USDA typically has one Phase I submission deadline (September-October; $125,000 – $175,000) and one Phase II submission deadline (March-April; $600,000) per Fiscal Year.
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- There will be no official statements on the release of new awards or solicitations until the DHS budget is approved.
- DHS has historically held one submission deadline per Fiscal Year (January; $175,000 for Phase I and $1,000,000 – $1,500,000 for Phase II.
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- NIST has indicated that there will be no official statement on when the next solicitation will be released until reauthorization.
- NIST typically has one Phase I submission deadline (December; $100,000) and one Phase II submission deadline (June; $400,000) per Fiscal Year.
- NOAA has indicated that there will be no funding announcement released for Fiscal Year 2026. They anticipate posting the funding announcement for Fiscal Year 2027 on grants.gov after October 1, 2026.
- NOAA typically has one Phase I submission deadline (January; $190,000) and one Phase II submission deadline (March; $690,000) per Fiscal Year.
Click for NIST Website and NOAA Website.
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- The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has posted pre-solicitation notices for Phase IA, Phase IB, and Direct to Phase II SBIRs on SAM.gov, with an expected opening date of April 30, 2026.
- Proposal submission dates are forecasted to be in late June 2026.
- Award amounts will be $250,000 for Phase I and $1,000,000 for Phase II.
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- DoT has indicated that there will be no official statement on when the next solicitation will be released until reauthorization.
- DoT typically has one Phase I submission deadline per Fiscal Year (March-May; $200,000). Phase II solicitations are shared with Phase I awardees within 30 days of completion of the Phase I project ($1,500,000).
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- EPA has indicated that its solicitation timeline will be discussed by top management following reauthorization.
- EPA typically has one Phase I submission deadline per Fiscal year (July-August; $100,000). Phase I awardees can submit a proposal for a Phase II award of $400,000.
Latest Program Updates and What You Can Do to Prepare
Following months of bipartisan efforts to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, was signed into law on April 13, 2026.
How is the SBIR/STTR landscape changing?
The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorizes the SBIR/STTR programs through September 30, 2031, and introduces several significant changes to program administration.
Below, we summarize the key proposed revisions and how they will impact small business applicants:
Ordinarily, agencies must spend all allocated funds within a given fiscal year or risk losing them. This provision adds flexibility for FY26, as agencies were unable to release new awards for over seven months. In practice, we anticipate that additional funding will be rolled over to FY27 to support the anticipated surge in applications following reauthorization.
These awards are designed to accelerate high-impact, late-stage SBIR/STTR technologies toward commercialization. Awards may provide up to $30M over 48 months and will require 100% matching funds from the small business, which may come from federal or private sources. Only agencies with SBIR/STTR budgets exceeding $100M—including the Department of War, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration—may set aside funding for this mechanism.
Each agency will set limits on the number of proposals a small business can submit, which may apply per fiscal year, solicitation, or topic. While all agencies must implement caps, the bill does not define specific limits, so these are expected to vary widely. Proposal caps will take effect on October 1, 2026.
Members of the Federal Acquisition Workforce (i.e., contracting officers) will be required to complete additional training on SBIR/STTR program goals, Phase III agreements, data rights, and sole-source contracting. This is particularly relevant for Department of War contracts, where the government may become a direct customer through Phase III sole-source awards.
This provision of the bill provides more transparency about the due diligence to be performed related to security risks. Agencies will be required to look at cybersecurity practices, foreign ownership, patents and/or licensing agreements, and other foreign business relationships, especially with foreign countries of concern, before making an award. The bill also specifies several associations that would be considered a security risk, including entities on eight federal watchlists:
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- Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act [UFLPA] Entity List
- Non-Specially Designated Nationals [SDN] Chinese Military Industrial Complex Companies List
- Section 889 Prohibition List, Chinese Military Companies List
- Military End Users List
- Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security
- List of Equipment and Services maintained by the Federal Communications Commission, Withold Release Order and Findings List.
Additionally, companies who are denied an application on the basis of a security risk determination will be provided with the basis for the determination. This is great news for SBIR/STTR applicants, as 2025 saw a sharp increase in the number of applications denied due to failed foreign risk assessment, particularly by the NIH, without clarity around how this determination was made. Finally, the bill specifies that if a small business is denied an award due to a failed foreign risk assessment, this does not prevent them from re-applying for SBIR/STTR awards in the future.
TABA funding—typically used to support business activities that enhance commercialization—will now include services such as cybersecurity support and participation in Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) programs. Additionally, funds may now be used not only for external vendors but also to hire or train internal staff in areas such as market research, IP strategy, regulatory planning, and manufacturing.
The bill also introduces several administrative changes behind the scenes:
Enhanced tracking and reporting will provide better visibility into program performance and commercialization outcomes. This includes more detailed award data, such as distinctions between Direct-to-Phase II and sequential Phase II awards, and whether non-SBIR/STTR contracts leverage SBIR/STTR-funded technologies. Overall, this will improve the ability to track project progression and commercialization success.
A more standardized contract framework will promote consistency across agencies, reduce administrative burden, and improve predictability for awardees. Agencies will also be encouraged to clarify requirements for Phase III eligibility, reinforcing a broader push to support commercialization beyond Phase II.
What can you do NOW to prepare for reauthorization?
To submit and receive SBIR/STTR grants, several registrations are required, varying by agency — including eRA Commons (NIH), Research.gov (NSF), and DSIP (DoW). All federal grants also require an active SAM.gov registration, which can take up to 6-8 weeks to activate and must be renewed annually.
Action: Confirm that all required registrations your organization are up-to-date.
Securing American innovation within the U.S. has become a growing emphasis of the SBIR/STTR program, with each agency required to perform due diligence to confirm that applicants do not have significant ties to a foreign country of concern. In practice, this means that any relationship your small business has with any foreign entity must be disclosed at the time of application or during pre-award negotiations, depending on the agency. This requirement extends to employees, consultants, business advisors, and investors, and failure to disclose these relationships could result in denial of an award.
Action: Review current foreign affiliations across your company and key personnel and adjust as needed. This may include identifying new academic partners, consultants, contract research organizations, or vendors with operations based in the U.S.
Even for early-stage Phase I projects, agencies and reviewers increasingly expect a well-developed commercialization strategy.
Action: Seek business development support through advisors, incubators, accelerator programs, or state-based resources. A portion of these costs may be eligible for coverage through Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) funding requested as part of your SBIR/STTR award.
Reviewers will look for a well-rounded team to execute the proposed scope of work. You may need to recruit expert consultants in areas where your team lacks experience or collaborate with an academic laboratory. This could provide the added benefit of access to key instruments or core facilities to complete the proposed work.
Action: Conduct a team gap analysis to identify missing expertise or resources. If planning an academic subaward, contact the institution’s pre-award office now to confirm required lead times for proposal preparation.
Although preliminary data is not strictly required for Phase I SBIR/STTR applications, it will often be necessary to stand out in the flood of applications following the SBIR/STTR program lapse. This is a great time to run some preliminary studies, potentially with collaborators you will be including in your SBIR/STTR project.
Action: Plan and execute a targeted feasibility study and prepare a summary for inclusion in your proposal.
Many SBIR/STTR solicitations allow applicants to include Letters of Support from individuals who can speak to the technical and commercial merit of the technology. These could be letters from potential investors, future end-users, or key opinion leaders in the field.
Action: Identify potential letter writers from within your network to secure their support for your project. They may even offer to provide critical feedback, which can be very valuable.