Student Corner: A Review of SBIR Grant Funding in North Carolina

<p>Begun in 1982, the Small Business and Innovation Research (SBIR) grant program provides funding to small businesses throughout the country. The purpose of the program is to leverage the innovation capacity of small businesses and encourage the commercialization of private sector research and development. In North Carolina, small businesses across the state have successfully utilized available funding, receiving nearly $850 million over the life of the program.</p> <p>Rather than through a consolidated office, SBIR funds are awarded through individual federal agencies. As established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, any agency with external research and development obligations of more than $100,000 must allocate a portion of available funding to the SBIR program. According to the Government Accountability Office, eleven agencies participated in the program in fiscal year 2017, and each was required to allocate at least 3.2 percent of available funding to SBIR. In that year alone, these agencies made 4,800 awards totaling nearly $2.3 billion.</p> <p>Current participating agencies include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA); and the National Science Foundation.</p> <p>In order to qualify for SBIR funding, applicant businesses must be private, for-profit entities with physical locations in the United States. Additionally, its legal and ownership structure must meet certain eligibility requirements, and it must employee less than 500 individuals. Typically, these businesses are small startups focusing on the commercialization of new patents and technology.</p> <p>Each year, the federal Small Business Association (SBA) provides an [...]</p>