STTR

STTR is the sister program to SBIR, with one critical difference: STTR requires a formal collaboration between the small business and a nonprofit research institution (typically a university or federally funded research center). The research institution must perform at least 30% of the work in Phase I and 40% in Phase II.

Five federal agencies participate in STTR: the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). These agencies allocate 0.45% of their extramural R&D budgets to STTR.

STTR is ideal for startups whose core technology emerged from academic research or who need ongoing access to university labs, specialized equipment, or faculty expertise. The mandatory research partnership can also strengthen proposals by adding established credibility.

Like SBIR, STTR funding is non-dilutive and follows the same Phase I/II/III structure. Companies can and often do apply to both SBIR and STTR simultaneously across different agencies.