The major difference between the SBIR and STTR is that the STTR requires the small business to partner/collaborate with a U.S. non-profit research institution, while the SBIR allows you partner/collaborate. In both cases (SBIR and STTR) the award goes to the small business i.e. it is the primary contractor or grantee and the non-profit research institution is the sub-contractor.
U.S. non-profit research institution:
Under STTR, the small business needs to do a minimum of 40% of the work under the agreement and the U.S. non-profit research institution need to do a minimum of 30% of the work in Phase I
Under SBIR, the small business needs to do a minimum of two-thirds of the work and can subcontract one-third of the work in a Phase I. The small business will complete a minimum of 50% of the work in Phase II
| SBIR | STTR | |
| Phase I - Feasibility/Proof-of-Concept | Up to $150K for 6 months | Up to 225K for 12 months |
| Phase II - Development | Up to $1M for 24 months | Up to $1M for 24 months |
| Partner - Academic, Non-Profit or Federally Funded R & D Center |
Optional | Required |
| Budget Allocation Phase I | Minimum of 2/3 to the small business |
Min. of 40% to small businesses Min. of 30% to research partner |
| Primary Employment of Principal Investigator (PI) | small business | either small business or research partner |
There are agency differences so be sure to check the solicitation for the specific requirements for proposal development.
