What you get
- DoD SBIR is topic-driven; fit to a specific published topic matters more than the quality of the idea.
- The pre-release window is the only time you can speak with the topic author, and it is decisive.
- Transition, not commercialization in the civilian sense, is what DoD evaluators are assessing.
- Flat fee quoted up front, never a percentage of the award.
DoD SBIR consulting supports Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research and STTR proposals. The programme differs enough from NIH and NSF SBIR that experience elsewhere transfers only partially, and the differences are where most first-time applicants lose.
DoD SBIR is topic-driven
This is the structural difference that changes everything.
NIH and NSF SBIR are largely investigator-initiated: you propose a problem you think is worth solving. DoD components publish specific topics describing problems they want solved, and your proposal is evaluated on fit to that topic.
The practical consequence: a technically excellent proposal against a topic you do not genuinely fit will lose to a merely good proposal that fits precisely. Topic selection is not preliminary to the work; it is most of the work.
Much of an early engagement is therefore spent reading topics honestly and identifying which ones your technology actually addresses, including telling you when the answer is none of them this cycle.
The pre-release window
Before a solicitation formally opens, there is a period during which you can contact the topic author directly. Once the solicitation opens, that channel closes and questions move to a written, published forum.
This window is the most valuable part of the cycle and the most consistently wasted.
Used well, a conversation with the topic author tells you what problem they are actually trying to solve, which is frequently narrower or differently framed than the published text implies. It tells you what has already been tried and failed. It tells you whether your approach is of interest before you spend six weeks writing.
Used badly (or skipped) you write against your own interpretation of a paragraph, which is how well-engineered proposals miss the point entirely.
We help prepare for that conversation: what to ask, what not to ask, and how to interpret answers that are necessarily guarded.
Transition, not commercialization
DoD evaluates whether the technology reaches a military end user. That is a different question from general market commercialization, and answering it with a civilian go-to-market plan signals unfamiliarity with the programme.
A credible transition story addresses:
- Who the end user is: the specific programme office, platform, or capability area.
- The acquisition path: how the technology moves from Phase II into a programme of record, or into a Phase III contract.
- Who else has to be convinced: primes, integrators, the sustainment community.
- What the technology readiness trajectory looks like across phases.
- Where the transition risk sits, stated honestly rather than assumed away.
Our guide to the SBIR commercialization plan covers the general form; DoD requires this specifically military framing on top of it.
What we cover
Topic fit assessment. An honest read of the published topics against your technology, before you commit to a cycle.
Pre-release preparation. What to ask the topic author, and how to use what you learn.
Technical volume. Structured against the evaluation criteria, with the feasibility question answered explicitly. Phase I exists to resolve a specific technical risk, and proposals that describe development work rather than a feasibility question consistently score poorly. See SBIR Phase I vs Phase II for what each stage is expected to prove.
Cost volume. Compliant and defensible, with correct treatment of level of effort, consultant and subcontract limits, and indirect rates.
Transition plan. As above.
Compliance review. Page limits, formatting, required content, eligibility, and registrations. DoD SBIR submissions have a substantial compliance surface and non-compliant proposals are rejected without evaluation.
Registrations to have in place first
These are prerequisites, and each takes longer than expected:
- SAM.gov registration with an active Unique Entity Identifier: see Grants.gov registration and the SAM UEI
- SBIR Company Registry identification number
- DSIP account for submission
- Eligibility confirmation: US ownership and control, and size requirements
An application blocked by a pending registration is the most avoidable way to miss a cycle, and registrations are the first thing we check.
What a consultant cannot do
SBIR requires the work to be performed by the small business, and eligibility rules cap how much can be subcontracted. A consultant who offers to write the technical substance is describing something that would put your eligibility at risk.
The technical content comes from your team. What we contribute is topic fit, structure against the evaluation criteria, the transition argument, compliance, and an outside read that finds the objection your team has stopped seeing.
Why flat-fee, never commission
We quote a flat fee before any work starts, and never a percentage of the award. Contingency pricing violates the GPA code of ethics, and proposal preparation is generally unallowable under federal cost principles.
There is a practical reason too. Commission pricing makes it impossible to give the most valuable advice in this programme, which is frequently that no current topic fits and you should wait for the next cycle.
How to get started
Tell us about your technology and the component or topic area you are targeting, and a specialist will return a written, flat-fee quote, usually within one business day. Nothing is due until you approve the scope and price.
For the broader programme, see SBIR and STTR grant writing, how to write an SBIR proposal, and SBIR success rates.
