What you get
- An agency-fit assessment: which SBIR or STTR program suits your technology, stage and timeline.
- The full Phase I or Phase II narrative in the format that agency requires.
- A commercialization plan written as a business case a reviewer can score.
- For STTR, the work split, partner letters and the allocation of rights terms with your research institution.
- A submission check against the solicitation, with registrations confirmed early.
An SBIR grant writer turns a small company's technology into a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer proposal that a federal agency will fund. We write the whole proposal for you from your technical input, and the first decision we help you make is which agency to apply to, because the eleven participating agencies solicit, review and pay so differently that a proposal built for one would fail at another.
Picking the agency comes first
| Agency | How topics work | Award type | Submission and review |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIH | Mostly your own idea, within an institute's mission | Grant | Grants.gov and eRA Commons; scored by a study section |
| NSF | Your own idea within broad topic areas, after an approved Project Pitch | Grant | Research.gov; panel review on merit and commercial impact |
| DoD | Published topics from each component | Usually contract | DSIP; scored on topic fit, approach and transition |
| DOE | Published topics with technical points of contact | Grant | A required letter of intent before the full application; peer review |
| USDA | Topic areas tied to agriculture and rural needs | Grant | Grants.gov; peer review |
NASA, the Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency also run SBIR programs. Several companies are eligible at more than one agency, and the right choice often turns on timing as much as fit: which agency has a solicitation open in time for your data. This agency-fit call is much of what companies hire an SBIR consultant for, and it is part of every engagement here, before any writing starts.
For the agency-specific work, see our pages on NIH grant writing, NSF grant writing and DoD SBIR consulting. This page covers what is common to all of them.
Where the program stands now
SBIR and STTR authority lapsed on September 30, 2025, and agencies could not issue new solicitations or make awards during the gap. The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, signed April 13, 2026, reauthorized both programs through September 30, 2031. It also:
- requires agencies to screen applicants for foreign security risk and to reject proposals that present one or are tied to listed foreign entities;
- requires each agency to cap how many Phase I and Phase II proposals one company may submit, starting in fiscal year 2027, so choosing where to apply matters more than before;
- creates a strategic breakthrough award of up to $30 million for companies with a prior Phase II, with a required one-to-one match.
Agencies have reopened at different speeds. We confirm the live solicitation and its instructions before any drafting starts.
What we write
Phase I. A tightly bounded feasibility project: the technical question, why answering it matters, the approach, milestones, the team, and the budget. At NIH that starts with a Specific Aims page; at DoD with the technical volume for a topic; at NSF with the Project Pitch and then the full proposal. Our guide to writing a competitive SBIR proposal explains each agency's structure.
Phase II. A larger development plan that builds on Phase I results, with a much heavier commercialization case. Our comparison of Phase I and Phase II shows how the second proposal should read as the natural next step from the first.
Commercialization plan. The customer, the market, the competition, the regulatory path where one applies, the revenue model, and the funding you will need after SBIR. Reviewers score it; it is not paperwork to add at the end.
Budget and justification. Within each agency's award guidelines, with the work-share rules respected: for SBIR, your company must perform at least two-thirds of the research effort in Phase I and at least half in Phase II.
STTR adds a partner, and partner terms
STTR requires a formal collaboration with a research institution, usually a university or a federally funded research center. Your company must perform at least 40 percent of the work and the institution at least 30 percent, and the two parties need an agreement allocating intellectual property rights before award. We draft the work split so it is credible on both sides, write the partner letters, and flag the allocation of rights terms early, because university contract offices move on their own schedule.
What you provide, and how long it takes
You provide the technical content: what the technology does, data or prototype results, the team, and your view of the market. We work as your SBIR grant writing consultants and writers in one: we draft every section, raise the questions reviewers will raise, and revise with you. Expect working sessions with your technical lead and one or two review rounds.
A Phase I usually needs six to eight weeks from start to submission, more if an STTR partner is involved or registrations are not in place. SAM.gov, SBIR.gov and the agency's own system (eRA Commons, Research.gov or DSIP) can each take weeks, and an NSF Project Pitch needs approval before you can submit a full proposal. The six to eight weeks begin when the engagement is paid and underway.
We do not promise awards. Funding rates vary by agency, topic and year; our analysis of the SBIR success rate puts the published numbers in context. For founders still deciding whether research funding fits at all, our small business grant writing page covers the other options.
