SBIRSmall Business Innovation Research
Federal program that funds R&D at small businesses with commercialization potential. Awards are not procurement contracts and shouldn't be described as such.
This glossary deciphers federal acronyms used by the U.S. government in its funding language. It is critical to understand the funding terms.
Federal program that funds R&D at small businesses with commercialization potential. Awards are not procurement contracts and shouldn't be described as such.
SBIR's sister program; requires a formal partnership with a research institution such as a university or federal lab.
A small, short SBIR/STTR award to establish technical merit and feasibility.
A larger follow-on award that advances Phase I results toward a working prototype.
Work that derives from, extends, or completes an SBIR/STTR effort, funded from any source other than SBIR/STTR dollars — agency program funds, another agency, or a prime contractor buying it into a larger program. No dollar ceiling and no time limit. The part most firms miss: a Phase III can be awarded sole-source, without further competition, and agencies are directed to make that award to the firm that developed the technology to the greatest extent practicable. SBIR data rights carry forward, which is what makes the position defensible. No follow-on is ever guaranteed — but the authority to award one without recompeting is real, and it is the commercial point of the whole program.
A solicitation for basic and applied research in which the agency states a research interest rather than a specific requirement, and proposals are judged on scientific merit by peer review instead of on price against a spec. Two practical differences from a NOFO: a BAA usually results in a procurement contract rather than a grant, and it typically stays open for a year or more with rolling or multiple submission dates instead of a single hard deadline. Many agencies screen a short white paper first and invite full proposals from there. The DoD SBIR/STTR solicitation is itself issued as a BAA.
A published federal funding opportunity, typically for grants or cooperative agreements. Largely superseded by NOFO, though many agencies still use FOA in announcement numbers — DE-FOA-0003634, for example, is a NOFO.
The current federal term for a published grant or cooperative-agreement opportunity, replacing FOA. It sets the topic areas, eligibility, cost share, and deadlines. Read it in full before writing anything — the responsiveness rules that disqualify an application live in the NOFO, not in the topic description.
The subdivision of a NOFO. A single announcement is split into topic areas, each with its own block of funding, its own per-award ceiling, its own expected number of awards, and sometimes its own cost share. Eligibility is judged topic by topic — clearing the bar for one says nothing about the one beside it, and applying under the wrong one is a responsiveness failure, not a scoring loss.
The non-federal portion of total project cost the applicant must contribute — commonly 20% on DOE R&D NOFOs, and calculated against total project cost, not the federal award. SBIR and STTR generally require none. Cash or allowable in-kind, never from another federal source. Most announcements require a signed commitment letter at submission; an application without one can be rejected before review.
A nine-point scale measuring how far a technology has progressed from an observed basic principle to a system operating under full mission conditions. Announcements state an entry and an exit TRL, and that band is a control gate, not a scoring factor — a technology outside it is non-responsive and is not reviewed at all. The point most applicants miss: TRL is indexed to the environment you intend to operate in, not to the technology in the abstract, so the same product can read at two very different numbers depending on the target. TRL 5 requires validation in a relevant environment, and the solicitation defines relevant — you don't. Entering too high carries its own risk: a technology already at the exit TRL invites the question of why federal research money is needed at all. TRL 1 through 7, defined →
The organization that signs the award and carries legal and financial responsibility for it. Reviewers weigh the prime's corporate experience managing projects of similar nature and complexity — the organization's record, not an individual's résumé — so a company that has never run a project at the scale it is requesting can be screened out on management capability alone.
The partner performing part of the scope under the prime's award, funded through a subaward rather than directly by the agency. For a small company whose technology fits a topic but whose project history won't carry the prime role, a subrecipient seat under a university, research institute, or larger firm is often the realistic path to the same work.
The DOE submission portal for NOFOs, separate from Grants.gov and from PAMS. Registration is its own step and is not covered by SAM.gov, so an applicant with an active SAM registration can still be locked out on deadline day. DOE advises submitting at least 48 hours early and will not extend for portal congestion.
A notice asking industry for input, usually before a NOFO exists. No award follows and responding is voluntary — but an RFI tells you what an office is considering funding months ahead of the announcement, and a substantive response puts your capability in front of the program staff who later write the topic.
A short pre-application some agencies (notably DOE) require ahead of a full application. It is screened and returns an encourage or discourage response. Discouraged applicants may usually still apply — but a missed concept paper deadline disqualifies you from the cycle entirely.
A short pre-proposal notice some agencies (notably DOE) require, with a deadline weeks ahead of the full application. Where it is mandatory, missing it disqualifies you from that cycle entirely — no LOI, no application, regardless of how good the proposal would have been.
An optional list an agency publishes alongside a NOFO so organizations can post their interest and find project partners. Completing it is voluntary and carries no weight in review — but it is often the fastest way for a small business to reach the universities, labs, and primes competing for the same announcement.
The federal military department and the largest SBIR/STTR funder.
A secondary title the DoD has used since a September 2025 executive order (its site is now war.gov). “Department of Defense” remains the legal name pending congressional action — the two refer to the same department.
Cabinet department funding energy, science, and national-security R&D.
The federal health department; parent of NIH.
The medical-research agency within HHS and a major SBIR funder.
The civil space agency; runs its own SBIR/STTR program.
Funds basic research and education; runs a fast-clock SBIR program.
Cabinet department for domestic security and resilience.
Cabinet department for transportation systems and safety.
Cabinet department for trade, economic data, and standards; parent of NIST.
Cabinet department for agriculture, food, and rural development.
Federal agency for environmental protection and regulation.
A military service branch within the DoD.
A military service branch within the DoD.
Sets SBIR/STTR policy governmentwide and maintains the Company Registry.
Where patents and trademarks are filed and examined.
Standards agency within Commerce; author of the SP 800-series security requirements.
The master federal registry; your entity must be active here to receive any award.
The 12-character ID issued in SAM.gov; replaced the older DUNS number.
The IRS-issued federal tax ID for your company.
The legal term for a qualifying small business; your SBA Company Registry entry yields an “SBC Control ID.”
The DoD's proposal submission portal.
The DOE Office of Science submission portal.
The governmentwide portal for finding and applying to federal grant opportunities.
The shared federal log-in used to reach many agency portals.
The DoD system where you post your NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment score.
The DoD framework verifying safeguards for FCI and CUI. “Certification” is specific — Level 1 is a self-assessment, not a third-party certification. Under review as of July 2026: third-party assessment is suspended and only self-assessments may currently be designated.
Non-public information provided or generated under a federal contract; its presence triggers CMMC Level 1.
Sensitive unclassified information requiring safeguarding; triggers CMMC Level 2 or above.
The core rulebook for federal procurement. SBIR awards and OTAs are not FAR contracts and shouldn't be described in FAR terms.
DoD's additions to the FAR; clause 252.204-7012 drives CUI safeguarding.
An award instrument that is not a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, and to which the FAR does not apply. DoD uses OTs for research, for prototypes, and — after a successful prototype — for follow-on production without recompeting. The appeal is speed and negotiable terms, including intellectual property. The caution is that the familiar FAR protections and standard data-rights clauses are absent, so the agreement text itself governs. Under the FY2026 NDAA and current Department direction, OTs are a default award approach rather than an exception.
A competitive open call that lets DoD buy commercial solutions without a traditional RFP, usually with a short solution brief before any full proposal. Two 2026 changes matter: Section 1823 of the FY2026 NDAA removed the requirement that the item be “innovative,” so a CSO can now be used for any commercial product, commercial service, or nondevelopmental item — and an award can now carry straight into follow-on production, including sole source. Paired with the Department's commercial-first direction, a CSO is one of the most likely doors into DoD for a company with something already built. Note the difference from everything above: this is procurement. The government is buying something, not funding your project.
The NIST Special Publication defining the 110 controls that protect CUI — the basis for CMMC Level 2.
The NIST Special Publication adding 24 enhanced controls for advanced threats — the basis for CMMC Level 3.
NIST's document series (e.g., SP 800-171) that defines federal security requirements.
The document describing how your organization meets each required security control.
The remediation plan listing unmet controls and the schedule to close them.
Your documented procedure to detect, respond to, and recover from a security incident.
A sophisticated, well-resourced adversary that maintains long-term access; defending against APTs is the focus of the highest CMMC level.
An accredited firm authorized to perform CMMC Level 2 certification assessments. Those assessments are available but cannot be imposed as a condition of award during the 2026 program suspension.
The government body that conducts the highest-level (Level 3) assessments. It also performs the government-led assessments that continue during the 2026 suspension of third-party certification.
The body created July 13, 2026 to conduct a top-to-bottom review of CMMC, reporting to the DoD CIO in mid-September 2026. Its recommendations will determine whether, and in what form, third-party assessment returns.
The Defense Logistics Agency's online board where DoD supply solicitations and requests for quote are posted and bid. A primary entry point for small businesses selling parts, components, and materiel to the department.
Regional offices, most hosted at universities, that give small businesses free hands-on help pursuing federal, state, and local contracts. Run by the DoD Office of Small Business Programs in coordination with the SBA network. APEX Accelerators replaced the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) program in 2023 — the PTAC name is no longer in use.
The person leading an award's technical work; SBIR rules limit where the PI can be primarily employed.
An AI system that plans and executes a multi-step task against a goal — calling tools, reading and writing files, checking its own output — rather than answering one prompt at a time. It matters to federal work in two directions. As a subject, an agency wants to know which decisions the system makes without a human in the loop, and how those decisions are validated and governed. As a method, it is how a small team assembles a full application package in weeks — and also how an unsupervised one produces a compliant-looking document with fabricated citations. Reviewers score whether the work is right, not which tools produced it.