Department of Defense — DoD SBIR Grant Series — Part 1

Is Your Organization Eligible for a DoD SBIR Grant?

To be eligible for the DoD SBIR Grant Program your organization must be a Small Business Concern (SBC) and the Principal Investigator (PI), effectively the project manager and/or lead researcher, must be fully employed by your organization and cannot have full-time employment elsewhere.  These requirements are generally straightforward; however, it can get a bit confusing in the world of startups with lots of creative financing and employment.  In general, an SBC must satisfy the following conditions on the date of award (source: www.sbir.gov):

1. Is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor;
2. Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that if the concern is a joint venture, each entity to the venture must meet the requirements set forth in paragraph (c) below;
3. Is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), other small business concerns (each of which is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), or any combination of these; and
4. Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees.

When you are ready to upload and submit your DoD SBIR grant proposal to the sbir.defensebusiness.org submission portal you will be asked several questions and certify under threat of committing fraud that your answers are accurate and true.  To ensure accuracy we will proceed through the certification questions to make certain that your organization is eligible before spending time on the proposal.

DoD SBIR grant / STTR Program Certification Questions

Are you a small business as described in section 3.15 of the solicitation, with no more than 500 employees including affiliates? 

You should be able to answer Yes

Does your business concern meet the ownership and control requirements in 13 CFR 121.702?

You should be able to answer Yes

Is 50% or more of your firm owned or managed by a corporate entity?

You should be able to answer No

At a minimum, will two-thirds of the research and/or analytical work in Phase I be carried out by your small business as described in section 4.2 of the solicitation?

You should be able to answer Yes

Is primary employment of the principal investigator with your firm as described in section 4.2 of the solicitation?

You should be able to answer Yes

Has your firm been convicted of a fraud-related crime involving SBIR and/or STTR funds or found civilly liable for a fraud-related violation involving Federal funds?

You should be able to answer No

Has your firm’s Principal Investigator (PI) or Corporate Official (CO), or owner been convicted of a fraud-related crime involving SBIR and/or STTR funds or found civilly liable for a fraud-related violation involving Federal funds?         

You should be able to answer No

Has your firm met the performance benchmarks in section 3.1 of the solicitation and listed by the SBA on their website as eligible to participate?            

You should be able to answer Yes

Is your firm registered in the SBA’s venture capital database as majority-owned by venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms?               

You should be able to answer No

Is your firm more than 50% owned by a single Venture Capital Owned Company (VCOC), hedge fund, or private equity firm? 

You should be able to answer No

Is your firm more than 50% owned by multiple business concerns that are VCOCs, hedge funds, or private equity firms? 

You should be able to answer No

If you are not sure about any of these requirements regarding DoD SBIR grants, or looking for more clarity, for detailed information on the requirement visit 13 C.F.R. § 121.702 or utilize the SBA’s “Guide to SBIR/STTR Program Eligibility.” https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/elig_size_compliance_guide.pdf

Learn more about DoD SBIR Grant Writer Mr. Bard

Did you like this post? Keep reading the next post in this DoD SBIR Grant Series: Registration requirements to participate in the DoD SBIR Grant Program !