Effective January 28, 2013, the Small Business Administration ("SBA") significantly expanded the eligibility rules for Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") and Small Business Technology Transfer ("STTR") grants. Under new SBA regulations, firms that are majority-owned by Venture Capital Operating Companies ("VCOCs"), private equity firms, or hedge funds will be eligible to receive SBIR and STTR funding, provided they meet certain qualifying criteria. While there are many similarities between the SBIR and STTR programs and regulations, this note focuses on the SBIR program.
Background
The SBIR program provides federal funding to domestic small businesses engaged in Federal Research/Research and Development with the potential for commercialization. Each year, Federal agencies with extramural research and development budgets in excess of $100 million are required to allocate 2.5 percent of their R&D budget to these programs. Eleven Federal agencies currently participate in the program.1
To read the original article: Cooley LLP | News & Insight | Alerts | New SBA Regulations Expand Eligibility for SBIR/STTR Funding
