National Institute of Health (NIH) Overview and SBIR/STTR Information
The NIH is a U.S. biomedical research agency that is part of the Department of Health and Human Services that supports research to improve health and save lives. It is composed of 24 different institutes and centers; around half support SBIR/STTR funding. Each agency administers things a little differently.
NIH Mission: “To seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.”
NIH SBIR/STTR Program Resource: SBIR/STTR
National Science Foundation (NSF) Overview and SBIR/STTR Information:
The NSF funds research in all fundamental science and engineering fields (except medical science clinical trials for new therapeutics), ranging from traditional academic areas to novel, cutting-edge ideas. If your research could lead to a small business product with a technical advantage that could meet an unmet commercial need, and your company is structured for commercialization of that product, look into obtaining seed funding through the NSF.
NSF Mission: “To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…”
NSF SBIR/STTR Program: See a list of topics and technologies that this seed fund has supported, however, with NSF SBIR/STTR, you determine the topic you wish to research rather than respond to a list of topics. To learn about seed funding through the National Science Foundation, see America’s Seed Fund. They “focus on high-risk, high-impact technologies — those that show promise but whose success has not yet been validated.”
NSF SBIR/STTR Resources (America’s Seed Fund Resources) – The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) collection of resources on SBIR/STTR
Other Agencies That Fund SBIR/STTRs
Other agencies and centers also fund SBIR or STTR, such as USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency. See the full list of participating agencies at SBIR.gov.
