Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Fiscal Year 2019 | USDA NIFA SBIR 006649

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA SBIR 006649

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I Fiscal Year 2019 grant opportunity is a competitive federal funding program designed to help qualified U.S. small businesses explore early-stage research and development ideas that address important agricultural challenges and opportunities. The core purpose is to back high-quality, science-driven projects that can lead to meaningful public benefits in agriculture while also moving promising technologies toward commercialization. In practical terms, Phase I is aimed at feasibility and proof-of-concept work: it helps a small business test whether an innovative approach can work well enough to justify later-stage development and, potentially, a Phase II effort.

A major emphasis of this program is strengthening the role of small businesses in federally supported R&D and stimulating private-sector innovation in agriculture-related fields. The solicitation also highlights an intentional effort to broaden participation by encouraging applications from women-owned and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses. While encouragement is not the same as a separate eligibility category, it signals that NIFA wants a diverse applicant pool and is attentive to participation barriers that can keep smaller or underrepresented firms from competing for federal research dollars.

Eligibility is central to this opportunity and is treated as a hard gate. Every applicant must qualify as a Small Business Concern (SBC) for research and development purposes at the time of selection, and failing to meet any eligibility requirement by the application deadline can lead to exclusion from consideration or prevent an award even if the proposal is reviewed. The small business, together with its affiliates, must have no more than 500 employees. The small business must also be the primary performer of the proposed Phase I research. Specifically, at least two-thirds (2/3) of the research or analytical work in Phase I, measured by budget expenditures, must be performed by the proposing small business itself rather than being subcontracted out.

The opportunity includes additional rules for corporate structure, especially for subsidiaries. If the applicant is a subsidiary, it must demonstrate that its parent company (or parent companies) is also a small business entity. The parent must provide documentation supporting small business status, and that documentation must be included with the application in the designated “Other Attachments” area of the Research and Related (R&R) Other Project Information form, following the instructions in the request for applications. A key disqualifier is also spelled out: if any parent company is a nonprofit organization, the subsidiary is not eligible to apply to this SBIR solicitation.

Requirements for the Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) are also strict and are tied to the program’s intent that the work be led from within the small business. The PD/PI’s primary employment must be with the small business at the time of award and throughout the project period. “Primary employment” is defined as spending more than half (51%) of the individual’s time employed by the small business during the award period. This effectively prevents the PD/PI from simultaneously being a full-time employee of another organization or an academic institution. The solicitation also notes an important nuance: while the PD/PI must meet the 51% employment requirement for the duration of the grant, there is no stated minimum percentage of the PD/PI’s time that must be charged specifically to the proposed research activities. In addition, prior federal employees must provide documentation confirming that any post-termination requirements related to federal service have been completed at the time of submission.

There are also geographic performance expectations for Phase I. The research and development work is generally required to be performed in the United States. The solicitation allows for limited exceptions only under rare and unique circumstances, such as when a critical supply, material, or project requirement is not available domestically. Even then, the exception is not automatic: after award, the Phase I recipient would need to request the exception under the award’s terms and conditions and obtain approval from USDA NIFA.

A notable eligibility screen in this solicitation is the SBIR “benchmark” requirement intended to ensure that frequent Phase I awardees are progressing innovations into Phase II. Any company that has received at least 20 Phase I awards (from any federal agency) during the five-year period covering FY 2014 through FY 2019 must also have received at least five Phase II awards during that same period, which is described as a 25% conversion rate. If a company has received fewer than 20 SBIR awards total, or has never received an SBIR award, this benchmark does not apply.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant under USDA NIFA with the funding opportunity number USDA NIFA SBIR 006649 and CFDA number 10.212, categorized under agriculture and business/commerce activities. The original closing date shown is October 25, 2018, and the posting creation date is July 23, 2018. The materials also point applicants, especially those new to federal financial assistance, to NIFA’s grants overview resources and free “Grants 101” training, underscoring that applicants are expected to follow federal grant compliance and submission rules closely, and that using official guidance is strongly recommended to avoid preventable eligibility or formatting problems.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture, business and commerce sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Fiscal Year 2019" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.212.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-07-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-10-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA SBIR 006649

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