Why has DOD announced it will not release SBIR/STTR 22.3/22.C and what does that mean for the DOD SBIR/STTR program?
The DOD SBIR 22.2 and STTR 22.B BAAs stated that:
“Congressional authorization of the SBIR and STTR programs is set to expire on September 30, 2022. If the programs are not reauthorized by September 30, 2022, the DoD cannot continue to publish SBIR or STTR Broad Agency Announcements
(BAAs)/Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs) and cannot continue funding new or ongoing SBIR/STTR projects after that date, including projects resulting from this BAA.”
The 22.2/22.B close date was June, 16th 2022. However, there are still open SBIR/STTR topics on www.dodsbirsttr.mil. This is due to the 22.4/22.D BAAs that were released in October of 2021.
This solicitation allows DOD components to release SBIR/STTR topics on an as-needed basis. Prior to the 22.4/22.D solicitation, DARPA and the Space Defense Agency were the only components to release out-of-cycle topics. Due to the 22.4/22.D BAAs, components such as AFWERX, Army, and DARPA now have active topics in the 22.4/22.D solicitation.
How will these topics be funded if the program is not reauthorized? Without the reauthorization it is up to the agency to continue to invest in small business innovation from their extramural R&D budgets.
The best way to ensure you are up to date on the DOD topics is to subscribe to the DOD Listserv. They will send you an email whenever a new Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) or Commercial Solution Opening is released in the DOD SBIR/STTR program.
We encourage our Small Business entrepreneurs to reach out to their congressional representatives. Let them know the importance of the SBIR/STTR program to your small business.
