DoW STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer)
Funds partnerships between United States. small businesses and universities on mission-focused national security problems.
The Department of Defense STTR program sits alongside SBIR in the same innovation portal, but it requires a small business to partner with a U.S. research institution. That partnership requirement makes it the more collaboration-heavy route for mission topics issued by DoD components. Awards follow the same BAA and CSO cadence as SBIR, with Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III structure. The program is limited to U.S.-only for-profit small businesses, requires a research-institution partner, and sends proposals through DSIP to the topic owner responsible for the call. The strongest applicants are those that can divide the work cleanly between the company and the research partner while staying close to a published topic. No unsolicited proposals are accepted, so timing and topic fit matter as much as the technical idea. The program suits teams that need university or federally funded research center depth, but it still moves on the same component-specific deadlines and contracting rules as SBIR.
Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.