ED/IES SBIR Phase I

ED/IES SBIR Phase I sits under the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences and funds early ed-tech work by small for-profit businesses. It provides $250,000 over nine months to develop and evaluate education technology prototypes, with the program split into Phase IA and Phase IB tracks. Applications move as procurement contracts through SAM.gov, not as ordinary grants. The program is annual and highly competitive: roughly 175 to 275 Phase I proposals arrive each year, and about 10 to 15 are funded. In the current cycle, the FY2026 solicitations were released on April 30, 2026 with a June 29 deadline. The best fit is a company with a credible prototype and a tight commercial or school-use case. This track is aimed at early testing rather than broad deployment, so proposals should read as product development with a clear technical and educational problem, not as a general research concept. Teams that clear this stage can move into Phase II with a stronger commercialization case.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.