The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $4 million to support small business innovation through NIST’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. “The NIST SBIR Program is an opportunity for small companies and entrepreneurial start-ups to contribute to the important mission of NIST, advancing measurement science and technologies in ways that enhance economic growth,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter G. Copan in a statement. The grants were given to 21 small businesses to support innovative technology development. For this program, NIST focused on nine technological areas, including cybersecurity and privacy, physical infrastructure and resilience, and data and modeling. Awardees submitted proposals and were selected via a competitive process. NIST explained that awardees will either receive Phase I or Phase II funding. “Phase I awardees receive up to $100,000 to establish the merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the proposed research and development,” NIST said. “After completing their Phase I projects, awardees may vie for Phase II funding of up to $300,000 to continue their efforts. In Phase III, non-SBIR funds are used for technology commercialization.”
