SBIR Phase III Acquisition Vehicle

BACKGROUND

 Established by Congress in 1982, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program increases small business participation in federally funded research and development. It follows a uniform three-phase process to solicit proposals and award funding agreements for Research/Research and Development (R/R&D), production, services, or any combination of these to meet stated agency needs or missions. 

 SBIR Phase III Contracts: Flexible, Fast, & Efficient 

SBIR Phase III awards allow government to bypass a very costly, time-consuming part of the acquisition process— solicitation/competition—and thus award work more quickly and efficiently. SBIR awards allow the government to leverage commercial talent and market driven innovation through SBIR data rights, thus providing the government with technology and resources at the speed of relevance. 

Awarding a Phase III helps Federal agencies meet mission requirements with less front-end administrative burden. Phase III contracts are sole-source like direct awards, and don’t have to be competed or published in a solicitation or synopsis in the GPE (government-wide point of entry).