Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of Defense Department of Education Department of Energy Department of Health and Human Services Department of Transportation Environmental Protection Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Small Business Administration

Although the numerical definition of what constitutes a small business, which can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/regulations/siccodes/ varies from industry to industry,it is almost always stated in either the number of employees or the average annual receipts.

To become certified, a small business must meet the eligibility requirements: It must be owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and Subcontinent Asian Americans are presumed to qualify. Other individuals can qualify if they show by a "preponderance of the evidence" that they are disadvantaged. Individuals must have a net worth of less than $750,000, excluding the value of the business and personnel residence. Successful applicants must also meet applicable size standards for small businesses in their industry and display good character. To Apply: Download the application at:(http://www.sba.gov/sdb/section06h.htm) Contact your SBA district office Call the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Certification and Eligibility at or 1-.

Under the government's reformed affirmative action rules, small disadvantaged business are eligible for price evaluation adjustments (PEA) of up to 10 percent when bidding on federal contracts in certain industries. The program also provides evaluation credits for prime contractors who achieve SDB subcontracting targets. The PEA and the evaluation credits are authorized in the SIC code industry categories determined by U.S. Department of Commerce benchmarks.

Even if you are not a member of one of the groups presumed to be socially disadvantaged, you may still be considered socially disadvantaged. In such a case, you will need to present evidence in the form of a narrative and supporting documentation to the SBA that you are in fact socially disadvantaged. The SBA will consider you to be socially disadvantaged if the preponderance of the evidencein your case indicates that you have been subjected to prejudicial treatment. More information about this subject can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/sdb/nondesig.html.

To learn about contracting opportunities available to 8(a) firms, contact your Business Opportunity Specialist or Procurement Center Representative located nearest you: Business Opportunity Specialists (BOS), which can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/regions/states.html are located in SBA District Offices, and provide business development assistance to active 8(a) participants. Procurement Center Representatives (PCR's), which can be found online at: http://www.sba.gov/GC/pcr.html, are located in area offices, and they review and evaluate the small business programs of federal agencies and assist small businesses in obtaining federal contracts and subcontracts.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Mentor-Protégé program enhances the capability of 8(a) participants to compete more successfully for federal government contracts. The program encourages private-sector relationships and expands SBA's efforts to identify and respond to the developmental needs of 8(a) clients. Mentors provide technical and management assistance, financial assistance in the form of equity investments and/or loans, subcontract support, and assistance in performing prime contracts through joint venture arrangements with 8(a) firms.

We've developed some special mapping software available online at: http://map1.sba.gov/hubzone/ to help you determine if an address or area is in a HUBZone. You can search by address, state, county, or town. Requirements: To qualify for the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program, a small business must meet the following criteria: Its principal office must be located within a "Historically Underutilized Business Zone," which includes lands on federally recognized Indian reservations; It must be owned and controlled by one or more U.S. Citizens; and At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone. Existing businesses that choose to move to qualified areas are eligible. To fulfill the requirement that 35% of a HUBZone firm's employees reside in the HUBZone, employees must live in a primary residence within that area for at least 180 days or be a currently registered voter in that area.

SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs. SBIR Qualifications: Small businesses must meet certain eligibility criteria to participate in the SBIR program: American-owned and independently operated For-profit Principal researcher employed by business Company size limited to 500 employees

The Small Business Act requires that agency contracts be directed solely to small business manufacturers under set-aside provisions. This requirement is commonly referred to as the Nonmanufacturer Rule. The Small Business Act also contains provisions that allow the SBA waive this requirement when there are no small business manufacturers or processors available to supply the product to the federal government.

A GAO report released in June 1999 stated that the total funding level aggregated from all participating federal agencies is over $1 Billion annually.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and research and development needs of the Federal Government.

Phase I is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. Awards are for periods of up to six months in amounts up to $100,000. Phase II is to expand on the results of and further pursue the development of Phase I. Awards are for periods of up to two years in amounts up to $750,000. Phase III is for the commercialization of the results of Phase II and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR Federal funding.

Yes.

A small business concern for purposes of award of any funding agreement under the SBIR Program is one which, including its affiliates, has a number of employees not exceeding 500.

A small business can obtain funding under SBIR by being the recipient of a competitively awarded SBIR funding agreement.

An SBIR funding agreement is a contract or grant entered into between an SBIR participating Federal agency and a small business concern for the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work funded by the Federal Government.

No. The SBA has authority and responsibility for monitoring and coordinating the Government-wide activities of the SBIR Program and reporting its results to Congress. The Federal agencies participating in SBIR have the responsibility for: (a) selecting SBIR topics (b) releasing SBIR solicitations (c) evaluating SBIR proposals (d) awarding SBIR funding agreements on a competitive basis

The following Federal agencies are eligible to participate: Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce Department of Defense Department of Education Department of Energy Department of Health and Human Services Department of Transportation Environmental Protection Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation

No. The SBIR Program was created for NEW innovations to meet existing Federal R&D needs. The results of a Phase I are a determining factor in deciding whether there will be a Phase II award to continue the effort.

No. The legislation governing the SBIR Program gives unilateral authority and responsibility for these functions to each of the Federal agencies participating in the program.

No. SBA does not fund SBIR projects and such an endeavor would be considered an unsolicited proposal, which is outside the scope of the SBIR Program.

No.

No. To be eligible for award of SBIR funding agreements, a small business concern has to meet the following qualifications: be independently owned and operated principal place of business is located in the United States at least 51 percent owned or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of its voting stock is owned by United States citizens or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens.

No.

For Phase I, a minimum of two thirds of the research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the proposing firm, and for Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the proposing firm.

No. Awards of this type would be the result of an unsolicited proposal, and therefore, would be considered outside the scope of the SBIR Program.

SBIR solicitations are specific Requests for Proposals released by the Federal agencies participating in the program which may result in the award of Phase I SBIR funding agreements. SBIR Pre-Solicitation Announcements, released by SBA, contain pertinent data on SBIR solicitations that are about to be released by the participating Federal agencies.

No. Private sources of capital should be used. However, SBIR awardees are encouraged to seek information on all of the services that SBA makes available to the small business community.

STTR is a highly competitive three-phase program that reserves a specific percentage of Federal research and development funding for award to small businesses in partnership with nonprofit research institutions to move ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace, to foster high-tech economic development and to address the technological needs of the Federal Government.

Phase I is the startup phase for the exploration of the scientific, technical, and commercial feasibility of an idea or technology. Awards are for periods of up to one year in amounts up to $100,000. Phase II is to expand Phase I results. During this period the R&D work is performed and the developer begins to consider commercialization potential. Awards are for periods of up to two years in amounts up to $500,000. Phase III is the period during which Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory into the marketplace. There is no STTR funding in this phase.

No. However, you must be organized as a business at the time of award.

Only small for-profit businesses can propose.

A small business concern with 500 or fewer employees including subsidiaries and/or affiliates. The size of the nonprofit collaborator is not relevant

The small business concern and the research institution must develop a written agreement prior to a Phase I award. This agreement must be submitted to the awarding agency if requested.

The following five Federal departments and agencies are eligible to participate: Department of Defense Department of Energy National Aeronautics and Space Administration Department of Health and Human Services National Science Foundation

No. Phase II awards can only be awarded to firms having successfully completed Phase I at the same awarding agency.

No. The five participating Federal agencies have unilateral procurement authority.

Yes. Either party may subcontract or they may jointly fund a subcontractor.

Yes, but they may not perform the same or essentially similar work under more than one contract or grant. Collecting funds more than once for the same work is fraud.

No. The small business concern can change research institutions in Phase II.

No. Proposals must respond to the solicitation as published by one or more of the participating agencies.

The small business concerned.

Yes. Both the small business concern and the institution must be on U.S. soil.

Yes, the firm may be given a sole source contract in Phase III for further work or production.

Small business concerns must perform at least 40% and research institutions must perform at least 30% of the work.

The agency issuing the Program Solicitation. SBA handles program policy for across the board uniformity, reporting to Congress and program oversight.

Information can be obtained from SBA Online Bulletin Board by dialing: 1-.