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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

U.S. DOT’s SBIR Program Celebrates Small Business Week 2021

Small businesses: they’re the engine that keeps America running.

Each year, the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners are recognized during National Small Business Week, which is celebrated this year beginning September 13, 2021.

National Small Business Week, September 13-15, 2021: Celebrating resilience and renewalThe U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is marking National Small Business Week with a free 3-day Virtual Summit, held September 13-15, 2021.

This summit will spotlight the resilience of America’s entrepreneurs and the renewal of the small business economy as it builds back from the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual event will include numerous educational panels providing retooling and innovative practices for entrepreneurs as small businesses look to pivot and recover toward a stronger economy.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) also celebrates small businesses and their many contributions, including ways their innovative ideas can advance research through U.S. DOT’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, also known as “America’s Seed Fund.”

Managed by the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, U.S. DOT’s highly competitive SBIR program awards contracts to domestic small businesses to pursue research on and develop innovative solutions to our nation’s transportation challenges. The SBIR program encourages small businesses to engage in federal research/research and development that has the potential for commercialization.

View SBIR Success Stories to see examples of small businesses that have developed new and innovative technologies that benefit U.S. DOT and the public. Small businesses like these play an important role in making our transportation system safer and more efficient. 

To be notified when the next U.S. DOT SBIR solicitation opens, sign up for SBIR email alerts.

Here’s wishing the nation’s 30 million small businesses a happy Small Business Week!