See below for potential research funding opportunities outside of SBIR.
- Companies that are eligible to apply are noted with an asterisk (*)
- Companies that may be eligible to partner with a public agency or academic institution are noted with a plus sign (+)
| Program | Sponsor | Description |
|---|---|---|
Cooperative Research Programs* | Transportation Research Board | Contract research programs focused on developing “near-term, practical solutions” to problems faced by the transportation industry. |
| Every Day Counts+ | Federal Highway Administration | Every two years the FHWA, along with stakeholders, selects several proven innovations and promotes their implementation over the next two years. |
| Exploratory Advanced Research*+ | Federal Highway Administration | Funding for longer-term, high-risk, high-reward research in specified focus areas. |
| FAA Centers of Excellence+ | Federal Aviation Administration | Cooperative agreements with U.S. academic institutions and their industry affiliates to conduct research on a specific FAA mission-critical topic area over 10 years. |
Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEAs)* + | Transportation Research Board | The IDEA programs provide start-up funding for promising, but unproven, innovations in surface transportation systems. |
| Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance+ | Maritime Administration | Funding for research, development, and demonstration of maritime technologies that improve environmental sustainability. |
| Safety Research and Demonstration Program+ | Federal Transit Administration | Part of a larger USDOT safety research effort, this program focuses on demonstration of technologies and safer designs. |
| Small Business Vouchers* | U.S. Department of Energy | Vouchers ($50,000 to $300,000) awarded to small businesses to partner with one of the National Laboratories to conduct clean energy research. |
| State Transportation Innovation Councils (STIC) Incentive Program+ | Federal Highway Administration | STICs are networks of public and private transportation stakeholders in each state. Each STIC may apply for up to $100,000 of funding per year for an innovation project. |
| Transportation Pooled Fund+ | Federal Highway Administration | A program allowing the FHWA, state DOTs, and other organizations to pool funds and resources to study a transportation problem of common interest. |
| University Transportation Centers+ | USDOT Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology | Grants awarded to a group of colleges and universities who collaborate as a center of excellence on a specific transportation research area. |
The above list is subject to change.
Other Resources
- Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps)
- Grants.gov
- GSA's System for Award Management (SAM)
- Transportation Research Board's Research in Progress (RiP) Database
- U.S. DOT Research Hub
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)
SBIR Related Links
Federal Business Resources
- Minority Business Development Agency
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
- Small Business Transportation Resource Centers
- U.S. Business Advisor
- U.S. DOT Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Professional Associations
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- American Society of Highway Engineers
- American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- United Engineering Foundation
Minority Associations and Resources
- Asian Women in Business
- MANA, A National Latina Organization
- Minority Business Development Agency
- National Minority Business Council, Inc. (NMBC)
- National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
- National Congress of American Indians
- National Society of Black Engineers
- Society of Women Engineers
- Women’s Transportation Seminar International
Scientific and Technical Information Sources
Updated: Tuesday, October 17, 2017