What is SB and RD

A small business concern meets all of the following criteria:

 - has 500 or fewer employees
 - is independently owned and operated
 - is organized for profit
 - has its principal place of business in the United States
 - is at least 51 percent owned by U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens

Further information may be obtained at http://sba.gov/size, or by contacting the Small Business Administration's Government Contracting Area Office or Office of Size Standards.

What is Research or Research and Development?

Research or R&D is defined as any activity that is (a) a systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied; (b) a systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or (c) a systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, services, or methods, and includes design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

In general, the NIST SBIR program will fund Phase I and II proposals with objectives that can be defined by (b) and (c) above.