United States
Environmental Protection
Agency	
Office of Research and
      Development
Washington, DC 20460
EPA's Small Business  Innovation
Research (SBIR)  Program
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of 11  federal agencies that
participates in the  SBIR Program established by the  Small Business Innovation
Development Act of 1982.  The purpose of this Act was to strengthen the role of
small businesses in federally funded R&D and help develop a stronger national base
for technical innovation. An SBIR  small business is  defined as a for-profit
organization with no more than 500 employees.  In addition, the small business
must be independently owned  and operated, at least 51 percent owned  by U.S.
citizens or lawfully admitted resident aliens, not dominant in the field of operation in
which it is proposing, and have its principal place of business in the United States.
Joint ventures and limited partnerships are eligible  for SBIR awards, provided the
entity created qualifies as a small business.

EPA issues annual  solicitations for Phase I and Phase II research proposals from
science and technology-based firms. Under Phase I, the scientific merit and technical
feasibility of the proposed  concept is investigated. EPA awards firm-fixed-price
Phase I contracts of up to $70,000 for 6 months. Through this phased approach to
SBIR funding, EPA can  determine whether the research idea, often on high-risk
advanced concepts, is technically  feasible, whether the firm  can do high-quality
research, and whether sufficient progress has been made to justify a larger Phase II
effort.

Phase II contracts are limited to small businesses that have successfully completed
their Phase I contracts. The objective of Phase II is to develop and commercialize the
Phase I technology. Competitive awards are based on the  results of Phase I and the
commercialization potential of the Phase  II technology. In Phase II, EPA awards
contracts of up to $225,000 for two years.  EPA also offers up to $120,000 and one
additional year as  Phase II Options for firms  with third  party  financing  for
accelerating commercialization or for technologies accepted into an EPA technology
verification program.

EPA's next Phase I Solicitation opens on March 20, 2008 and closes on May 21,
2008.   Solicitations  include a description  of the  SBIR Program, application
requirements  and research  topics and are posted on the  National Center for
Environmental Research (NCER) Web Site at:
                   www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir

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