STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer)

Also called: Small Business Technology Transfer program

A federal program like SBIR that funds small business research and development, but requires the small business to formally partner with a US non-profit research institution such as a university.

SBIR permits research partnerships, while STTR requires the small business to formally collaborate with a non-profit research institution. The scope of work is otherwise the same.

The research institution is typically a university or a federal laboratory that qualifies as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). It must be non-profit and located in the United States.

The statutory purpose of STTR is to link innovative small businesses with research institutions and move basic science toward commercial products. STTR follows the same three-phase structure as SBIR.