SBIR Series: Matching Your Tech to the Right Agency & Topic
So you’ve nailed down your problem, its technical readiness level (TRL), and your end user. Great start. But now comes the part where most small businesses stall out or burn out, trying to find a match in the messy jungle of SBIR topics. Instead of “spray and pray,” it’s time to make your agency targeting deliberate and data-driven.
Because here’s the truth: it’s not enough for you to think your idea is brilliant. You have to find the right agency, with the right topic, at the right time, and prove that your solution directly aligns with their funded priorities.
This post walks you through a smarter approach to topic targeting, with tools and steps that feed directly into your next move: crafting a winning Phase I feasibility proposal.
Let’s get systematic.
Map Your Mission to Theirs
Each federal agency has a distinct mission, and your first task is to figure out how your tech fits (or doesn’t). You’re not just solving a technical problem. You’re solving a problem they care about, in language they use.
Use your SBIR Fit Brief (which should define your problem, proposed solution, TRL, and end users) to run a “mission match” against key agencies like:
DoD: National security, readiness, logistics, ISR, weapons systems
NIH: Clinical interventions, diagnostics, health tech, behavioral tools
NSF: Foundational science and engineering with commercial impact
DOE: Energy storage, grid modernization, environmental resilience
NASA: Space flight systems, aeronautics, robotics, comms
EPA: Environmental monitoring, remediation, circular economy
If you can’t explain the alignment in one or two sentences using their language, it's probably not a strong fit.
Deconstruct the Topic Like a Program Manager
Once you’ve narrowed your agency focus, dig into their current Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) or solicitations. Don’t read them like a hopeful applicant, read them like a skeptical PM.
Look for:
Scope tells: What’s explicitly in or out of bounds?
Solution type: Are they calling for a product, a method, or a system?
Disqualifiers: Minimum TRLs, eligibility clauses, partner requirements
Success hints: Are they signaling a follow-on Phase III partner or end-user unit?
Pay special attention to partner requirements. For example, STTR topics require a research institution to be part of the team, with workshare minimums (small biz ≥40%, research partner ≥30%).
Mine the Evidence
The best predictor of what an agency will fund… is what they’ve already funded.
Use award databases like:
SBIR.gov , Award data across all participating agencies
NIH RePORTER , Includes project abstracts and program officer names
NSF Award Search , See past funded projects, budgets, and outcomes
From these, identify:
3–5 prior awards under your target topic
Scope and framing that resemble your approach
Frequent awardees (especially helpful if you’re new)
Program Officer names and contact details (where available)
Note: reviewer names are not public for NIH and NSF. Those identities are kept confidential, so focus instead on the Program Officer or Director listed.
Time It Right, and Reach Out
Every agency runs on its own schedule. DoD, for example, uses cyclical BAAs with pre-release, open, and close windows. You can only contact topic authors during the pre-release period; afterward, questions must go through their SITIS system.
Other agencies operate differently:
DOE requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) before full application and has fixed deadlines, no rolling submissions.
NSF requires a Project Pitch year-round. If accepted, you’ll be invited to submit a full proposal by fixed deadlines (e.g., March 5, July 2, November 5).
Plan your outreach accordingly. If a program officer conversation is allowed, prepare a one-pager or quad chart, cite the specific topic, and ask clear, informed questions, not “Is this a fit?” but “Would a TRL 4 solution addressing X fall within the scope of Topic Y?”
Build Your Agency–Topic Dossier
By now, you should be ready to package your findings into a simple but powerful Agency–Topic Dossier. This document becomes your roadmap.
It should include:
Top 2–3 target topics (agency, topic number, and name)
Summary of fit (1–2 sentences showing alignment)
Program Officer/Director contact info + notes from convo
Prior awards analysis (3–5 awards that resemble your approach)
Timing (LOI deadlines, pitch days, submission windows)
Disqualifiers or red flags (e.g., TRL too low, eligibility constraints)
This isn’t just a research step, it’s a strategy asset you’ll keep refining over time.
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