SBIR/STTR Technical and Business Assistance (TABA)
U.S. Small Business Administration — SBIR/STTR Program (administered by each participating federal agency: NIH, NSF, USDA, DoD, DOE and others)
Up to $6.5K (Phase I) / $50K (Phase II)
Buy your commercialization help
A statutory add-on that lets SBIR/STTR awardees buy outside commercialization help on top of their R&D award. Authorized by the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act, TABA provides additional funding — generally up to $6,500 for a Phase I award and up to $50,000 for a Phase II award — that a small business uses to hire one or more third-party service providers for commercialization activities such as IP strategy and protection, market research and validation, customer and partner development, financing strategy, and regulatory or manufacturing planning. TABA is not a standalone grant: it is requested in connection with (or as a supplement to) an active SBIR or STTR award, and the exact amounts, timing, and request mechanics vary by participating agency (NIH, NSF, USDA/NIFA, DoD, DOE).
- Funding type
- Program
- Level
- Federal
- Amount range
- $6,500 – $50,000
- Realistic amount
- A Phase I awardee typically accesses up to ~$6,500 of assistance; a Phase II awardee can req…
- Deadline
- Requested in connection with an SBIR/STTR award — Phase I TABA at proposal time, Phase II TABA at proposal time or via supplement, per the participating agency's rules. No standalone deadline.
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- reimbursement
Who qualifies
- Must be an active SBIR or STTR Phase I or Phase II awardee (the funding is tied to an underlying award)
- Must meet SBIR/STTR small-business eligibility criteria
- Funds must be used to engage qualified third-party commercialization service providers
- Exact eligibility timing and request mechanics depend on the awarding agency (NIH, NSF, USDA, DoD, DOE)
Hard requirements
- Must be an incorporated business
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Intellectual property strategy and protection
- Market research and validation
- Customer and strategic-partner development / product sales assistance
- Financing-strategy advice
- Regulatory and manufacturing planning
- Access to technical and business literature
Ineligible expenses
- Core R&D work (that belongs in the base SBIR/STTR award)
- Services performed in-house rather than by a qualified third-party provider
- Capital equipment
- Activities unrelated to commercialization
How to apply
-
1
Confirm your award and agency rules
Determine whether your SBIR/STTR award is Phase I or Phase II and read the awarding agency's TABA policy (NIH, NSF, USDA/NIFA, DoD, DOE each handle it differently).
~2 hrs
-
2
Scope the commercialization services
Define the commercialization work you need (IP protection, market validation, customer development, financing strategy, regulatory/manufacturing planning) and identify a qualified third-party provider — or use the agency's funded default provider where offered.
~4 hrs
-
3
Request TABA funds
Add the TABA request to your proposal budget (Phase I) or submit the supplement/request per agency rules (Phase II, e.g., via the NSF program director or NIH supplement process).
~3 hrs
-
4
Engage the provider and deliver
Execute the provider engagement, complete the commercialization activities, and report outcomes per the agency's requirements.
~6 hrs
TABA is one of the most under-claimed dollars in the SBIR system: it does NOT come out of your R&D budget, so request it. For Phase I, build the commercialization-assistance line into your proposal up front (some agencies offer a funded default provider so you don't even pick one). For Phase II, the $50,000 is large enough to fund a serious IP-plus-market-validation engagement — line up your provider before you request it.
Deadline & timing
Mechanics vary by agency. For NSF, Phase I commercialization assistance is budgeted into the core proposal and a separate Phase II TABA supplement (up to $50,000) is requested via the program director; for NIH and USDA, TABA is requested with/against the award. Confirm the exact process with the awarding agency.
Programs that stack well
Related programs
Explore more funding
Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.