SBIR/STTR Agency Restart Timeline: When Each Agency Will Reopen Solicitations

March 28, 2026 · SBIR/STTR News · 10 min read

Watch the full reauthorization briefing with John Williams, Executive Director of SBIRC.org and former head of the SBA Office of Innovation, for additional agency-specific insights: SBIR Reauthorization Briefing (Vimeo).

After nearly six months of frozen funding, the question on every SBIR applicant's mind is simple: when can I submit? The answer varies dramatically by agency. Some are ready to publish solicitations within hours of S. 3971 becoming law. Others are months away. And some are navigating internal restructuring that makes their timeline genuinely uncertain.

This article compiles the best available intelligence on each agency's restart timeline, drawing on direct communications with program offices and insights from industry experts who have been in close contact with agency staff throughout the lapse. We will update this page as agencies publish official guidance.

The Big Picture: 6–12 Months to Full Recovery

Even after the bill becomes law, it will take 6 to 12 months for all agencies to return to normal operations. The lapse has created cascading effects: agencies have lost contract and grant officers, program office staff have been reduced, and the new administration has introduced additional review layers for grant solicitations that apply across all agencies - not just SBIR/STTR. These executive order requirements add time to the process of getting solicitations approved and awards made.

The immediate priority for most agencies will be clearing the backlog of Phase II awards that were approved but never funded during the lapse. Phase I solicitations will follow, but expect compressed timelines - shorter pre-solicitation windows, tighter response deadlines, and fewer topics than a normal year.

There is also a significant budget impact for the Department of War specifically. The new legislation only requires DoW to allocate 70% of its normal SBIR set-aside for FY2026, since the programs were unfunded for the first half of the fiscal year. With the department's SBIR budget normally around $3–4 billion, that 30% reduction represents roughly $1 billion in lost funding for this cycle.

Agency-by-Agency Restart Timeline

Agency	Annual SBIR Budget	Expected Solicitation Date	Readiness	Key Details
DoW (formerly DoD)	~$1.8B	Within hours of enactment	Ready	160+ topics prepared. Navy has stated topics will drop within hours. Air Force is funding as fast as possible using FY25 carry-over money. Pre-solicitation windows may be shortened. Respond immediately if DoW contacts you about pending Phase I/II awards - FY25 funds may be swept if not spent quickly.
NASA	~$174M	Shortly after enactment	Ready	Solicitations are prepared. Transitioning to a new rolling Broad Agency Announcement format with phased appendix releases for Program Year 2026.
NSF	~$174M	July 2026 (closing date)	Ready	NSF has stated they want to maintain their July closing date. Rolling Phase I submissions make restarting mechanically simpler. Open topics are largely unchanged from previous cycle - start preparing now using last year's topics as a guide. Informal limit of ~2 awards per company remains in practice.
NIH	~$1.2B	TBD - likely late spring/summer	Likely soon	NIH has not publicly committed to a date and has been largely silent. However, they have a significant backlog of unspent one-year money and will need to obligate funds. Study section infrastructure was maintained during the lapse. Open topics are unlikely to change significantly. April 5 deadline has been confirmed as no longer viable. Expect compressed review cycles.
USDA	~$42M	Expected soon after enactment	Likely soon	Has not had a solicitation in over a year. Not publicly communicating timeline but expected to move relatively quickly once authority is restored. Proposals already in-house are expected to be reviewed.
DOE	~$315M	Uncertain - possibly mid-to-late 2026	Restructuring	Undergoing radical internal changes. The entire SBIR program has been moved from Science to a new organization. New staff have been hired. Strong focus on commercialization and accelerating time-to-award. Actively working to reduce proposal attachment requirements and streamline submissions. Focus areas may shift under current administration - some previously funded areas (e.g., clean tech) may see reduced emphasis. Hardest agency to predict.
DHS	~$18M	TBD	Unknown	No public communications about restart timeline. Currently facing its own separate funding challenges.
DOC / NIST	~$15M	TBD	Unknown	No public guidance on restart timeline.
ED	~$10M	TBD	Unknown	No public guidance on restart timeline.
DOT	~$9M	TBD	Unknown	No public guidance on restart timeline.
EPA	~$5M	TBD	Unknown	No public guidance on restart timeline.

What Happens to Proposals Already Submitted?

Proposals that were submitted before the lapse are not being discarded. No agency has indicated that they plan to throw out proposals that were already in-house when authority expired. Most agencies have either already processed selections (but haven't announced them) or are holding proposals for review once authority is restored.

Some proposals may need to be refreshed if cost rates have expired - typically proposals are valid for 60 days to six months depending on the agency. If your proposal is in this category, expect the agency to contact you to update rates rather than requiring a full resubmission.

For applicants with Phase II proposals that were approved but not yet funded: be prepared to respond immediately when the agency contacts you. Agencies will prioritize getting Phase II money obligated as quickly as possible, and companies that respond promptly will be at the front of the queue.

What Has Changed During the Lapse

Beyond the reauthorization itself, several broader changes have occurred during the lapse that will affect how agencies operate:

Additional review layers. New executive order requirements now apply to all federal grant solicitations, not just SBIR/STTR. These add steps to the approval process for publishing solicitations and making award selections. Agencies with more political appointees in the approval chain may experience more delays than those with leaner structures.

Staff reductions. Agencies have lost contract and grant officers, program office staff, and institutional knowledge during the lapse and broader government restructuring. This will slow the processing of new awards even after solicitations are published.

SBA policy directive lag. The official SBA policy directive incorporating the new law's requirements will likely take a year or more to finalize. In the interim, agencies will incorporate new requirements (proposal limits, security screening, Strategic Breakthrough Award criteria) directly into their solicitations. Watch for these changes in the solicitation language rather than waiting for formal SBA guidance.

Proposal Limits: What We Know So Far

The new proposal submission caps mandated by S. 3971 take effect in FY2027, but agencies are already signaling how they plan to implement them. Nine of the 11 participating agencies already had informal or per-solicitation limits in place - the new law primarily targets DoW and NIH, which did not.

Early indications suggest DoW may start with a per-topic-per-company limit, potentially allowing up to two proposals per topic. This is a relatively permissive starting point given that DoW publishes hundreds of topics per year, but it represents a meaningful change for companies that previously submitted proposals to every available topic.

The rise of AI-generated proposals has accelerated the urgency around proposal caps. Some companies are now submitting proposals to every topic that opens using AI tools, which is adding significant review workload and degrading the quality of the applicant pool. The caps are designed to force companies to focus on topics where they have genuine expertise and commercial intent.

TABA Changes: What Applicants Should Know

The new law allows companies to use Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) funding internally - hiring staff, training, or directing existing staff to work on TABA-eligible activities - rather than requiring the use of an external vendor. Phase I TABA is capped at $6,500 per project; Phase II at $50,000.

Whether TABA funds come out of your total award amount or are provided in addition to it will vary by agency. This is an important distinction: if TABA is additive, there is no reason not to request it. If it reduces your award, you need to weigh the value of the services against the reduction.

TABA can now also be used for cybersecurity compliance assistance and foreign influence screening - both of which are increasingly relevant given the enhanced security requirements in the new law. For companies that were flagged during the security review process, TABA funds can help address the issues identified.

Strategic Breakthrough Awards: Early Expectations

The new Strategic Breakthrough Award mechanism allows eligible agencies to make awards of up to $30 million without seeking SBA approval. The eligible agencies are DoW, NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, and USDA. Air Force is expected to be the first to roll out this authority, given its existing experience with STRATFI/TACFI programs in the $15 million range.

Other DoW components may phase in at different speeds. First solicitations for Strategic Breakthrough Awards are not expected until late FY2026 (July–September) at the earliest, with most agencies likely launching in FY2027 once they establish evaluation criteria and matching fund verification processes.

Most Strategic Breakthrough Awards are expected to be in the $5–10 million range rather than the $30 million maximum. The 100% matching funds requirement and 48-month performance period make very large awards logistically complex. For DoW awards specifically, the additional requirement of 20% matching from non-SBIR DoW sources adds another layer of complexity.

What Applicants Should Do Right Now

Have a game plan for 2–3 target agencies. You cannot effectively pursue every agency simultaneously. Decide now which agencies align best with your technology and commercial goals, and start monitoring their websites for announcements.

For NSF and NIH applicants: Start preparing now using last year's open topics as a baseline. Neither agency's open topic areas are expected to change significantly. NSF's July closing date gives you a clear target to work toward.

For DoW applicants: Specific topics will be new, but you can begin drafting your company overview sections, team qualifications, budget templates, and commercialization narratives. When topics drop, you will need to respond quickly - potentially with shortened pre-solicitation windows. For DoW-specific guidance, see our analysis at defensegrantwriters.com.

If you have proposals already in the pipeline: Do not assume your proposal has been discarded. Be prepared to respond immediately when the agency contacts you, particularly for Phase II awards. Agencies will be prioritizing getting money obligated.

Review your foreign affiliations now. The enhanced security screening requirements are immediate. If anyone in your company has business relationships, investments, or affiliations with entities in countries of concern, get ahead of it. Talk to agencies if possible - some will provide informal guidance on whether a particular relationship is likely to be flagged.

Request TABA funding. Even if you are unsure whether to use external or internal support, request the TABA allocation. It is additional expertise at minimal or no cost to your project, and the expanded eligible activities (cybersecurity, foreign influence screening, commercialization) make it more valuable than in previous cycles.

Be patient, but be ready. Agencies are under enormous pressure to restart quickly, but they have fewer staff, more regulatory requirements, and a six-month backlog to clear. The companies that will succeed in this cycle are the ones that have proposals ready to submit the day solicitations open and respond immediately when agencies reach out.

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This article will be updated as agencies publish official solicitation dates. Last updated: March 28, 2026.

Sources:

[1] S. 3971 - Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (Full Text, PDF)

[2] "SBIR Reauthorization Briefing: What It Means for Your Funding Strategy" — BBCetc From the Source's Mouth series, March 26, 2026. Led by John Williams, Executive Director of SBIRC.org, who spent 12 years leading the SBA Office of Innovation and previously ran the Navy SBIR program. Williams was directly involved in drafting the reauthorization language over a two-year period.

See also: Congress Passes S. 3971 - What Happens Next | SBIR/STTR Reauthorization 2026: Key Provisions