The U.S. DOT #SBIR program is a highly competitive, awards-based program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in research or research and development (R/R&D) addressing high priority research areas within U.S. DOT. The U.S. DOT #SBIR program favors research that has the potential for commercialization through products and applications sold to the private sector transportation industry, state departments of transportation, U.S. DOT, or other federal agencies. Small businesses that participate in U.S. DOT’s #SBIR program have developed numerous new and innovative technologies that have benefitted the department and the public while providing a basis for growth for small businesses. In FY14, the U.S. DOT SBIR program invested $10 million in qualified small businesses.
The #SBIR Program Office publishes two solicitations each fiscal year for proposals on specific research topics of interest to U.S. DOT operating administrations. Current topics include the following:
| Agency | Topic Number | Topic |
| Federal Highway Administration | 17.1-FH1 | Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Adsorption Capacity of Fly Ash in Concrete Mixtures |
| Federal Highway Administration | 17.1-FH2 | Rapid Assessment of Air Void System in Fresh Concrete |
| Federal Railroad Administration | 17.1-FR1 | Methods for Remanufacturing Creosote-Railroad Ties |
| Federal Railroad Administration | 17.1-FR2 | Broken Rail Detection from Flashing Rear End Device |
| Federal Railroad Administration | 17.1-FR3 | Resilient Wayside Structures to Reduce Severity of Passenger Equipment Collisions and Derailments |
| Federal Railroad Administration | 17.1-FR4 | Smart Phone Application for Onboard Railroad Passenger Information System |
| Federal Transit Administration | 17.1-FT1 | Train Crowding and Information Dissemination for Transit Users |
| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | 17.1-NH1 | Detection of THC Use in Drivers |
| Office of the Secretary of Transportation – Research | 17.1-OS1 | System and Supply Chain for Recycling Lithium-ion batteries in the Transportation System |
Welcome to U.S. DOT’s Small Business Innovation Research Program
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.