Federal funding lives in acronyms. Understanding requires plain English

Federal program that funds R&D at small businesses with commercialization potential. Awards are not procurement contracts and shouldn't be described as such.

SBIR's sister program; requires a formal partnership with a research institution such as a university or federal lab.

A small, short SBIR/STTR award to establish technical merit and feasibility.

A larger follow-on award that advances Phase I results toward a working prototype.

Work that derives from or completes an SBIR/STTR effort, funded from non-SBIR sources. No follow-on award is ever guaranteed.

An open solicitation inviting innovative research proposals across a topic area.

A published federal funding opportunity, typically for grants or cooperative agreements.

A short pre-proposal notice some agencies (notably DOE) require; its deadline falls before the full application's.

The federal military department and the largest SBIR/STTR funder.

A secondary title the DoD has used since a September 2025 executive order (its site is now war.gov). “Department of Defense” remains the legal name pending congressional action — the two refer to the same department.

Cabinet department funding energy, science, and national-security R&D.

The federal health department; parent of NIH.

The medical-research agency within HHS and a major SBIR funder.

The civil space agency; runs its own SBIR/STTR program.

Funds basic research and education; runs a fast-clock SBIR program.

Cabinet department for domestic security and resilience.

Cabinet department for transportation systems and safety.

Cabinet department for trade, economic data, and standards; parent of NIST.

Cabinet department for agriculture, food, and rural development.

Federal agency for environmental protection and regulation.

A military service branch within the DoD.

A military service branch within the DoD.

Sets SBIR/STTR policy governmentwide and maintains the Company Registry.

Where patents and trademarks are filed and examined.

Standards agency within Commerce; author of the SP 800-series security requirements.

The master federal registry; your entity must be active here to receive any award.

The 12-character ID issued in SAM.gov; replaced the older DUNS number.

A five-character code identifying your business to the DoD and other agencies, assigned and validated through your SAM.gov registration. You can't do business with the DoD without one.

The IRS-issued federal tax ID for your company.

The legal term for a qualifying small business; your SBA Company Registry entry yields an “SBC Control ID.”

The DoD's proposal submission portal.

The DOE Office of Science submission portal.

The governmentwide portal for finding and applying to federal grant opportunities.

The shared federal log-in used to reach many agency portals.

The DoD system where you post your NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment score.

The DoD framework verifying safeguards for FCI and CUI. “Certification” is specific — Level 1 is a self-assessment, not a third-party certification.

Non-public information provided or generated under a federal contract; its presence triggers CMMC Level 1.

Sensitive unclassified information requiring safeguarding; triggers CMMC Level 2 or above.

The core rulebook for federal procurement. SBIR awards and OTAs are not FAR contracts and shouldn't be described in FAR terms.

DoD's additions to the FAR; clause 252.204-7012 drives CUI safeguarding.

The NIST Special Publication defining the 110 controls that protect CUI — the basis for CMMC Level 2.

The NIST Special Publication adding 24 enhanced controls for advanced threats — the basis for CMMC Level 3.

NIST's document series (e.g., SP 800-171) that defines federal security requirements.

The document describing how your organization meets each required security control.

The remediation plan listing unmet controls and the schedule to close them.

Your documented procedure to detect, respond to, and recover from a security incident.

A sophisticated, well-resourced adversary that maintains long-term access; defending against APTs is the focus of the highest CMMC level.

An accredited firm authorized to perform CMMC Level 2 certification assessments.

The government body that conducts the highest-level (Level 3) assessments.

The Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) online board where defense solicitations and requests for quote are posted and bid — a primary entry point for DoD supply contracts.

Regional offices, most hosted at universities, that give small businesses free hands-on help pursuing federal, state, and local contracts and bids. Run by the DoD Office of Small Business Programs (the former PTAC program, renamed in 2023) in coordination with the SBA network.

The person leading an award's technical work; SBIR rules limit where the PI can be primarily employed.

Patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks — the assets a commercialization strategy protects.

Software that performs tasks normally requiring human judgment; used here as an accelerant under expert review.