SBIR & Small Business Grants in Rhode Island 2026 — Federal Funding Opportunities
SBIR and STTR grants for small businesses and startups from NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, and NASA. Phase I up to $300K, Phase II up to $2M. GrantMetric surfaces every active federal notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) relevant to Rhode Island applicants, with award ceiling, eligibility requirements, and close dates visible at a glance.
- 2 active federal grants open to Rhode Island organizations
- Eligible applicants: nonprofits, universities, state agencies, small businesses
- Award floor and ceiling for each funding opportunity
- Application deadlines and close dates from grants.gov — updated daily
- AI-generated briefings summarizing each program's objectives
Federal grants are available nationally — Rhode Island organizations apply directly to federal agencies. These 2 active opportunities are open to eligible applicants in Rhode Island right now.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs collectively represent over $4 billion in annual federal R&D investment directed to early-stage U.S. small businesses. Rhode Island companies qualify for SBIR awards across eleven participating agencies: NIH funds health technology, diagnostics, and medical devices; NSF funds any high-risk, high-reward technology; DOD funds dual-use defense applications; DOE funds energy and materials science; NASA funds aerospace and Earth observation technology. Phase I awards up to $300,000 fund technical feasibility research, while Phase II awards up to $2 million fund full prototype development and validation. Rhode Island companies in the northeast region have collectively received hundreds of millions in cumulative SBIR and STTR funding.
The STTR variant requires formal collaboration between a qualifying small business and a U.S. research institution, with at least 30% of the work performed by the research partner. Rhode Island's universities and federal research laboratories are active STTR partners — technology transfer offices at major institutions actively seek startup collaborations for STTR submissions. State-level SBIR support programs available in many U.S. states, including those operating in Rhode Island, offer proposal development assistance, matching funds, and Phase 0 feasibility awards to help first-time applicants build competitive submissions. The SBA's America's Seed Fund portal lists all open SBIR solicitations by agency and technology topic area.
Active Opportunities for Rhode Island (2)
High-priority technical directive issued by HHS-NIH11. This initiative (ID: PAR-26-001) targets strategic development wi...
High-priority technical directive issued by DOE-ID. This initiative (ID: DE-FOA-0003539) targets strategic development w...