FY23 NOAA SBIR Phase II | NOAA OAR TPO 2023 2007785

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA OAR TPO 2023 2007785

The FY23 NOAA SBIR Phase II opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA OAR TPO 2023 2007785; CFDA 11.021) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is part of NOAA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) efforts, which are designed to provide early-stage R&D funding to U.S. small businesses with promising technologies. The central purpose is to spark technological innovation and move viable ideas further along the path from research into products and services that can be commercialized and used in real-world settings.

Programmatically, NOAA's SBIR focus is on technology development that addresses practical, high-impact challenges tied to climate, weather, oceans, and coastal systems. In other words, the program is looking for innovations that can improve understanding, prediction, observation, resilience, and decision-making in domains NOAA works in, while also having a clear commercialization trajectory. The emphasis on "commercializable technologies" signals that proposals are expected to go beyond basic research and show a credible plan for transitioning the work into a market-ready offering, whether that is a product, a platform, an instrument, software, or a service that customers will pay for.

This is a Phase II SBIR competition, which generally implies applicants are building on earlier feasibility work and are ready to perform more substantial research and development to mature the technology. While the source text does not spell out Phase I prerequisites, Phase II programs typically fund more advanced R&D and prototyping, validation, or scale-up activities to reduce technical risk and move toward deployment. NOAA also notes that it provides education and other support to entrepreneurs throughout researching, developing, and commercializing, underscoring that the program is meant to help small businesses navigate not only the technical work but also the commercialization process.

Eligibility is limited to small businesses, consistent with SBIR rules. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity categories span Business and Commerce, Education, Natural Resources, and Science and Technology/other Research and Development, reflecting NOAA's combined mission of applied science, environmental stewardship, and operational services. The opportunity was created on January 13, 2023, with an original closing date of March 24, 2023, indicating the submission window for this particular FY23 solicitation. The award ceiling is listed at $650,000 per award, and NOAA anticipated making about 18 awards, which gives a sense of both the maximum per-project funding level and the approximate scale of the competition.

In practical terms, a strong fit for this opportunity would be a U.S. small business proposing R&D that advances an emerging technology with clear relevance to NOAA mission needs and a believable route to commercialization. Examples of the kinds of impact areas implied by the description include innovations that improve weather and climate data collection or forecasting, enhance ocean and coastal monitoring, support maritime or coastal decision tools, strengthen hazard resilience, or provide new capabilities for managing and understanding natural resources. The key thread is that NOAA is not only funding science for its own sake; it is investing in technology development that can become a deployable, sellable solution to real problems in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts.

• The Department of Commerce in the business and commerce, education, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 NOAA SBIR Phase II" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.021.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 13, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 24, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $650,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for NOAA OAR TPO 2023 2007785

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