Agencies which intend to pursue research, research and development, or production developed under the SBIR Program will give special acquisition preference, including sole source awards to the SBIR company which developed the technology. The Phase III funding agreement will be with non-SBIR funds. This reduces the administrative burden to the government of getting Phase III work under contract. The mark of success of the program is determined by commercialization. Something needs to happen after completion of Phase II for it to be a success.
Commercialization includes both government and commercial markets.
The DoD SBIR Program Manager has issued a Memorandum to SBIR Program Managers for the Military Departments, which serves to clarify DoD policy regarding the award of a contract to a small business for follow-on work to an SBIR project. B. Phase III and Unsolicited Proposals. When contacts with appropriate government agency personnel provide the contractor with information that there is a need for further research, research and development, or production of technology developed under the SBIR Program, and a solicitation is apparently not being processed by that agency, an unsolicited proposal may be a way of getting the process moving. The SBA policy directive states that unsolicited proposals are not eligible for SBIR awards. However, a Phase III is not an SBIR Award.