H.R. 3851 — SBIR/STTR Pilot Extension Act

This section revises the direct-to-Phase II authority in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program—under which federal agencies may award Phase II SBIR grants without requiring a prior Phase I award to small businesses demonstrating feasibility—by (1) extending the authority through 2030 (from 2025), (2) expanding eligibility to all federal agencies required to conduct an SBIR program (from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Department of Education), (3) limiting the total value of such awards to 10 percent of an agency's total SBIR funds in a fiscal year (15 percent for NIH), and (4) requiring agencies exercising the authority to report the number and amount of such awards in their annual SBIR reports under subsection (g)(9).

This section extends the commercialization readiness program for civilian agencies through FY2030 (from FY2025), revises the heading to "Civilian agencies commercialization readiness" (from "Pilot"), and replaces "pilot program" with "covered program" each place it appears. (As background, the program authorizes federal civilian agencies participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to provide SBIR Phase II awardees with technical and business assistance—such as transition assistance, market research, and intellectual property protection—to accelerate commercialization of federally funded innovations.)

This section extends two pilot programs under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs—which provide competitive grants to small businesses for high-risk research and development with commercial potential—through September 30, 2030 (from September 30, 2025). Specifically, the section (1) extends the Phase 0 Proof of Concept Partnership Program, which enables the Small Business Administration to partner with public or private entities to provide pre-Phase I feasibility assistance; and (2) extends the Commercialization Assistance Pilot Programs, which allow certain agencies to use SBIR and STTR funds for technical assistance to aid commercialization.