You may have heard that the government has a program which gives $50,000 to individuals to help them research a business startup idea. The answer is TRUE and FALSE. To the best of my knowledge, there are no government programs which provide money to start a business

However, there is a program called THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM. This program provides limited junds to qualified small business concern proposing innovative ideas meeting the specific research and development needs of the Federal Government. The only way a small business concern can obtain SBIR funding is to successfully compete for an SBIR award. Here are the facts.

AGENCIES INVOLVED
The following agencies provide SBIR grants:
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health & Human Services
Department of Transportation
Environmental Protection Agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation

PURPOSE OF A SBIR GRANT
The SBIR program is a very competitive three-phase award system. Small businesses can compete by proposing innovative ideas that meet the specific R&D needs of the specific agencies. The definition of a Small Business for SBIR awards is any firm (including it's affiliates) has less than 500 employees.

KINDS OF PROJECTS FUNDED
Each federal agency has its own list of topics for SBIR solicitation. You will need to contact each for details of what they are looking for, and this need changes regularly.

MONEY
There are three phases to a SBIR grant, and the agency may elect to only fund the first.
Phase I is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. This can be funded up to $100,000 by some agencies.
Phase II further expands on the results of the feasibility study and the development of Phase I. Typical funding is from $300,000.
Phase III is for the commercialization of the results of Phase II. No federal funding is available, and it is your task to round-up private sector funds.

HOW TO APPLY
The first step is to begin receiving or viewing the quarterly publications. I would suggest the website www.zyn.com/SBIR. This spells out just about everything you would want to know about the subject, then guides you in applying for a grant.