The NSW Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR) program is an initiative of the NSW Government that provides competitive grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find and commercialise innovative solutions to well-defined problems for NSW Government agencies.
The 2021 SBIR program will provide up to $12 million in grants to NSW SMEs to solve the five NSW Government challenges listed below. View the SBIR program one-page information sheet
The SBIR program has three phases:
Not all SME applications will proceed through all phases.
Challenge Statements
Proposed solutions must address one of the SBIR program challenges. Each challenge describes a current NSW Government agency problem requiring an innovative solution.
Five challenges have been defined for the 2021 SBIR program:
Webinars
R&D NSW will host a webinar for each challenge in July 2021. Each webinar will describe the SBIR program, the challenge, and provide an opportunity for prospective applicants to ask questions of the NSW Government agency proposing that challenge. The webinars will be recorded and made available on the SBIR program website.
Connectivity Challenge Webinar
Wednesday 7 July 2021, 12:00pm to 1:00pm AEST
Koala Count Challenge Webinar
Monday 12 July 2021, 12:00pm to 1:00pm AEST
Hyperlocal Navigation Challenge Webinar
Thursday 15 July 2021, 12:30pm to 1:30pm AEST
Personal Protective Equipment and Water Purification Challenges Webinar
Monday 26 July 2021, 12:00pm to 1:30pm AEST
How to Apply
Applications open in late June 2021. Applications close at 11:59pm AEST on Monday 16 August 2021.
Before applying, all applicants should read the 2021 NSW SBIR Program Guidelines and 2021 NSW SBIR Program FAQs.
Important Dates
| Jun 2021 | Phase 1: Feasibility study applications open |
| Jul 2021 | Webinars are hosted for each SBIR program challenge |
| Aug 2021 | Phase 1: Feasibility study applications close |
| Sep 2021 | Applications are assessed for Phase 1: Feasibility study |
| Oct 2021 | Grants awarded and Phase 1: Feasibility studies commence |
| Jan 2022 | Feasibility studies are completed and grantees are invited to apply for Phase 2: Proof of concept |
| Mar 2022 | Phase 2: Proof of concept projects commence |
Dates are subject to change.
