Technical and Business Assistance (TABA)
What is TABA?
Many U.S. government agencies will give you additional funding on your SBIR/STTR award to select your own commercialization services provider through an option called Discretionary Technical Assistance (DTA) or Commercialization Assistance. DTA allows you to select your own provider, and add additional funding to your SBIR project to support commercialization activities, at no cost to your project. As part of The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, a new term for this assistance was introduced… “Technical and Business Assistance (TABA)”.
Below are the SBIR agencies that support TABA:
| Agency | Phase I Amount | Phase II Amount |
| NIH | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| DoE | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| DoD (varies by agency component) | up to $6,500 | up to $50,000 |
| DHS | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| NASA | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| USDA | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| NSF | N/A | $50,000 |
| NIST | $6,500 | $50,000 |
| EPA | $6,500 | $10,000 |
| DoT | $6,500 | $13,000 |
| ED | $6,500 | $50,000 |
In order for the company to select its own vendor – it must include a request to do so at the time of proposal/application submittal, following the guidelines provided by the agency.
Be sure to refer to the solicitation from the agency to which you are applying for specifics as to if TABA amounts are in addition to the funding threshold or included in the maximum. And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!
Foresight Science & Technology has over 43 years of commercialization consulting experience and an extensive background as a SBIR commercialization support contractor. Foresight is currently under contract to provide services for the EPA SBIR Phase I TABA program, the USDOT Phase I and Phase II TABA Program, and is subcontracted to review hundreds of DOE SBIR/STTR Phase II commercialization plans every year, giving us a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of typical commercialization plans.
Foresight’s Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) services include:
• Market Analysis- reviewing competitive technologies, market size and dynamics
• SWOT Analysis and/or Needs Assessment
• Expert/End-User Interviews for Insights and Market Validation
• Review and edit of Commercialization Plan
• IP Landscape Review
• IP Strategy Consultation
• Product Development Consultation
• Regulatory Strategy Consulting
• Market Entry Launch Strategy
• Federal Laboratory Partnership Matchmaking
• Manufacturing Strategy Consultation
• Financial Plan Review
• Fundraising Strategy Development
• Preparation of Technology Marketing Material
• Graphic Design
• Identification of and Outreach to Potential Commercialization Partners
• Technology Marketing for Trade Show, Conference, or Event
• Deal Terms/ Licensing Advisory
If you have any questions or would like a TABA Vendor letter/quote to include in your proposal, please contact us at: sales@foresightst.com