Conduct and purchase defense-relevant research and development
Conduct basic, applied and advanced research and development internally, through military departments, by contract, or by agreement with another federal agency.
Contracts & purchases
ACQ-17 / Research, innovation and experimentation
Pair small firms and research institutions through STTR
Fund cooperative R&D between an eligible small business and research institution, with phased transition toward commercialization.
At a glance
Mission goalDevelop a technology
Possible toolACQ-17 · Other statutory tools
Legal basis15 U.S.C. §638(e)(6)-(7), (n), (o), (yy)
Responsible rolesPlanning · funds · approval · execution
Authority holder: Participating federal agency; DoD/component STTR officials
Other statutory tools
Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.
Availability and verification
Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.
Requirements and limits
Eligibility & prerequisites
- Small business performs at least 40% and research institution at least 30% of work under statutory cooperative-R&D definition.
- Eligible institution and small business; IP allocation and security diligence.
Limits & exclusions
- Partner eligibility is distinct from SBIR; military research/educational institution participation is a specific pilot, not universal eligibility.
Funding conditions
- Generally 0.45% of eligible extramural R&D for covered agencies; agency threshold/exclusions apply.
- Remaining required FY2026 funds may carry into FY2027 under P.L. 119-83 §9(b).
Who contributes what
Need & planning
- DoD/component SBIR-STTR program office and technical topic owner
Resources
- Component extramural R&D budget owner
Approval
- Authorized component grants/contracting official; required research-security reviewers
Execution
- Service or Defense Agency SBIR-STTR office and award officer
Office profile
Partners & review
- SBA program-wide policy
- Eligible small business; acquisition customer; research-security and counterintelligence partners
Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.
Coordination pathway
Component technical need → STTR office → eligible business/institution team → negotiated research/IP plan → award official.
Actor and execution-role sources
Legal basis
- 15 U.S.C. §638(e)(6)-(7), (n), (o), (yy)Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.
- P.L. 119-83, §2, 9, 10Enacted public law, not a pending bill.
What this research establishes
Legal powerSource and conditions recorded
EligibilityProject-specific check needed
Available fundsBalances not verified
DelegationValid signature authority must be checked
ExecutionOffice capacity and approvals must be checked
Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.
Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation. P.L. 119-83 § §9–10 extends STTR and military-institution pilot through 2031-09-30; currentness otherwise qualified.
Research target: October 2, 2026. A record-specific last-review date is not supplied. Publication date is not legal-currentness certification.