EconDefense
ACQ-20 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Pay for commercialization, IP, cybersecurity and business assistance

Authorize SBIR/STTR recipients to purchase assistance or use staff/training to improve commercialization and screen foreign involvement; qualifyingI-Corps participation can be supported.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-20

Small-business support

Research, innovation and experimentation

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Participating agency; eligible SBIR/STTR award recipient selects support

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Recipient selection/staff-use option does not make program a general consultancy grant for non-awardees.

Recorded executor

Service or Defense Agency SBIR-STTR office and award officer

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedMay be included in or added to award as agency determines; applicable statutory funding sources and reviews. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProcess sourcedArmy TABA provides a concrete assistance process under section 638(q), including newly listed cybersecurity and workforce support for 2026. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-20 · Other statutory tools

Authority holder: Participating agency; eligible SBIR/STTR award recipient selects support

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.

Program process and intake

Checked 2026-10-04 · program documented. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.

Army TABA provides a concrete assistance process under section 638(q), including newly listed cybersecurity and workforce support for 2026.

Army SBIR/STTR Technical and Business Assistance

Who this route serves
Eligible Army SBIR/STTR applicants and awardees
Administering office / routing lead
Army SBIR/STTR program office; approved assistance providers
Direct implementation

The Army guidance explicitly cites 15 U.S.C. 638(q)(1).

What this evidence label means
Published 2026 service expansion

Current page labels CMMC/cybersecurity and staffing/hiring/training as 2026 additions; individual service access remains award-dependent.

Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04

Army SBIR Technical and Business Assistance · Eligibility; company-selected support; Army-preferred support; new2026 servicesofficial program guidance · Evidence record

Program eligibility

Steps and preparation

  • Company-selected vendor/internal-staff requests go in DSIP Volume3 cost and Volume5 supporting documentation. Awardees without approved support may use the Army-preferred provider route.

    Army SBIR Technical and Business Assistance · Eligibility; company-selected support; Army-preferred support; new2026 servicesofficial program guidance · Evidence record
Funding, limits and authority relationship

Funding and financial terms

  • technical/business assistance · current Army published program limits

    Army page lists$6,500 perPhaseI project and$50,000 acrossPhaseII projects perfirm; preferred-provider assistance is paid to the provider.

    Army SBIR Technical and Business Assistance · Eligibility; company-selected support; Army-preferred support; new2026 servicesofficial program guidance · Evidence record

Exclusions and limits

  • Not a standalone consulting grant or unrestricted reimbursement; local program limits must not be generalized to all agencies.

    Army SBIR Technical and Business Assistance · Eligibility; company-selected support; Army-preferred support; new2026 servicesofficial program guidance · Evidence record

Authority relationship source

Army SBIR Technical and Business Assistance · Eligibility; company-selected support; Army-preferred support; new2026 servicesofficial program guidance · Evidence record

Army TABA request instructions →

published guidance: Published process; verify the controlling notice before submission.

Research scope and sources checked

Read the current Army program page and its named2026 service additions, proposal volumes, limits and preferred-provider process; separated provider identity from government administering office.

What remains unverified

  • Provider capacity and individual request approvals were not verified.

A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Current SBIR/STTR award and assistance linked to eligible project/commercialization purposes.

Limits & exclusions

  • Phase I assistance up to $6,500/project; Phase II up to $50,000/project.
  • Recipient selection/staff-use option does not make program a general consultancy grant for non-awardees.

Funding conditions

  • May be included in or added to award as agency determines; applicable statutory funding sources and reviews.

Read the funding and execution guide

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

Awardee identifies commercial/IP/cyber need → component program and award officer authorize funds → chosen provider or staff/training execution.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedMay be included in or added to award as agency determines; applicable statutory funding sources and reviews. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProcess sourcedArmy TABA provides a concrete assistance process under section 638(q), including newly listed cybersecurity and workforce support for 2026. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: P.L. 119-83 §7 enacted 2026-04-13 read in full; modifies 15 U.S.C. §638(q) and adds(bbb).

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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