Applications now being accepted!
If you are small business whose principal place of business is in North Carolina and have either applied for or received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I award since July 1, 2024, you may be eligible for an Incentive grant and/or a Matching grant from the One North Carolina Small Business Program. Solicitations with details regarding each program are below.
Press release: New Round of Technology Development Grant Funds Available for North Carolina Small Businesses
The One North Carolina Small Business Program is comprised of two programs:
- The SBIR/STTR Phase I Incentive Funds Program - As authorized by NC General Statute § 143B‑437.80, awards reimbursement to qualified NC businesses for a portion of the costs incurred in preparing and submitting Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposals to federal agencies. The goals are to increase the number, quality, company and technology diversity, and geographic breadth of NC applications for Federal SBIR and STTR Phase I awards.
- The SBIR/STTR Phase I Matching Funds Program - As authorized by NC General Statute § 143B‑437.81, awards matching funds to NC businesses who have received a federal SBIR or STTR award. The goals are to help NC companies bridge the funding gap period between the final Phase I payment and the first Phase II payment in the Federal Program, and increase the intensity of the research conducted under Phase I, making NC small businesses more competitive in the competition for Phase II funds.
For additional information regarding solicitations, see Current Solicitation & Guidelines or Previous Solicitations & Awardees below.
- To learn about the impacts of this program, see Program Impacts & Success Stories.
- Also see the latest press release on awarded FY 2024 grants: North Carolina Awards Science, Technology and Innovation Grants to 80 Small Businesses (October 18, 2024).
- The One North Carolina Small Business Program is administered by the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation on behalf of the Board of Science, Technology & Innovation.
Before applying** to the program(s), please review the current solicitations, as follows:
**Online applications are available under Apply to Programs .
For general program guidelines (which are more general and overarching than specific Program Solicitations and govern the administration of the Programs on an ongoing basis), see:
If you have questions, please contact the OSTI staff.
Applications for the One North Carolina Small Business Program are managed through the CyberGrants Management System. Before applying, please review the applicable solicitations.
- Start an Incentive Grant Application
- Start an SBIR Matching Grant Application
- Start an STTR Matching Grant Application
If you have questions regarding the programs overall or eligibility, please contact the OSTI staff.
Reports and Applications for the One North Carolina Small Business Program are managed through the CyberGrants Management System.
To submit reports or a survey, or to edit an already active application for the Program, access the CyberGrants Management System using the links below:
If you are ready to request a Stage 2 payment disbursement, please contact the OSTI staff.
Program Impacts
A detailed analysis of the One NC Small Business Matching Funds Program impacts is conducted every two years. The most recent evaluation found that, since its inception in 2006, the program has helped enable:
- the creation and retention of more than 2,000 private sector jobs statewide – more to come as more companies benefit and grow.
- more than 475 small businesses bring to market biotechnology, nanotechnology, medical technologies, computer software, military/defense technologies, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and other high-tech applications.
- more than 70 percent of the small businesses to remain in operation.
- the small businesses to attract more than $8 billion in external investment.
- 60 percent of NC matching grant winners to win Phase II federal grant awards, each with a considerably larger average value of $1 million (nationally, 54 percent of Phase I award winners graduate to Phase II awards).
- the small businesses to produce more than $125 million in total first-year sales resulting directly from the technology developed with Program funding.
- significant technology/business-development partnerships among NC universities & businesses.
For a printable two-page summary of the strong impacts of the One NC Small Business Program since its inception in 2006, see:
- One NC Small Business Program Fact Sheet (December 2024).
Success Stories
- Applied LifeSciences & Systems (Raleigh) - Biosystems Company Builds Technology That Reduces Business Costs & Improves Animal Welfare
- Baebies (Durham) - Innovating a Healthy Start for Babies and a Diagnostic Company
- Bennett Aerospace (Cary) - Smart Engineering Creates New Products & A Successful Company
- Corvid Technologies (Mooresville) - One North Carolina Small Business Program Supports Engineering Firm's Overwhelming Growth
- Precision BioSciences (Durham) - Cutting-Edge Leadership in a New Technology Can Cut Both Ways
- Prevention Strategies (Greensboro) - Preventing Bad Behavior Alone Doesn't Lead to Business Success
- Ribometrix (Durham) - Innovative Treatment Strategy for Human Disease Shapes a Successful Biotech Company
- United Protective Technologies (Locust) - Thin Coatings Protect Military Investments and Facilitate Small Business Growth
- Vigilant CyberSystems (Mt. Airy) - Surviving Threats in Cyberspace and The Tough World of Business
Since its inception in 2006, the program has awarded Phase I SBIR/STTR Incentive and Matching grants to 481 small businesses throughout the state. Those businesses are listed below; links to their websites are provided when available. Additional detail regarding awards made to these small businesses is available in the Previous Solicitations & Awardees section below.
The One North Carolina Small Business Program helps small businesses develop and commercialize innovative technologies to benefit the general population. In the process, it helps high-tech businesses attract more funding to the state―keeping home-grown technologies in North Carolina and creating more well-paying jobs.
Previous solicitations and listings of awardee small businesses under the Matching Funds Program and Incentive Funds Program are available for download in the tables below.
Matching Funds ProgramNote: Program was not funded in FY 2020, FY 2018, FY 2014, FY 2013, or FY 2012. | ||||
| Fiscal Year | Solicitation | Award # | Award $ | Awardees |
| FY 2024 | Solicitation | 35 | $2,011,841 | Awardees |
| FY 2023 | Solicitation | 25 | $1,702,859 | Awardees |
| FY 2022 | Solicitation | 67 | $4,660,090 | Awardees |
| FY 2021 | Solicitation | 29 | $1,500,000 | Awardees |
| FY 2019 | Solicitation | 25 | $1,201,990 | Awardees |
| FY 2017 | Solicitation | 62 | $3,686,680 | Awardees |
| FY 2016 | Solicitation | 40 | $1,954,004 | Awardees |
| FY 2015 | Solicitation | 51 | $2,500,000 | Awardees |
| FY 2011 | Solicitation | 44 | $1,311,513 | Awardees |
| FY 2010 | Solicitation | 22 | $1,018,940 | Awardees |
| FY 2009 | Solicitation | 54 | $3,968,589 | Awardees |
| FY 2008 | Solicitation | 49 | $4,675,952 | Awardees |
| FY 2007 | Solicitation | 51 | $4,553,918 | Awardees |
| FY 2006 | Solicitation | 25 | $1,111,817 | Awardees |
| Total | 579 | $35,858,190 | All Awardees | |
Incentive Funds ProgramNote: Program was not operational between FY 2010-2021 or FY 2006-2007. | ||||
| Fiscal Year | Solicitation | Award # | Award $ | Awardees |
| FY 2024 | Solicitation | 49 | $317,316 | Awardees |
| FY 2023 | Solicitation | 48 | $345,562 | Awardees |
| FY 2022 | Solicitation | 50 | $358,986 | Awardees |
| FY 2009 | Solicitation | 53 | $156,041 | Awardees |
| FY 2008 | Solicitation | 37 | $107,241 | Awardees |
| Total | 237 | $1,285,146 | Awardees | |
If you have questions, please contact the OSTI staff.
The Board of Science, Technology & Innovation provides annual reports on the One North Carolina Small Business Program to the North Carolina General Assembly, as required by North Carolina General Statute § 143B‑437.83.
Copies of these reports are publicly available through the links below:
- Fiscal Year 2024
- Fiscal Year 2023
- Fiscal Year 2022
- Fiscal Year 2021
- Fiscal Year 2020
- Fiscal Year 2019
- Fiscal Year 2018
- Fiscal Year 2017
- Fiscal Year 2016
- Program not funded 2013-2015
- Fiscal Year 2012
- Fiscal Year 2011
- Fiscal Year 2010
- Fiscal Year 2009
- Fiscal Year 2008
If you have questions, please contact the OSTI staff.