Success Rates for Grant Funding

Grant funding is challenging to obtain.
Only a fraction of applications receive funding.
Over the years the success rate of winning a grant has fallen.
The SBIR grant process comes in three phases — phase 1, 2 and 3.
In 1998, the success rates for phase 1, 2, and 3, were 28%, 49% and 17% respectively.
In 2021, the success rate for phase 1, 2, and 3, were 12%, 21%, and 15% respectively.
The overall rate dropped from 31% in 1998 to 14% in 2021.
The DoD has the largest number of grants available representing 46% of all grants.
The success rate of winning a DoD grant is 15%.
The success rate has dropped in half from 1998 to 2021.
Phase 2 grants have a higher success rate because only Phase 1 winners can apply.
Most grant applications follow the business cycle. 
As the business booms, so do the grant applications.
The current downturn is due to the non-business cycle drop off of applications from the DoD and NASA.
The declining number of grant applications is due to the decreased number of topics available to pursue as the DoD eliminated many research intensive programs.  

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Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.