Inception & Purpose

Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration,Ministry of Economic Affairs, is currently promotion SBIR to encourage SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to conduct R&D on innovative techniques and products so as to drive innovation and research, as well as to expand private-sector investments in R&D. The hope is that such R&D results can support industries, boost the competitiveness of Taiwanese SMEs, and spur economic development.

Application Criteria

The term "SME" as used in the Standards shall mean an enterprise which has completed company registration or business registration in accordance with the requirements of the laws, and which conforms to the following standards:The enterprise is with either paid-in capital of NT$100 million or less, or less than 200 regular employees.

Application object

Individual Applications：

Applications for R&D subsidies filed by individual companies.

R&D Alliance：

A joint application filed by at least three members. (All applicants must be SMEs. However, joint applications may be made in conjunction with schools, legal persons or institutions in Taiwan or overseas. More than half of the applying members must be SMEs. In principle, each SME is limited to participating in one R&D alliance project.)

Project Categories

Innovative Technologies：

Innovative research in technologies or product indicators in the proposal should be innovative or have the potential to raise technical standards in Taiwan industries.

Innovative Services：

Facilitates the creation, distribution and value adding of innovative or forward-looking knowledge for industrial development, as well as the establishment of service platforms, systems or models of core knowledge.
Demand-oriented, driving innovative business models and creating new service industries through the integration and innovative application of technologies, or initiating business or industry-related activities with service innovations.

Application Process

Phase I (Preliminary Research and Preliminary Planning)

A small-scale experiment or statistical analysis of the creative concept that can potentially benefit industries so as to validate that concept as being viable. Applicants must describe the key problems addressed, the creative concept they intend to use, anticipated benefits to industries, as well as relative R&D track records and implementation plans.

Phase II (R&D and Detailed Planning)

R&D of a product, production method or service mechanism based on a tangible and feasible creative concept expected to benefit industries. The R&D of a production method can extend to the trial production or ramp-up stage. Applicants must describe the key problems addressed, the creative concept they intend to use, anticipated benefits to industries, as well as relative R&D track records and implementation plans.

Phase II+ (Added-value Applications )

This involves the implementation and wide application of R&D results in Phase II so as to meet market and customer demand. The focus of R&D extends from the emphasis on the design of technical innovations to the production of the technical application. They may include engineering techniques, moulding development techniques, product design, trial production and ramp-up techniques, or primary market surveys. Applicants must describe the application of the developed technique, feasible implementation, commercialization target and expected benefits.

The duration of and funding for SBIR projects