Do I have to be a US company?
For SBIR and STTR, yes — those programmes are for US small businesses, with ownership, control and place-of-performance requirements that catch a lot of foreign-founded companies off guard. But that's only half the map: if you're Canadian, SR&ED, IRAP and Innovative Solutions Canada are open to you today, and SR&ED in particular is an entitlement rather than a contest.
Structuring a compliant US entity alongside a Canadian one is often the first piece of work. It's far better done deliberately than discovered mid-application — we've been through the cross-border version of this ourselves, which is why it's the first thing we check on a call.
We're Canadian. Is SBIR even worth chasing?
Sometimes, and sometimes not — it depends on how much US market you actually need. A Canadian company can build a very respectable non-dilutive stack without touching SBIR: SR&ED as the base layer, IRAP for project costs, Innovative Solutions Canada for a federal customer, Mitacs for research talent, and a regional agency for scale-up.
Chasing SBIR makes sense when a US federal customer or US market entry is genuinely strategic. It costs a US entity, US place of performance, and a structure that doesn't accidentally cost you CCPC status and the enhanced 35% SR&ED rate. We'll model both paths on the first call rather than assuming the American one is better.
What actually changed with SR&ED in 2026?
Bill C-15 received royal assent in March 2026 and it's the largest expansion of the programme in a decade. The annual expenditure limit for the enhanced 35% refundable credit doubled from $3M to $6M; the taxable-capital phase-out range moved from $10M–$50M up to $15M–$75M; capital expenditures became eligible again for the first time since 2014; and the enhanced refundable credit was extended to certain Canadian public corporations.
The practical consequence is that companies previously phased out may now qualify, and R&D budgets built on the old $3M ceiling are leaving money unclaimed. The constraint is almost never eligibility — it's contemporaneous technical documentation, which is the thing nobody keeps and the thing a reviewer asks for first. Confirm your specific position with your accountant; we work on the technical narrative and the documentation discipline that supports it.
Will you work on contingency — a percentage of the award?
No. Contingent and success fees paid from SBIR/STTR award funds are widely treated as unallowable, and a fee arrangement that creates an audit problem is not a saving. We quote a flat fee up front. If a competing consultant offers you a percentage, ask them in writing how they expect it to be paid and from which funds.
If the government funds it, does the government own it?
No. Under SBIR data rights the government receives a licence to use the data developed under the award, but for a 20-year protection period from each award it cannot release your proprietary data to third parties. What matters is drawing the line clearly between background IP you bring in and foreground IP developed under the award — and checking whether any university partner holds rights through Bayh-Dole.
We handle this as technical strategy alongside your patent and contracts counsel; we are not a law firm.
You're a new firm. Why take the risk?
Because the track record is older than the firm and every item on it is publicly verifiable — the sensor integrations, the conference presentations, the reimbursement pathway, the government funding round. Check them before you call us.
And because the engagement is structured so you carry as little risk as possible: the first call and the written proposal are free, the price can't move against you, payment is gated on accepted milestones, and you can stop between them.
How long does this take, realistically?
Solicitation deadlines drive everything, and they are unforgiving. A serious Phase I proposal wants six to eight weeks of runway; registrations alone (SAM.gov and the associated identifiers) can take weeks and are a common reason companies miss a cycle entirely. If you're three weeks from a deadline with no registrations, we'll usually tell you to target the next cycle and use the time to be genuinely ready.
Do you only work in health and life sciences?
No. Our deepest domain scar tissue is in health AI, medical devices and regulated data — that's where we built and shipped. But the machinery is the same across deeptech: agency targeting, readiness evidence, IP position, commercialization. We work across energy, defence, advanced manufacturing and AI infrastructure, and we'll say plainly on the first call where our domain knowledge is thinner.
Can you help after the award, not just before it?
That's the point of us. Winning Phase I is the easy half; delivering it is what makes Phase II possible, and Phase II is where the real money and the sole-source Phase III authority live. We're built to do the engineering, not to hand you a PDF and wish you luck.
What if we don't win?
Most applicants don't, on the first attempt — this is a competitive programme and any consultant implying otherwise is selling something. What a serious application buys you even when it loses is reviewer feedback, a programme officer relationship, and a technical volume that is 80% reusable next cycle. We plan for the resubmission from the start rather than pretending it won't be needed.