[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 7, Volume 15] [Revised as of January 1, 2005] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 7CFR3403.3] [Page 331] TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE CHAPTER XXXIV--COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PART 3403_SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM--Table of Contents Subpart A_General Information Sec. 3403.3 Eligibility requirements. (a) Eligibility of organization. (1) Each organization submitting a proposal must qualify as a small business concern for research purposes, as defined in Sec. 3403.2. Joint ventures and limited partnerships are eligible to apply for and to receive research grants under this program, provided that the entity created qualifies as a small business concern in accordance with section 2(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) and as defined in Sec. 3403.2. For both phase I and phase II the research must be performed in the United States. (2) A minimum of two-thirds of the research or analytical work, as determined by budget expenditures, must be performed by the proposing organization under phase I grants. For phase II awards, a minimum of one-half of the research or analytical effort must be conducted by the proposing organization. The space used by the SBIR awardee to conduct the research must be space over which it has exclusive control for the period of the grant. (b) Eligibility of principal investigator. (1) It is strongly suggested that the individual responsible for the scientific or technical direction of the project be designated as the principal investigator. In addition, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the proposing small business concern at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed research. Primary employment means that more than one-half of the principal investigator's time is spent in the employ of the small business concern. Primary employment with the small business applicant precludes full-time employment with another organization. (2) If the proposed principal investigator is employed by another organization (e.g., university or another company) at the time of submission of the application, documentation must be submitted with the proposal from the principal investigator's current employer verifying that, in the event of an SBIR award, he/she will become a less-than half-time employee of such organization and will remain so for the duration of the SBIR project.