{
  "metadata": {
    "name": "GrantProbe 2026 Federal Grant Reality Audit",
    "description": "Aggregated audit of 50 federal grant programs across 10 agencies covering award size, eligibility, matching requirements, and deadline cadence.",
    "sourceRecords": 50,
    "agencies": 10,
    "timeRange": "2026-Q2",
    "datePublished": "2026-05-09",
    "dateModified": "2026-05-09",
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
    "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "canonicalUrl": "https://grantprobe.com/research/federal-grant-reality-2026/",
    "methodology": "SOURCED — real public-data aggregation (not modeled). The 50-program award table (awardMin/awardMax/agency/deadline/CFDA/eligibility) is computed from grant-database.json, recorded from grants.gov and primary agency program pages; SBIR/STTR application-to-award ratios cite SBA Office of Advocacy and SBIR.gov public success-rate disclosures. DERIVED: eligibility tags via keyword scan; award \"medians\" use program ceiling/floor, not a per-award distribution. Where no public success rate exists (non-SBIR domestic grants) the study explicitly makes no estimate. Program ceilings are statutory/announced figures, not realized-award averages.",
    "dataProvenance": "SOURCED — real public-data aggregation (not modeled). The 50-program award table (awardMin/awardMax/agency/deadline/CFDA/eligibility) is computed from grant-database.json, recorded from grants.gov and primary agency program pages; SBIR/STTR application-to-award ratios cite SBA Office of Advocacy and SBIR.gov public success-rate disclosures. DERIVED: eligibility tags via keyword scan; award \"medians\" use program ceiling/floor, not a per-award distribution. Where no public success rate exists (non-SBIR domestic grants) the study explicitly makes no estimate. Program ceilings are statutory/announced figures, not realized-award averages."
  },
  "overall": {
    "n": 50,
    "medianAwardMax": 1125000,
    "medianAwardMin": 100000,
    "noMatchingFundsCount": 32,
    "noMatchingFundsPct": 64,
    "rollingDeadlineCount": 10,
    "rollingDeadlinePct": 20
  },
  "perAgency": {
    "Small Business Administration (SBA)": {
      "count": 8,
      "medianMax": 2175000,
      "medianMin": 7500
    },
    "US Department of Agriculture (USDA)": {
      "count": 8,
      "medianMax": 500000,
      "medianMin": 12500
    },
    "Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)": {
      "count": 6,
      "medianMax": 7500000,
      "medianMin": 87500
    },
    "National Institutes of Health (NIH)": {
      "count": 5,
      "medianMax": 300000,
      "medianMin": 100000
    },
    "Department of Energy (DOE)": {
      "count": 5,
      "medianMax": 15000000,
      "medianMin": 100000
    },
    "Department of Education (ED)": {
      "count": 5,
      "medianMax": 600000,
      "medianMin": 200000
    },
    "National Science Foundation (NSF)": {
      "count": 4,
      "medianMax": 3500000,
      "medianMin": 450000
    },
    "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)": {
      "count": 4,
      "medianMax": 550000,
      "medianMin": 70000
    },
    "Department of Labor (DOL)": {
      "count": 4,
      "medianMax": 6500000,
      "medianMin": 500000
    },
    "Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)": {
      "count": 1,
      "medianMax": 1000000,
      "medianMin": 25000
    }
  },
  "awardRangeDistribution": {
    "lt50K": 2,
    "r50K_250K": 2,
    "r250K_1M": 19,
    "r1M_10M": 19,
    "gte10M": 8
  },
  "categoryBreakdown": {
    "Research": 11,
    "Education": 7,
    "Energy": 6,
    "Agriculture": 6,
    "Small Business": 4,
    "Environment": 3,
    "Community Development": 3,
    "Housing": 3,
    "Workforce": 3,
    "Minority Business": 2,
    "Veteran": 2
  },
  "eligibilityTags": {
    "nonprofit_501c3": 23,
    "educational_institution": 20,
    "state_or_local_government": 19,
    "small_business_for_profit": 18,
    "tribal_government_or_entity": 15,
    "research_organization": 7,
    "individual_applicant": 4
  },
  "matchingFunds": {
    "noMatchRequired": 32,
    "matchOrCostShareRequired": 16,
    "unspecified": 2
  },
  "deadlineByQuarter": {
    "rolling_open_continuously": 10,
    "Q1_Jan_Mar": 10,
    "Q2_Apr_Jun": 9,
    "Q3_Jul_Sep": 8,
    "Q4_Oct_Dec": 4,
    "annual_unspecified_quarter": 5,
    "multiple_quarterly_cycles": 3,
    "other": 1
  },
  "phasedProgramEconomics": {
    "SBIR_STTR_Phase_I_typical_award_usd": 314000,
    "SBIR_STTR_Phase_II_typical_award_usd": 2000000,
    "SBIR_Phase_I_to_II_advancement_rate_pct_disclosed_DoD_NIH_NSF": 40,
    "source": "SBIR.gov solicitation pages and SBA Office of Advocacy 2024 SBIR Annual Report"
  },
  "topPrograms": [
    {
      "slug": "doe-loan-programs-office-title-xvii",
      "agency": "DOE",
      "awardMax": 30000000000,
      "category": "Energy"
    },
    {
      "slug": "hud-section-108-loan-guarantee",
      "agency": "HUD",
      "awardMax": 100000000,
      "category": "Community Development"
    },
    {
      "slug": "doe-arpa-e",
      "agency": "DOE",
      "awardMax": 10000000,
      "category": "Energy"
    },
    {
      "slug": "sba-7a-small-business-loan-guarantee",
      "agency": "SBA",
      "awardMax": 5000000,
      "category": "Small Business"
    }
  ],
  "primarySources": [
    {
      "name": "Grants.gov",
      "url": "https://www.grants.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "SBA Office of Advocacy",
      "url": "https://advocacy.sba.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "SBIR.gov",
      "url": "https://www.sbir.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "USAspending.gov",
      "url": "https://www.usaspending.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "SAM.gov",
      "url": "https://sam.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "USDA Rural Development",
      "url": "https://www.rd.usda.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "GAO Reports",
      "url": "https://www.gao.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "CBO",
      "url": "https://www.cbo.gov/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Candid Foundation Directory",
      "url": "https://candid.org/"
    },
    {
      "name": "HHS Budget",
      "url": "https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bureau of Indian Affairs",
      "url": "https://www.bia.gov/"
    }
  ]
}