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SBIR/STTR ALERTING SERVICE * June 1, 2007
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The SBIR/STTR Alerting Service is a free service that provides bi-weekly notification of SBIR and STTR solicitation announcements, news and information, and Internet resources relevant to the SBIR/STTR programs. This service is provided by the Economic Development Office of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
Back issues of the SBIR Alert are available on the World Wide Web at www.pnl.gov/edo/sbir. Subscription instructions appear at the end of this newsletter.
The next issue of this newsletter will be sent on June 22, 2007.
NEWS IN THIS ISSUE
-- Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines!
-- USDA FY2008 SBIR RFA Release Update
-- 2007 Tibbetts Awards Program
-- SBIR Proposal Writing Tip: NIST SBIR Program Topics
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SBIR/STTR NEWS AND INFORMATION
-- Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines!
Three agency solicitation deadlines are rapidly approaching. The agency solicitations, deadline dates, and websites are listed below:
1) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY07.1 SBIR Solicitation closes June 5, 2007. Proposals must be completely submitted and electronically date stamped by 4:30 p.m. ET. Each proposal must be submitted on the DHS electronic submission web site at www.sbir.dhs.gov and contain a completed:
- Proposal Cover Sheet
- Technical Proposal
- Cost Proposal
- Commercialization Report (Phase II Proposals only)
Section 6.2 of the solicitation cautions that “the solicitation deadline is firm. As the close date draws near, heavy traffic on the web server may cause delays. Plan ahead and leave ample time to prepare and submit your proposal. Proposers bear the risk of web site inaccessibility due to heavy usage in the final hours before the solicitation closing time.”
2) The DoD 2007.2 SBIR Solicitation closes June 13, 2007. Proposals must be completely submitted by 6 a.m. EST. All SBIR Proposal Cover Sheets and Company Commercialization Reports must be prepared and submitted electronically through the DoD SBIR/STTR Electronic Submission Web Site http://www.dodsbir.net/submission/, as described in Sections 3.0 and 6.0 of the program solicitation. For more information or assistance, visit the DoD SBIR/STTR website at www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/, or contact the Help Desk at www.dodsbir.net/helpdesk/ or call 866-SBIRHLP (866-724-7457).
3) The National Science Foundation (NSF) FY 2008 SBIR/STTR program solicitation closes June 13, 2007. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time. Proposers are cautioned to follow the administrative and technical instructions carefully or the proposals will be returned without review. For more information, visit the NSF SBIR/STTR website at www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/.
-- USDA FY2008 SBIR RFA Release Update
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) had tentatively scheduled to release their FY2008 SBIR Request For Application (RFA) on June 1, 2007, however, it is now expected that they will release the RFA in mid-July. Proposals will need to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, which can have lengthy registration process. If you intend to submit an application, you don’t have to wait until the RFA is published to register.
For more information on the USDA SBIR program, including the 2007 SBIR RFA and Topic Areas, visit www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/sbir/sbir.html.
-- 2007 Tibbetts Awards Program
The ninth Tibbetts Awards program is underway. As indicated on www.tibbettsawards.org:
“Named for Roland Tibbetts, the person acknowledged as the father of the SBIR program, these prestigious, national awards are made annually to those small firms, projects, organizations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR achievement.
The emphasis is on recognizing those accomplishments where, in the judgment of those closely involved and often most immediately affected, the stimulus of SBIR funding has made an important and definable difference.
In selection for Tibbetts Awards, the focus is primarily on:
- Economic impact of technological innovation
- Business achievement and effective collaborations
- Demonstrated state and regional impact and proven support”
Nominations will be accepted until July 15, 2007. The Awards Presentation Ceremony will take place on October 10, 2007 in Washington, DC. Registration for the presentation ceremonies will open soon. Visit the website above for details.
-- SBIR Proposal Writing Tip: NIST SBIR Program Topics
The following proposal writing tip was provided by Gail & Jim Greenwood. Past SBIR proposal writing articles written by the Greenwoods are available on the Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc. (GCGI) web site at http://g-jgreenwood.home.att.net.
SBIR Proposal Writing Basics: Writing Your Own Topic (sort of) at NIST SBIR Program
Copyright© 2007 by Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.
This time last month, we were not even discussing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an SBIR agency, since its FY07 SBIR budget was so limited that they decided to only award Phase 2 proposals this year. However, NIST’s SBIR program has returned, and with a very interesting twist. Because it may represent a new and different opportunity for you in the SBIR program, we decided to focus on the FY08 NIST SBIR program in this article.
NIST plans to have two Phase 1 SBIR solicitations in FY08. The first will be along the lines of what they’ve had in the past: fairly specific topics on which they want only proposals that clearly and consistently address the needs and problems specified in the topic.
The second solicitation will be based around NIST-held patents that you and your fellow SBIR competitors want to further research and then commercialize. However, you will need to find the patent of interest BEFORE the solicitation is assembled so that the patent can be specified in the solicitation. Therefore, over the next several months, you need to check NIST’s website (http://nist.gov), and seek out the list of NIST-held patents. Scan it over, highlight any that look interesting, and then follow up with the researcher who generated the IP behind the patent to see if this looks like something you want to pursue. Make sure to do at least a back-of-the-envelope assessment of the potential Phase III commercialization opportunity so you are assured of pursuing something with a payoff.
Then, if you are still interested in this patent, contact the NIST SBIR program office to indicate your interest. You probably will iterate with them a few times, and then with a bit of luck, the patent you’re interested in will appear in the NIST 2nd FY08 solicitation to be issued around October 15th. You will then prepare your proposal, using all the juicy information you gleaned while checking out the patent and its Phase III potential, and be prepared to negotiate both a contract and a licensing agreement to the patent if NIST selects your proposal for funding.
There are several important features to this NIST initiative:
1. You select the technology. NIST is basically asking you to suggest a patent of theirs that you think has Phase III commercialization potential. This is not the way that NIST usually does things: as a contract agency, they usually tell you what topics they want you to propose solutions for. With this greater flexibility comes good and bad: you get to decide what has merit, but you also have to make a greater effort to ferret out a NIST patent with commercial potential.
2. You have to do a lot of homework before the solicitation is prepared. This is a very unusual situation in which NIST wants you to search through its patents, find something that interests you, and then contact them to explain why that patent should be included in their special solicitation. We often encourage SBIR/STTR proposers to begin work on a proposal before the agency’s solicitation comes out, and that advice is VERY relevant here.
3. You will still have competition. We envision competition to come in at least three places in the special NIST solicitation. First, you will compete with other companies to get the patent in which you are interested included in the solicitation. Therefore, you must be prepared to convince NIST that the patent you’re interested in has a high chance of commercialization success and otherwise is worthy of NIST support. Second, once the patent you like is spelled out in the solicitation, anyone can submit a proposal on it. Therefore, your proposal has to be well done to show that you have the best opportunity to perform the Phase I and II research and ultimately commercialize the technology. Finally, your proposal will have to compete for NIST’s limited SBIR funding. NIST is one of the smaller SBIR agencies, and therefore will only be able to fund a limited number of proposals under this special solicitation. Your proposal needs to make a compelling case for why it should be a priority use for those limited funds.
This special NIST solicitation provides a unique opportunity for SBIR companies. Just make sure that NIST’s interests and goals are consistent with yours, in terms of the types of projects that they’d like to see come out of this solicitation.
Gail and Jim Greenwood may be reached at the following address:
Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.
1150 Junonia
Sanibel, FL 33957
(239) 395-9446 (voice & fax)
(email)
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CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
NATIONAL
2007 National SBIR Phase II Conference, Arlington, VA, August 20 - 23, 2007. Phase II companies ready to transition will have the opportunity to meet with end users to discuss commercialization and create partnerships. Invitations are expected to be mailed by late March. This is a ‘by invitation only’ Conference. For more information, visit www.ndia.org/meetings/7750.
2007 Fall SBIR Conference, Richardson (Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex), TX, October 29 - November 1, 2007. For more information, visit www.sbirtexas.com.
REGIONAL
* Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop, Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, June 5, 2007. This workshop starts with the basics of SBIR/STTR and continues into a four-step process for developing a competitive Phase I SBIR/STTR proposal. Attendees have the opportunity to review an actual SBIR Phase I proposal and learn from its strengths and weaknesses. It is designed for newcomers to SBIR/STTR, as well as more experienced companies that want to sharpen their SBIR/STTR proposal preparation skills. For more information contact .
Iowa SBIR/STTR Conference, Ames, IA June 5, 2007. The theme for this year’s conference is Partnerships for Innovation in Manufacturing. Conference sessions will include an "SBIR/STTR 101" overview, manufacturing opportunities in the SBIR/STTR programs and universities as resources. The goals of the conference are to increase awareness of and participation in the SBIR/STTR programs by Iowa companies, recognize outstanding Iowa SBIR or STTR awardees, and to help companies identify other potential resources for innovation and support. For more information, visit www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/sbir/home.html, or contact: Kris Johansen at or 515-294-3208.
SBIR/STTR 101 - Introduction and Overview, Ann Arbor, MI, June 6, 2007. This workshop will cover the SBIR/STTR program basics, including: program purpose; eligibility; and sources of funding. For more information, visit www.bioconsultants.com/training_schedules.html, or contact Lisa Kurek at .
SBIR Competitive Checklist Workshop, Herndon, VA, June 6, 2007. This workshop, sponsored by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technologies (CIT), will discuss the competitive issues that should be addressed in order to improve the chance of winning SBIR/STTR funding. For more information, visit www.win-sbir.com/course.html, or contact John Davis at .
* SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal Preparation and Cost Proposal Preparation Workshops, Newark, NJ, June 7 and 8, 2007. The first day's workshop will cover everything from the basics of SBIR/STTR to a simple four-step process for developing a competitive Phase I SBIR/STTR proposal. The second day will focus on the SBIR/STTR cost proposal, and related issues like indirect/F&A/G&A rates, required recordkeeping by SBIR/STTR recipients, and audits. For online registration and directions visit www.njsbdc.com/scitech, or contact Randy Harmon at for more information.
SBIR Workshop: Master SBIR Tactics of Winning Firms, Seattle, WA, June 12, 2007. Attendees can learn how to use award-winning tactics to strengthen their SBIR proposals and increase the number and dollar amounts of grants won. Speakers will discuss growing a company with new product development funded by SBIR/STTR awards, leveraging Phase II work, budgeting and tracking direct and indirect costs, and meeting compliance requirements. For more information and to register, go to www.sporg.com/registration?link_type=reg_info&form_id=85196&view_type=windowed. Contact Suzanne Mitchell at (509) 372-5146 or .
SBIR Regional Conference, East Hartford, CT, June 20-21, 2007; PLUS June 19th Pre-Conference Workshops. The CT SBIR Office and NALI will host the SBIR regional conference, “The Future of Manufacturing is INNOVATION - 2” on June 20-21, 2007 with optional pre-conference workshops on June 19. The conference will feature the following SBIR Agencies: DoD (Air Force and Navy), NIH, DOE, NSF, NASA, and DOT. This year’s focus is on the new SBIR commercialization programs. The agencies will also conduct private one-on-one sessions with attendees (innovators and small manufacturers). Registration is now open. For more information visit: