The NIH in conjunction with the CDC has released their annual contract solicitation. Unlike most NIH SBIR/STTR announcements, the contract solicitation requests applications on specific topics and will not accept investigator initiated research projects. Participants in this solicitation include seven Institutes/Centers from the NIH and five Centers from the CDC. Topics are specific but include research areas such as Imaging of Cancer Stem Cells to Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis. (Did I get your attention? And no, I’m not kidding.)
Budgets vary by topic and range from $100,000 to $250,000 for a Phase I and $750,000 to $2M for a Phase II. Do not ask for one penny over the budget cap! FastTrack applications will be accepted.
Applications, unfortunately, are paper based and due on the desk of the NIH at 5:00PM, November 9, 2009.
For more information go here or contact us to discuss your application.
Applicants have begun
posting comments indicating they have received notice of Phase II award. I know it has been a long wait for many. I hope some of you are celebrating!
You can find a full list of awards here.
Once again the SBIR program has been saved by Continuing Resolution (CR). The House passed the Senate’s CR S.1513 which will postpone the program until September 30, 2009. Debates on the merit of VC involvement, increased award amounts and Phase III programming will continue.
Stay tuned …
Did you know that if you are submitting an SBIR or STTR to the NIH in response to a PA (program announcement) that you can request your grant be reviewed by a specific study section? In fact it's encouraged.
NIH SBIR and STTR grants are reviewed by Special Emphasis panels coordinated by the Center for Scientific Review. To take a look at the current SBIR Special Emphasis panels go
here. Use the cover letter component to request the most appropriate study section and one or more appropriate funding Institutes or Centers.
This reduces the burden on NIH staff and affords you the best chance at determining your own fate.
… and it’s to the advantage of SBIR GA.
ATDC (The Advanced Technology Development Center), Georgia
Tech’s VentureLab program and SBIR GA are all being merged under the umbrella
of ATDC. ATDC is one of the
nation’s most successful incubators having assisted more than 120 entrepreneurs
raise more than a billion dollars in investments. Membership in ATDC affords companies top-notch coaching,
consulting and networking in addition to a community of entrepreneurs from
which they could learn. Most
member companies are “early-stage”.
Georgia Tech’s VentureLab is more like a NICU assisting Georgia Tech faculty
with commercializing technology they developed in the laboratory. VentureLab staff coach, feed and
breathe life into projects in the hope of creating a successful start-up.
Today it was announced that the new ATDC is open for
business. We will now be assisting
entrepreneurs around the state both virtual and brick and mortar. Membership is open to any Georgia technology
company at any stage. Our desire is
to assist more Georgia entrepreneurs navigate the start-up world.
What will this mean for those interested in SBIR and STTR
funding? SBIR GA will continue to
deliver the same great service to Georgia researchers/companies needing SBIR
Assistance! Being connected to
these two powerful entrepreneurial entities will hopefully foster a sense of community
for those seeking funding to grow their company. Connie Ruffner, Julie Collins, and John Mills will continue
to guide you through the SBIR/STTR process.
Read more about the merge here.
The NIH has announced it has once again contracted with Foresight Science and Technology to provide 50 SBIR Phase I awardees with Technology Niche Analyses (TNA™). Only FY09 or FY10 SBIR awardees are eligible to apply. Each company is only eligible for one assessment even if you have received multiple awards. The earliest start date for Group A is July 27th.
Each TNA™ will examine the commercial potential and market for the product/service being developed using NIH SBIR funds. This report can be beneficial in identifying partners, investors or customers.
In an effort to make the peer review process more transparent the NIH has been phasing in new guidelines for grant review. Of interest to the SBIR/STTR applicant the scale on which an application is scored has been changed.
Instead of being scored 1 to 5 (exceptional to poor) and the average multiplied by 100, SBIR/STTR grants are now scored 1 to 9 (exceptional to poor) with the average multiplied by 10. In addition, applications that were not discussed in study section will now receive their initial criterion score as part of their summary statement. This may give you some insight into why your application was not discussed.
But what do these new scores mean? How can you know whether your application is likely to be funded? Previously a score of 180 or below meant you had a pretty good chance of being funded. If you extrapolate that to a 90 point system would a score of 32 or below translate into an awarded grant?
Only time will tell.
NASA just released their 2009 SBIR and STTR Solicitation.
Topics range from sensor or detector development to aviation safety. Awards in the amount of $100,000 may be requested for a Phase I SBIR or STTR and up to $600,000 for a Phase II SBIR or STTR. If you are applying for an STTR the Principle Investigator may employed by either the collaborating Research Institute or the applicant Small Business Concern.
Proposals are due on September 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 PM EDT. All applications must be submitted electronically.
If you would like assistance with your proposal contact SBIR GA!
The August 5th NIH SBIR/STTR deadline is rapidly approaching. All applications are submitted electronically through
www.grants.gov. If you intend to submit an application for this receipt date you need to have begun the online registration process. This is mandatory and the NIH will not make any exceptions. What needs to be accomplished?
- Register with grants.gov which requires
- TaxID
- DUNS Number
- CCR Registration
- Bank routing number … and other numbers and IDs.
- Register with the NIH eRA Commons
- This process is much simpler and detailed instructions have been provided by the NIH.
Registration can take up to four weeks and the NIH requires you to begin your NIH eRA Commons registration at least 2 weeks prior to the submission deadline.
Administrivia is never fun, but sometimes there is no way around it.
As reported by the
Wall Street Journal this afternoon the House Committee on Small Business unanimously passed
a bill that would reauthorize the SBIR/STTR program until 2011. The bill is controversial as it allows venture backed companies to once again participate in the program. The eligibility rules are written to allow firms owned and operated by venture operated companies to receive awards as long as the venture operated company does not employ more than 500 people or own more than 50% of the applicant organization.
Last week the Senate Committee for Small Business and Entrepreneurship also unanimously passed
a bill reauthorizing the program until 2020 and allowing venture backed companies greater access to the SBIR/STTR program but to a lesser extent. Importantly it limits the total amount of SBIR funds awarded to majority owned venture operated firms to 8%. The NIH is the exception to this rule and allowed to use 18% of SBIR funds on awards to venture operated firms. Both the Senate and House bills increase the award amount for Phase I and Phase II.
If both bills are passed by the House and Senate they will be sent to a conference committee and hopefully common ground will be found.