You have an idea for a nifty new technology and you want money to develop it. You will need to persuade some person, company, foundation, bank, or agency to give you money. First, you will need to convince this “investor” that you really do have a “nifty” idea and you have the technical know-how to make it happen, but just as importantly, if not more, they want to know if anyone will actually pay money for it once it is developed. Does it have true potential to make money—not only will investors want a return of their initial investment, but in most cases, a compounded return.
If you are seeking an investment via an SBIR or STTR award, you might not think you need to explain its market potential –after all, you don’t have to “pay back” the award. Well, that’s true, you do not have to write a check and pay them back, but the American tax payer is investing in your idea. The government is taking a chance on your idea and your company; they want to know that you can take their investment and make a sustaining product that will enable your company to grow. If you grow, you create jobs, and job creation means growth in the economy.
Writing a well crafted commercialization plan can help you make your case.
Your commercialization plan needs to be detailed and well thought out. Avoid generalized statements like “there is a huge market” or “we can make lots of money”. Start by answering some basic questions: Is there a market pull—who’s asking for the technology or who has indicated that they actually NEED your technology? What is the size of the market? How will you manufacture, market, and sell it if you only have a 1-person company? Do you have a plan to get it from your laboratory into the hands of your customer? How will you price it in order to make profitable—if the cost to produce far exceeds the amount customers are willing to pay, how will you make a profit? How is your management team structured—has anyone brought a technology from inception to market? Not only do you need to answer these questions, you need to make sure you’ve done market research to support your claims with hard facts–do not make claims you cannot back.
For a more comprehensive list of concepts to include, see Elements of Your Commercialization Plan.
The National Science Foundation released its first 2011 SBIR Solicitation for the year. Anticipated funding amount for this solicitation is $45,000,000 (approximately 300 Awards). Maximum funding amount for these Phase I awards is $150,000 for the 6-month feasibility study.
There are four Main Topics with multiple subtopics under each:
Proposals will be due by June 9th.
R =Research. Research is defined as “a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc”.
Since the focus of SBIR/STTR is funding for your research, you need to fully explain to the funding agency what that research will be. Yes, all parts of your proposal are important, but the meat of your proposal needs to be your Research Plan (also known as a Work Plan). This is what the agency is going to pay you to accomplish.
The plan needs to be a step-by-step outline of not only what you will do, but also how you will actually do it, who will do it, how the predicted results will move the overall idea forward, where it will be done, and when it will be accomplished–a timeline for completing the work. Every aspect of your research needs to be spelled out exactly; do not make the reviewer guess or assume! Time after time companies fail to realize how detailed it needs to be.
Writing out a clear plan also helps you think through your overall goals. Once you start detailing, you might discover you need to modify your strategy to actually meet your desired objectives, or you might need to scale back your research to complete it within budget and time-frame. Creating a detailed Research Plan will help your company–whether you receive the SBIR/STTR Award or not.
Over the last two years the NIH has implemented new guidelines and procedures to “enhance peer review”. For instance, reviewer comments and scores for each of 5 criteria are indicated on the summary sheet. The research proposal section has also been restructured, to more closely match the criteria by which the reviewers critique a proposal.
For those submitting SBIR/STTR applications to the NIH, April 5th is the first time the restructured proposal will be in effect. This is daunting for both first time and returning SBIR/STTR applicants.
The NIH has been inundated with questions and comments concerning these new processes. In an effort to address these questions they are holding a webinar (through GoToMeeting). This will be an opportunity for NIH staff to discuss the restructuring of the Research Plan, new page limits, new scoring, and other changes resulting from Enhancing Peer Review and to provide a forum for you to ask questions.
When: March 15, 2010 – 2:00 to 4:00 PM EST
REGISTRATION: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/735602218
(Note: the session is free, but you must register to participate)
For those Phase I SBIR awardees developing therapeutics targeted toward neurological disorders, and planning on submitting for a Phase II SBIR award to fund pre-clinical trials, check out the NINDS Cooperative Program in Translational Research (U44). This special funding opportunity is directed at translating basic science research into new drug candidates for neurological disorders. These awards are not intended for early stage discoveries such as high throughput screening, but will fund later stage projects. Even those sufficiently advanced that an IND or IDE application would be filed at the end of the project period.
These awards are larger than traditional Phase II awards, with allowable budgets up to $1M per year and a 3 year max. Phase I applications are not allowed, however, a FastTrack application may be submitted as long as the Phase I portion is in preparation for a Phase II to fund pre-clinical trials. If you have already received a Phase II, this mechanism can also be used to fund a competing renewal application with the same allowable budget as above.
Cooperative Agreements are an NIH funding mechanism that allows NIH programming staff to be more involved with the evolution and progress of a project. Specifically, go/no-go assessments can be made and funding halted if sufficient progress is not made. This is attractive to the NIH as it allows them to be more closely involved with large grant awards and use their funding more wisely.
For more information contact the NINDS SBIR/STTR Program Director, Dr. Randall Stewart, to discuss your project and it’s applicability to this program. Regular receipt dates (Apr 5, Aug 5, Dec 5) apply, and program staff should be contacted 10 weeks prior to submission.
The Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) currently has an open SBIR solicitation. Maximum funding for one of these 6-month Phase I research projects is $75,000. If scientific or technical merit and feasibility is demonstrated during Phase I, awardees have the potential to receive $500,000 for their Phase II research which will cover a research period of up to 24 months. Application proposals are due March 15th.
Priority topic areas for research are:
(1) Increased independence of individuals with disabilities in the workplace, recreational settings, or educational settings through the development of technology to support access and promote integration of individuals with disabilities
(2) Enhanced sensory or motor function of individuals with disabilities through the development of technology to support improved functional capacity.
(3) Enhanced workforce participation through the development of technology to support access to employment, promote sustained employment, and promote employment advancement for individuals with disabilities.
(4) Enhanced community participation and living for individuals with disabilities through the development of accessible information technology including Web access technology, software, and other systems and devices that promote access to information in educational, employment, and community settings, and voting technology that improves access for individuals with disabilities.
(5) Improved interventions and increased use of health-care resources through the development of technology to support independent access to health-care services in the community for individuals with disabilities.
Please see the solicitation for more details.
An earlier posting touched on doing your homework in getting to know the federal agency you are applying to for SBIR funding and also understanding the competition for your technology. Next you need to talk to the people at the agency who should be interested in your technology about how it can solve their problems. Some agencies encourage this, others allow it, and a few make it difficult. However, it is important with all of them.
Why would you want to talk to the federal agency? After all, the problem they want solved is stated in their SBIR solicitation. There are several reasons:
- You want to introduce yourself, your company and your technology. People, even federal employees, would rather do business, including funding R&D, with people they know. So, let’s start that process by introducing yourself.
- You want to get feedback on whether your technological approach would be considered. If they tell you that they have already wasted much time and money on approaches similar to yours, you may have just saved yourself a considerable amount of unproductive effort. While you will never get a positive commitment to fund a project, you might get encouragement and even guidance on points to include in your proposal.
- You might need clarification on what the agency wants so that you can better focus your proposal. Intelligent, insightful questions can give you added information and build creditability.
But before you pick up the phone or shoot off an email, realize two things:
- This communication will either start to build your creditability or undercut it.
- The federal employee you are contacting is a busy person therefore you will not have an unlimited amount of their time.
So, you must be organized and get to the important points.
Not sure about who to contact, when to contact them, or what to say? The answers vary from one agency to another. The ATDC staff members who provide guidance on the SBIR program (John Mills, Connie Ruffner and Julie Collins) can answer these and other questions.
The Department of Defense announced topics in its 2010.A STTR pre-solicitation today. There are 30 Army Topics and 45 Navy Topics in this solicitation. Companies may review the topic lists found in the solicitation or utilize the DOD Topic Search engine to search specific details of a topic.
The STTR requires a partnership with a non-profit Research Institute (usually a university, but not always). The Research Institute must be subcontracted for at least 30% of the work, but not more than 60% of the work. Start early to build an appropriate relationship with the researcher and to develop a research agreement with the Research Institute.
Proposers are HIGHLY encouraged to make contact with the topic’s Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) prior to February 23rd to confidentially ask technical questions not found in the topic description (contact information for each TPOC is found in the topic description). After this date, questions may be asked publically in the DOD’s SITIS system. Final proposals are due no later than 6:00 AM on Wednesday, March 24th.
Earlier this month the NIH released several announcements associated with the Recovery Act. Of note to the SBIR community is NOT-OD-10-034.
The announcement will fund Competitive Revisions to accelerate innovation of previously funded “parent” SBIR/STTR awards in the area of basic behavioral and social science research (b-BSSR). The proposed work must significantly expand the scope or research objectives proposed in the previously funded award. Basic behavioral and social science research includes research on behavioral and social processes, interactions between biology, behavior and social processes, and/or methodology and measurement.
To qualify, the small business must have an active award, at the time of application, and propose a revision to be accomplished in one year. The work proposed in the revision must not extend beyond that of the parent award. If a no-cost extension is needed to cover the work being proposed in the revision, it must be in place prior to submission.
Up to $150,000 in direct costs may be requested with a maximum of $75,000 of those costs allocated to equipment or technology acquisition.
Letters of Intent are due February 25, 2010
Application is due March 25, 2010
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released its 2010 SBIR/STTR grants omnibus solicitations (PA-10-050 and PA-10-051). Those interested in funding from the NIH, CDC, FDA, & CFA should investigate submitting applications. General information and resources for submitting proposal applications can be found on the DHHS SBIR/STTR page.
Submission dates for 2010:
- Standard Receipt Dates: April 5, Aug 5, Dec 5
- AIDs and AIDS-Related Receipt Dates: May 7, September 7, January 7, 2010
As always, do NOT wait until the last minute and attempt to submit. NIH recommends companies begin the registration process AT LEAST 6 weeks before the deadline.
***NOTE*** Changes have been made to the submission of grant applications; these changes will be in effect for the above submission dates. If you have previously submitted applications and think you know the process, please play close attention to the modifications. Refer to Julie Collins’ January 6th article for more details.