As mentioned in an earlier post, when we conducted half-day SBIR workshops out in the state this winter, there were questions about when it would be held in Atlanta. OK, so the date is May 14th from 8:00 am to noon. I know you have heard this line before, but enrollment really is limited and if we get the response that was received in Athens and Savannah, registration will be cut off.
So, why should you attend? Even in the best of times (which is not now) it is difficult for a small high-tech company and particularly a start-up to obtain the initial funding to move a great idea from basic technology towards a product. At over $2 billion annually, the largest seed capital fund in the United States for doing this is the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and its parallel Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
This short workshop will first give an overview of how the SBIR and STTR programs work and will help you decide if this is something you should get involved with. This includes who qualifies, what the participating federal agencies are looking for, what the intellectual property issues are, what the funding limits are, and what the timeline is.
The workshop then goes into what is involved in a preparing a competitive proposal for SBIR and STTR funding. How you approach the proposal, what points need to be addressed, how you construct the budget, examples of good and bad proposals and sources of assistance are covered.
Our co-host, the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), is handling registration. Register NOW!
On Friday the NIH announced the reissue of three funding opportunities applicable to the SBIR community.
- RFA-ES-005 solicits Phase II SBIR applications for the development of environmental sensors for personal exposure assessment.
- PA-09-113 encourages Phase I SBIR applications for the development of technologies related to advanced processing, manufacturing processes, equipment and systems, and manufacturing workforce skills and protection. PA-09-114 is the STTR counterpart.
- PA-09-115 is targeted toward applications that require a longer award period and larger award amount. Specifically technologies that will require FDA approval such a vaccine, biologic or drug delivery system. PA-09-116 is the STTR counterpart.
The first two opportunities highlight interest by the NIH in applications outside of traditional life science. If you are in the business of sensor development or manufacturing processes you may have a technology eligible for funding.
Check out all the current NIH funding announcements at:
“There is no grantsmanship that will turn a bad idea into a good one,
but there are many ways to disguise a good one.”
- Dr. William Raub, Former Deputy Director, NIH
Contact SBIR Georgia for assistance with your proposal.
The Department of Defense has pre-released its 2009.A STTR Solicitation.
STTR's require a partnership with an non-profit research institute. The named research institute must contribute between 30-60% of the research effort. Multiple subcontracts may be utilized for the award, but the research institute must contribute at least 30% and the awarded company must contribute at least 40% of the research effort.
Participating Sub-Agencies and their topics:
Review the topics. You are encouraged to contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) to ask technical questions not answered in the topic. Direct contact with the TPOC can only be made between now and February 23rd.
| January 27, 2009:
| Solicitation enters pre-release
|
| February 24, 2009:
| DoD begins accepting proposals
|
| March 25, 2009:
| Deadline for receipt of proposals by 6:00 a.m. EST — plan ahead and submit early. |
So, you've heard about SBIR and STTR but still a little fuzzy about how it works or if you qualify. Maybe you know about it, but have never actually submitted a proposal because it seems so daunting. Maybe you've submitted a proposal but were unsuccessful and don't understand why you didn't receive an ward. Maybe we can help.
The SBIR Assistance Program for the State of Georgia will present this short workshop which will first give an overview of how the SBIR and STTR programs work and will help you decide if this is something you should get involved with. This includes who qualifies, what the participating federal agencies are looking for, what the intellectual property issues are, what the funding limits are, and what the timeline is.
The workshop then goes into what is involved in a preparing a competitive proposal for SBIR and STTR funding. How you approach the proposal, what points need to be addressed, how you construct the budget, examples of good and bad proposals and sources of assistance are covered.
Attend one of the following SBIR/STTR Workshops in Georgia:
In this competitive age, a financial boost from a federal agency can be just what a company needs to take its technology to the next level with the goal of eventually commercializing it.
Come learn how!
The National Science Foundation released its 2009 STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) solicitation for Phase I proposals. The Phase I budget will be limited to $150,000 and 12 months. NSF anticipates 35 Awards will be made. While a STTR requires the small business to partner with a Non-Profit Research Institute for 30-60% of the research, the small business must still control the research.
NEW with this solicitation:
-
A letter of Intent is REQUIRED and must be sent to NSF by January 14, 2009. Full proposals will be due February 25th.
-
The Research Investigator (RI) can now be officially recognized as a Co-PI on a STTR award. The Principal Investigator (PI) is required to be primarily employed with the small business concern at the time of award.
There is one topic–Multi-Functional Materials (MM)–with four subtopics:
-
Bio-inspired Materials and Systems (BMS)
-
Materials for Sustainability (MS)
-
Naostructured Materials (NM)
-
Smart Materials and Structures (SMS)
Department of Energy Releases 2009 SBIR and STTR Solicitation
Department of Energy has released their 2009 SBIR and STTR Solicitation. Go to www.grants.gov , click on Apply for Grants, then click on Download a Grant Application Package and enter the Funding Opportunity Number: DE-PS02-08ER08-34
There are 66 Technical Topics in this solicitation.
The deadline for receipt of Phase I grant applications to either program is November 20, 2008, 8:00 p.m. EST
Have you recently submitted an SBIR or STTR proposal to the NIH? Don’t forget to check the status of your grant throughout the review process.
What is the status of your grant?
To which study section was it assigned?
Who are the SRG panel members?
(Rosters for previous study sections can be found here)
To which Institute/Center was it assigned?
If assigned to an inappropriate study section of Institute/Center a change can be requested. But only if you keep track of your grant’s status.
Six hundred people traveled to Atlanta’s Omni Hotel this week to attend the National Institutes of Health’s very successful 10th Annual SBIR/STTR Conference. This conference, celebrating the Silver Anniversary of SBIR inception, drew entrepreneurs, biotech business owners, researchers, university faculty and licensing staff, state representatives, and investors from around the nation.
More than fifty NIH and CDC staff members were on hand to conduct one-on-one guidance sessions, workshops, and submission instruction sessions. University licensing and tech transfer associates, investors, and previous NIH SBIR/STTR awardees gave advice from their perspectives in sessions and during networking events. From a pool of submissions, fifty companies had been selected to present their SBIR/STTR findings via a poster session; this honor allowed the previous recipients to demonstrate how SBIR/STTR funding had helped advance their research.
For 2008, the NIH’s Omnibus SBIR/STTR solicitation still has the August 5th and December 5th submission dates for Non-AIDS related topics and September 7th and January 7th for AIDS related topics.
Today, NASA released Phase I SBIR and STTR topics in their 2008 solicitation. Proposals will be due on September 4th. For complete details, please read the solicitation, but here are a list of topic catagories (specific topics are listed under each):
SBIR:
STTR:
TOPIC T1 Information Technologies for System Health Management and the Study of Space Radiation Environments and Associated Health Risks
TOPIC T2 Atmospheric Flight Research of Advanced Technologies and Vehicle Concepts
TOPIC T3 Technologies for Space Exploration
TOPIC T4 Innovative Sensors, Detectors and Instruments for Science Applications
TOPIC T5 Modeling and Simulation
TOPIC T6 Innovative Technologies and Approaches for Space
TOPIC T7 Launch Site Technologies
TOPIC T8 Research for Improving Heat Conversion Efficiency
TOPIC T9 Technologies for Human and Robotic Space Exploration Propulsion Design and Manufacturing
TOPIC T10 Rocket Propulsion Testing Systems