Navigating the Web Platforms for Topic and

Proposal SubmissionAmanda Morris

Project Director, National Science Foundation

IQ Solutions, Inc.

NSF SBIR/STTR – At a Glance• NSF SBIR and STTR Phase I: $225k for 6-

12 month feasibility/proof-of-concept project• NSF SBIR and STTR Phase II: $750k for 24

month project for commercial deployment• Two Phase I solicitations annually with

submission deadlines in early June and December

• Solicitations are posted minimum 90 days in advance on our website (March/Sept).

• Phase II proposals are only accepted from NSF Phase I grant recipients

NSF Proposal and Awards Process

Phase I proposals are accepted twice a year (June & December) and are peer reviewed and processed within four-five months. All NSF SBIR and STTR Phase I grants are made with start dates of January 1st and July 1st annually.

How to Apply Website:http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/howtoapply.jsp

Links to available SBIR and STTR Phase I solicitations

FastLane step-by-step user guide

Webinar page

Technology Topic Areas

NSF Technology Topic Areas• Broad solicitation topics conform to the

interests of the high-tech investment sector - but are not limiting. http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/topicshome.jsp

• NSF strongly encourages companies to send an Executive Summary several weeks before the deadline to the appropriate NSF Program Director (by topic area) – NSF does not have a ‘black out period’ but responsiveness of PDs drops sharply as deadlines approach

NSF Technology Topic Areas• Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN)• Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI)• Biological Technologies (BT)• Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT)• Educational Technologies and Applications (EA)• Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless

Technologies (EW)• Information Technologies (IT)• Internet of Things (I)• Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and

Materials• Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM)

Technologies

NSF SBIR & STTR Phase I Solicitations

Phase I Solicitation Limits• NSF currently limits each organization to

no more than two (2) proposals per ‘cycle’ and Principal Investigators (PI) to one (1) proposal per ‘cycle’.

• A ‘cycle’ includes both the SBIR and STTR Phase I solicitations with deadlines in the same month

• In other words, if your company submits two proposals in December, they must have 2 different PIs - and be substantively different projects.

Planning to Submit?Required registrations for NSF SBIR/STTR Program:• Data Universal Numbering System

(DUNS)* www.dnb.com• System for Award Management (SAM)*

www.sam.gov • SBIR.GOV Company Registry* www.sbir.gov/registration • FastLane (register both company and

PI)* www.fastlane.nsf.gov * All four registrations must be completed prior to proposal submission!

FastLane Step-by-Step Guidehttp://

www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/documents/Phase_I_Proposal_Preparation_Booklet.pdf

This 31 page PDF has screen shots of the entire Phase I proposal submission process in FastLane from start to finish.

This document is updated regularly, so bookmark the link and download a fresh copy before the next deadline.

NSF SBIR/STTR Proposal Portal:

FastLane (www.fastlane.nsf.gov) • NSF does not accept SBIR or STTR proposals

via www.grants.gov.• FastLane was designed with

university/research community in mind – NOT small companies.

• The small business must register with FastLane first, a process that can take 2-3 days.

• The Principal Investigator must then register in FastLane and login/prepare proposal in system.

• SBIR proposals cannot have a co-PI• STTR proposals will list the lead from the

academic partner as a co-PI• Although NSF encourages companies to

collaborate, we do not accept “Collaborative” proposals in FastLane

• Do not mark the proposal as “Preliminary” on the cover page

• A typo in the address, email or phone will haunt you through the life of the project!

FastLane Cover Page is Critical

• The Cover Page has a series of federal certifications that must be answered honestly and completely to avoid ever interacting with the NSF Office of the Inspector General.

• If the small business has ever received any SBIR/STTR Phase II funding from the federal government, a “Company Commercialization History” must be included in the proposal – on the NSF template.

Proposal Cover Page

Required Proposal Components

• Cover Page• Project Summary (three required text fields – public

information!)• Project Description (max 15 pages with 4-5 pages on

commercial opportunity and company/team recommended)• References Cited• Current & Pending Support• Biographical Sketches• Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources• Streamlined Budget Pilot• Supplementary Documents

– Data Management Plan– Maximum 3 Letters of Support (optional)– SBIR.gov Company Registry PDF– Company Commercialization History (if prior Phase II funds)– Resubmission Change Description

Proposal Submission in FastLane

• FastLane requires that the SRO (Sponsored Research Office) submits the final proposal

• If the PI has SRO access rights, click “Submit SBIR” or “Submit STTR”

• If the PI does not have SRO access rights, PI clicks “Allow SRO Access”

• At this point – FastLane will scan and display any compliance errors (red font) and warnings (black font). Errors prevent submission, warnings do not.

Proposal Submission in FastLane

• When proposal is successfully submitted, the submission confirmation screen will appear and assign the proposal a permanent 7 digit ID number starting in the first 2 digits of the Fiscal Year (i.e. FY16 – proposal numbers are 16xxxxx)

Submit Early “Days, Not Hours”

• Proposals must be received by NSF in FastLane no later than 5:00 pm (YOUR time zone) on the deadline.

• Late submissions are the #1 reason SBIR/STTR proposals are “Returned Without Review” by NSF.

• We recommend submitting several days early and making updates/improvements to the submitted proposal in FastLane via “Proposal File Update”

Return Without Review

• LATE• Commercial Potential insufficient• Project Description (technical/R&D

plan) insufficient• Project Summary missing• Requested more than maximum

$225K• Duplicative/multiple proposals from

same PI

NSF Points of ContactNSF SBIR/STTR Program Directors:

Peter Atherton patherto@nsf.gov Prakash Balan pbalan@nsf.gov Steven Konsek skonsek@nsf.gov Glenn H. Larsen glarsen@nsf.gov Rajesh Mehta rmehta@nsf.gov Muralidharan S. Nair mnair@nsf.gov Benaiah Schrag bschrag@nsf.gov Ruth M. Shuman rshuman@nsf.gov Jesus V. Soriano jsoriano@nsf.gov

Administrative and compliance questions:

Amanda Morris amorris@associates.nsf.gov

FastLane Help: fastlane@nsf.gov or 1-800-673-6188