SBIR/STTR Overview

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Center for Innovative Technology

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) helps to accelerate the next generation of technology and technology companies in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Center for Innovative Technology

Accelerate the socio-economic growth of Virginia’s rural and underserved areas through the application and use of broadband telecommunications

Dedicated to helping large-scale federal and corporate consumers of technology identify and assimilate innovation created in private sector start-up companies. GSA MOBIS Schedule

Assists early-stage Virginia based technology companies in their efforts to secure private and federal funding sources

Conducts world-class research and development programs that create new industry clusters.

CIT Entrepreneur• Federal Funding Assistance Program –

CIT's Federal Funding Assistance Program identifies and accelerates opportunities for Virginia's small technology businesses to obtain SBIR and STTR awards and other government contracts. Novice and experienced grant recipients may benefit from this program. 

• GAP Fund – CIT’s GAP Fund closes the funding gap between “friends and family” and early-stage equity investment for Virginia-based technology companies. CIT’s GAP Fund identifies and makes funds available to seed-stage technology firms with a high potential for commercialization, rapid growth and downstream private-equity financing.  

CIT’s Federal Funding Assistance Program

• Assists Virginia-based tech firms• SBIR strategy consultation and mentoring • Low cost proposal training and review courses • Discounts with expert proposal consultants • Discounts on proposal preparation software • Referral to law firm for free IP and patent consultation • Discounts on cost accounting solutions and CPA

services• VC/Angel Capital “Readiness” review and consideration

for CIT GAP Fund• Phase “0” and “00” awards of $500-$2000 to qualified

first time Phase I & Phase II applicants to help pay for proposal development resources.

• CRCF SBIR Matching Grant Program www.cit.org/programs/cit-entrepreneur

SBIR/STTR Background• Use the entrepreneurial spirit of small

business to solve high risk, high pay off federal agency technology problems

• Agencies provide a relatively small amount of funding to vet ideas.

• Gated funding process

SBIR/STTR Background• SBIR established in 1982. • STTR added in 1992 to draw in

academia • Oversight by SBA• Recently Re-authorized after more

than a dozen continuing resolutions that kept the program running.

Small Business Innovation Research: 2.5% of extramural R&D budget set-aside for small business concerns to engage in Federal R&D – with potential for commercialization.

– Increasing to 3.2% over 6 years)– Required participation by Agencies

with at least $100M in extramural R&D budgets

– DOD, HHS/NIH, NASA, DOE, NSF, DHS, USDA, EPA, DOC, DOEd, DOT.

SBIR

Small Business Technology Transfer: – 0.3% of extramural R&D budget is set-

aside to facilitate cooperative R&D between small business concerns and US Research Institutions – with potential for commercialization. (requires participation by a non-profit University or Federal Lab)

– Increasing to .45% over 6 years.– Required participation by Agencies

spending at least $1B on total external R&D annually.

– DOD, HHS/NIH, NASA, DOE, & NSF

STTR

• Government funding of early stage, high risk, high pay-off research that can be commercialized.

• $2.4+ Billion available • Agencies identify their need for new, high risk,

innovative technology that serves their mission. • Specific topics are posted in solicitations 1-3

times per year by each agency. • Funding you could not typically get from other

external sources like VC, angels, friends and family.

• 4000+ projects funded annually

SBIR and STTR Basics

11 Participating SBIR/STTR Agencies – Each Mission Very

Different!• DOD* ($1.4B+)• HHS/NIH* ($600M+)• NASA*• Energy*• NSF*• Agriculture• EPA• Commerce• Education• Transportation• Homeland Security*Participate in SBIR & STTR

• No “Unsolicited” proposals – always responding to a specific topic

• Some topics are more focused than others.– DOD very specific– NIH and NSF are more general, giving you

a chance to define your own topic that is serving their mission.

– More than ½ of NIH awards are “investigator initiated” topics.

Topics

• Lots of opportunities -- Agencies list topics from 1-3 times per year

• DOD has 3 SBIR cycles and 1 or 2 STTR cycles – not all departments participate in all solicitations.

• NIH has 3 SBIR/STTR solicitations. • NSF has 2 SBIR and 1-2 STTR solicitations

per year. • USDA, DOT, EPA, NASA, NIST, NOAA have

1 SBIR solicitation per year.

Topics

Phases and Funding AmountsPhase I: A feasibility study, providing $70—$150K

and 6 months (SBIR) or 12 months (STTR). • Can’t skip Phase I (for now)

Phase II: Full R/R&D, proof of concept/development of prototype. A 2-Year Award and $300K—$1.5M.• Some agencies require invitation to submit a Phase II, some

are automatic if you receive Phase I. Moving toward “no phase II invites required”.

Phase III: Commercialization Stage. No SBIR funding. Use of non-SBIR Funds (includes other Federal funds, VC, etc.)

• This is a Commercialization Focused Program

• A research program designed to produce commercial products.

• Not a “research for the sake of research” program

Program Focus:

Eligibility • No more than 500 employees• Organized “for profit” firm• Independently owned and operated• 51% owned by U.S citizens/resident aliens• Principal place of business is USA• Principal Investigator (PI) must be primarily

(51%) employed by the proposing firm.• In SBIR, at least 66% of phase I and 50% of

Phase II must be accomplished by the proposing/prime contract firm (joint ventures and limited partnerships are permitted)

• All work must be performed in the US

3 Main Evaluation Areas

• Technical approach• Team• Commercialization plan/pathway to

market

• Be prepared to address all three areas!

Review Criteria• Significance – is the problem important?

• Innovation – Will your product make a difference?

• Investigators – Is your team qualified?

• Approach – Is your project well defined?

• Resources – Is your team, facility and budget appropriate for the job at hand?

• Commercialization – is your business model sound and geared to make a profit?

SBIR and STTR differences• SBIR, Small Business must perform at least 70%

of the work. Contract out up to 30%.• STTR, Small business must perform at least 40%

of the work. Research institution must perform at least 30% (University can do up to 60%).

• STTR may take up to 1 year in Phase I. • PI can be from the Research institution in STTR. • Award is always made to the small business.• STTR requires an intellectual property agreement

that describes allocation of Rights to IP and Rights to carry out follow on R&D and commercialization.

Who Owns the Intellectual Property?

• The Small Business owns the IP• IP agreements required in STTR between

small business and research institution• Full rights are retained by the company

for all technical data (AKA “SBIR Data Rights”) and all patentable inventions.

• Rights do expire if the work is not continued.

• Must take measures to protect your IP.

• SBIR is a competitive process with no set-asides for minority, women owned, etc.

• Be pro-active in developing opportunities.• Use federal contacts to propose topics (like at

DoD)• Business development skills key to success!• Win an SBIR at one agency, sole source

contracts can be obtained at any other agency. • SBIR is a business strategy – not just $ for

research, but $ for product development and commercialization.

Different than 8a

Agency Missions

• Know each agencies mission & culture.• Know what the goals of the Federal agencies

are– DOD uses SBIR as a procurement tool– NIH and NSF use SBIR Grants to help society (they

don’t purchase)– Dept. of Energy is a little of both

– Review process differs for each agency – know your targeted agency for best results!

• Not a loan—no repayment• Seed money for high risk R&D• Recognition for your company• Experience as a prime contractor• Leveraging Tool for VC • Fosters Partnerships• IP rights maintained by the small business – data

rights extend to 4 years after your have finished the contract/grant (5 yrs. For DoD)

• Sole-source marketing position with all Federal Agencies

Program Benefits

Final Thoughts• Does your funding needs and time line match

the funding and timeline of SBIR/STTR?• Know who your reviewers are.• Know how to push the reviewer’s buttons.• Talk to the agency when you can.• Know your competition• Address your shortcomings (subcontracting)• Know the existing solutions• Know what risk level is needed – risky, but

not too far “out there”. Agencies vary on what level of risk they typically want.

Improve your Odds

• Attend workshops, training, and national conferences.

• Do your research, plan ahead, and think of the “Value Chain”.

• Collaborate to strengthen your proposal.• Speak with the agencies

– If you have current projects with an agency, find out what other problems exist.

– Use your knowledge of the customer to your benefit.

Upcoming SBIR/STTR Solicitations

• NASA – Closes Nov. 29, 2012• NIH (Contracts) – Closes Nov. 13, 2012• NIH SBIR/STTR – Dec. 5 • NSF SBIR – Dec. 3• NSF STTR – Dec. 20• DOD – Jan. 16. 2013• NOAA – Jan. 30, 2013• DOT – March 4, 2013

Find Solicitations & Agency Links

www.zyn.com/sbir Includes a solicitation topic search tool in upper right corner

www.sbir.gov

CIT’s Monthly Federal Funding Newsletter- SBIR Training- Early stage tech entrepreneur training- Solicitation Announcements

Upcoming Training• Nov. 1: SBIR Proposal Workshop, Forest VA

www.cit.org/events

Federal Funding Assistance Program:

Robert Brooke robert.brooke@cit.org 703-689-3080

www.cit.org

Solicitation ExamplesAgencies write their topics in different

ways. Some more specified than others.

DARPA – Defense Advances Research Projects Agency

NavyNIH (NCI – National Cancer Institute)NSF (National Science Foundation)

• OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate concepts, for transitioning between two or more dissimilar materials (e.g., composite-to-steel ) for marine composite structure applications.

• DESCRIPTION: Although composite-to-composite and composite-to-metal joining technologies have been successfully demonstrated and transitioned to the production environment, minimizing corrosion at composite-to-steel interfaces is a constant challenge to the ship design community. Fiber-reinforced plastics are resistant to general corrosion; in fact aramid (used for top-side ship structure fragmentation protection) and glass fiber reinforced composites may be fastened or joined with almost any fastener material to metals without fear of galvanic corrosion. On the other hand, carbon fiber reinforced composites can induce galvanic corrosion in the metal structures, or metal fasteners if the carbon fibers are not galvanically isolated from the metal.

DARPA ExampleSB093-001 TITLE: Multi-Material StructuresTECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes

• PHASE I: Lightweight, corrosion resistant, structurally robust composite-to-steel joint design concepts shall be developed for potential surface or ground vehicle composite-to-metal applications. Steel surface preparation, galvanic isolation, non-destructive interface integrity inspection, manufacturing and assembly methods shall be proposed for each candidate attachment concept.

• PHASE II: A detailed design and manufacturing process for the composite-to-steel joint shall be developed for the Phase I concept. The joint shall be fabricated, non-destructively inspected, subjected to cyclic corrosion (GM9540) and continuous salt-fog testing (B-117) then statically tested to failure to demonstrate the performance capabilities of the system.

• PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Insert the product into a candidate marine application and test as part of other technology demonstrator activities. The joint technology developed under this topic could be applied to any sea, land or air vehicle where corrosion resistant, lightweight composite-to-steel joints are required. Potential commercial applications shall be identified and recurring and non-recurring estimates shall be provided for the transition of the Phase II composite-to-steel joint manufacturing (and quality control) process to higher-rate production quantities conducive to the proposed commercial application.

NAVY Example: Mitigation of Blast Injuries through Modeling and Simulation

 TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Battlespace, Human Systems ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO-LS ACAT II OBJECTIVE: The objective of this topic is to investigate the effect of non-centerline

IED/mine blast on crew survivability and to develop a physics-based model that will assist in the design of safety components devised to mitigate injuries sustained by individuals riding in tactical wheeled vehicles.

 DESCRIPTION: Military personnel riding in tactical wheeled vehicles, such as the Mine

Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) family of vehicles and the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) vehicle, continue to suffer from both death and serious bodily injury as a result of IED/mine explosions.  In almost all cases, the event is from an encounter with a non-centerline IED/mine, generating a significantly complex blast load on the vehicle, seats, restraints, and ultimately the crew.  Design and development of safety components to mitigate these crew injuries requires a physics-based model able to account for both soil/structure interaction and gross vehicle response.  Using the model developed, vehicle response and resulting load profiles on crew members will be generated and used to identify/select designs that enhance crew safety and mitigate injuries.  Existing engineering based personnel survivability models will then be used to verify the effectiveness of these newly designed safety components. This modeling and simulation activity will provide a capability that does not exist, providing an evaluation and validation tool to design safety components that save lives.

PHASE I: The contractor will research the numbers, types, and severity of

injuries sustained by military personnel embarked in MRAP, MTVR, and other vehicles.  The contractor will develop the characteristics of these vehicles as well as the damage sustained from the IED/mine blast at the specified encounter geometry.  The contractor will also select the basic modeling approach and algorithms from which the model will be developed.  The preliminary model will be used to perform simulations against a particular threat type, size, and location and predictions analyzed using existing live fire test data such as floor, seat, wall, and roof accelerations.

PHASE II: The contractor will continue to refine the efforts initiated in Phase I. 

The contractor will develop and demonstrate the models’ ability to couple the vehicle-crew response to specific body regions of crew members, such as legs and head.  Super Hybrid III Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) data will be used to verify model predictions.  The contractor will also establish a model requirements standards document that will provide sufficient guidance to engineers as to the geometry and material property data required to run the code.  The contractor will add the capability to the model initial mitigation design approaches such as padding, seating designs, and restraint systems.

PHASE III: The contractor will cooperate with MRAP, MTVR,

and other tactical vehicle manufacturers, including commercial industry vendors, to obtain test data from vehicles utilizing new safety features or components.  This data will be used to verify the models predicted reduction in crew injury and focus designers on the best areas for improvement.  The contractor will continue to use the model to recommend additional potential design changes that enhance crew safety and reduce injuries.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) ExampleCancer Cell Biology. The Cancer Cell Biology Branch (CCBB) seeks to

understand the biological basis of cancer at the cellular and molecular level. This research utilizes lower eukaryote and animal models, and animal and human tumor cells and tissues to analyze the mechanisms responsible for the growth and progression of cancer. Specific research and technologies supported by CCBB in this solicitation include but are not limited to the following:

1. Development of novel methods and tools to study key aspects of programmed cell death including its regulation and modulation.

2. Development of methods to identify and isolate tissue-specific stem cells.

3. Development of markers associated with specific cellular processes or differentiation.

4. Development of novel techniques, tools, and vectors to transfer functional genes, proteins, antibodies, etc. into intact cells or organisms.

5. New or improved technologies for the efficient microdissection of tumor tissue sections to isolate and preserve human cancer cells appropriate for research.

6. Generation of new inbred genetic animal models that transmit defective or altered cancer-related genes.

7. Development of novel technologies, methodologies, tools, or basic instrumentation to facilitate basic cancer research (research tools).

Etc.

Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium. The Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium is a program based in the Office of the Director, DCB. The Consortium has the important goal of providing mouse cancer model-related resources and infrastructure to the research community, in part through various outreach activities. The outreach requirement generates the need for innovative educational or informational materials that convey the content of Consortium meetings and symposia, or document hands-on workshops in which models or techniques that are pertinent to mouse modeling are demonstrated. The instructional materials may be CD-ROMs, videotapes, Web-based interactive programs, or other media.

Other Research Topic(s) Within the Mission of the Institute

NSF Solicitation Example

Topics are:• Biotech and Chemical Technologies (BC) • Education Applications (EA) • Electronics, Information and

Communication Technologies (EI) • Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, and

Manufacturing (NM)

Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (IC)

• Services• Applications• Systems• Components• Devices

ServicesEnterprises large and small, for-profit and non-profit, must respondto customer needs, manage internal activities, and adapt to competitive market pressures much more rapidly than at anyother period in human history. Enterprises that effectively andefficiently combine computing, communication, services andbusiness process advances become leaders in their respectivemarkets. These developments have created significant commercialopportunities for software that support the following areas:• IS1. Security and Privacy• IS2. Knowledge Discovery, Search, Data Mining, Data

Management and/or Visualization• IS3. Digital Arts• IS4. Financial Services• IS5. Personalized User Services• IS6. Virtualization

ApplicationsAdvancements in applications provide value by enablingincreased user productivity or enhanced quality of life.Examples of previous innovations in applicationsinclude: the spreadsheet, email and web browser.Software innovations (for both consumer and enterpriseapplications) that enable significant businessopportunities in the following areas will be supportedunder this solicitation: • IA1. Mobile Applications • IA2. Tools for Facilitating Collective Intelligence• IA3. Peer-To-Peer Applications• IA4. Broadband-enabled Applications• IA5. Collaboration-enabled Applications• IA6. Design/Test Software for Components/Devices

Federal Funding Assistance Program:

Robert Brooke robert.brooke@cit.org 703-689-3080

www.cit.org