SBIR Proposal Submission

SBIR proposals include the following elements:

• Cover sheet (1 page)
• Abstract or project summary (1 page)
• Significance of the problem (3 page)
• Research Objective (1 page)
• Research/Work Plan (6 pages)
• Background and related research (2 page)
• Key personnel (5 pages)
• Future R&D (1 page)
• Commercial Applications (2 page)
• References (1 page)
• Budget(1 page)

SBIR Phase I proposals can not exceed 25 pages in length and must follow the specific guidelines established by each agency.

Review the specific agency guidelines and format prior to preparing your proposal to insure that you comply with the requirements. A proposal that does not follow the agency's requirements it will be administratively rejected with out review.

Check on the deadline receipt requirements. Some agencies require delivery and other require a post-mark prior to the deadline for submission.

Include charts and graphs within your proposal to aid reviewers understanding of your innovation.

SBIR Proposal Review Process

Each agency uses different review processes. Some agencies use internal reviewers or employees of the agency. Other agencies use external reviewers such as university faculty members. All agencies use the same general review criteria. The review criteria includes the following:

• Scientific and Technical Merit
• Importance of the Problem
• Scientific or Technical Innovation
• Potential Commercial Return
• Investigator and Company Ability to deliver
• Budget

SBIR Award Process

Different agencies utilize different processes of notifying successful and unsuccessful SBIR applicants. All SBIR applicants are entitled to a debriefing or description of why their proposal was not funded from the agency. These debriefings allow applicants to improve and often resubmit their proposal.

SBIR Program Mechanics

There are ten federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program. Each of the agencies allocates 2.5 percent of their extramural R&D budget to the SBIR program. Each agency administers its own SBIR program within guidelines established by the law and the Small Business Administration (SBA). As a result each agency issues its own SBIR solicitation with unique research topics, submission deadlines and guidelines. Because each agency administers its own SBIR program it is important that you determine what the specific guidelines for each agency are. A general description of the three phase SBIR program follows:

Phase I is a six month feasibility study in which the business must demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed innovation. Funding available for Phase I research ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the individual agency guidelines.

Phase II is a major two-year research and development effort. A company must successfully complete a Phase I project to be eligible to apply for a Phase II SBIR project. Phase II generally involves development and testing of prototypes. Funding for the two-year project ranges from $200,000 to $750,000 depending on the individual agency guidelines.

Phase III is the process of completing development of the innovation and commercially marketing the product. Federal funding is not provided for Phase III. Private sources of funding are generally used for Phase III.