SBIR Proposal Submission Process

SBIR proposals are generally limited to 25 pages in length, must follow the specific guidelines established by the soliciting agency, and include the following elements:

• Cover sheet (1 page)
• Abstract or project summary (1 page)
• Significance of the problem (2-3 page)
• Research Objective (1 page)
• Research/Work Plan (4-6 pages)
• Background and related research (2-3 page)
• Key personnel (5 pages)
• Future R&D (1 page)
• Commercial Applications (2 page)
• References (1 page)
• Budget(1 page)

Review the specific agency guidelines and format prior when preparing a proposal to be sure that you comply with agency requirements. A proposal that does not follow agency guidelines will be administratively rejected with out review (nearly 50% of all submissions are administratively rejected).

* All agencies have solicitation deadlines.  If you are unsure of the deadline, contact your State SBIR Coordinator (605-367-5757) for latest information relating to agency deadlines.  Many proposals can find a home with more than one agency.

** Contact State SBIR Coordinator (605-367-5757) if you are considering submitting a proposal

• to arrange an SBIR/STTR strategic planning session

• access to SBDC and Enterprise Institute resources for market analysis, preparation of commercialization plans, and project budgets

• linkage to university research facilities, equipment, and faculty to aid experimental design, data collection and analysis, equipment and graduate researchers

• proposal review services. 

*** An important proposal preparation tip is to include graphs and charts in your proposal to aid reviewers understanding of your innovation, experiment, workflow, and intended outcome.

Electronic Submission Process

All agencies use as electronic submission process.  Most agencies use the grants.gov website.

• It can take up to 2-weeks to register.  Contact State SBIR Coordinator (605-367-5757) for assistance if you are considering submitting a proposal for the first time.

Sample of Registration Process

 - National Institutes of Health Electronic Submission Countdown

Part of 8/15/2006 web posting - Applicants should begin Grants.gov (orgs. only) and eRA Commons (orgs. and PIs) registration at least 2-4 weeks prior to submission date ... If an applicant org. has started the Commons registration process at least two weeks in advance of the submission date, NIH will consider it a "good faith" effort ...and the applicant will not be penalized ...

All agencies are transitioning to electronic submissions.  Most agency website offer a timeline and process.

Prepare to Apply     Find Opportunity and Download Application Package     Prepare Application     Submit Application to Grants.gov		Check Submission Status in Commons     Check Assembled Application

Agency Proposal Review Process

Each agency is responsible for solicitation topics and review process. 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 Applications
• Investigator and Company Ability to deliver
• Budget

* Commercial Applications has become a critical review factor and must be addressed in detail. Contact your State SBIR Coordinator (605-367-5757) for assistance and access to resources.  

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 eleven 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 0: The objective of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase “0” program is to provide funding to South Dakota small businesses, entrepreneurs, university faculty and graduate students conducting preliminary research in support of creating and submitting a SBIR Phase I proposal. The SBIR program is a federal R & D program providing more than $1 billion annually to small businesses researching and developing innovative new products or technologies.

* South Dakota does not offer a Phase 0 program at this time.

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.