Wout@EGC
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Hi!
NSF anticipates on releasing their new SBIR/STTR solicitation within the next few weeks. The project pitch mechanism is currently available, so you can already submit your pitch and – upon acceptance – start working on your full proposal while awaiting the new solicitation to be released.
Best,
WoutHi Shoba,
If there are no suppliers for the research materials available in the US, you can include them in your research proposal/budget. But you will have to provide supporting evidence to justify that these purchases cannot be made within the US and are essential to the success of the research. A lower price abroad when compared to a US supplier, however, is not a valid reason to purchase materials from abroad.
Hope this helps!
-Wout
Hi M!
To your first question: results are starting to come in, but the exact time depends on your NSF topic and the scheduled date of the review session hosted by the NSF Program Director overseeing your topic.
As to your second question, this is difficult to answer because of the large amount of variables. E.g. are the changes minor, or would they require some additional research to be completed? Can the proposal in its essence be resubmitted, or does it require a fundamental reorientation of the priorities? Regardless, with NSF moving to submission windows rather than hard submission dates, you can make sure your proposal is in optimal shape to be submitted, avoiding the need for a last-minute scramble to submit.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
Best,
WoutHi John,
From the NSF SBIR Phase I solicitation:
“The primary employment of the PI must be with the small business concern at the time of award and for the duration of the award, unless a new PI is named. Primary employment is defined as at least 51 percent employed by the small business. NSF normally considers a full-time work week to be 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19.6 hours per week to be in conflict with this requirement. […] A PI may be primarily employed at another organization at the time of submission, as long as he or she is primarily employed at the proposing small business at the time of award. A PI must devote a minimum of one calendar month of effort per six months of performance to an SBIR Phase I project”
So you would have to come up with a solution to have at least one person (the PI) to be working full-time for the small business concern during the Phase I. It is not required to have this set up when you are submitting your proposal, so you can stay employed elsewhere up until the start of Phase I if you are funded.
Let us know if you have any other questions, always happy to help!
Best,
WoutHi!
From your description, it sounds like you are applying for a Phase II SBIR with one of the DOD agencies? There is quite a degree of variation between the different components (Navy, Army, AF, etc.) so be sure to read the relevant proposal guidelines in detail for your final answer. However, in general, if you are required to have matching funds lined up for a Phase II proposal, the total amount (gov. award + matching funds) will be considered your budget and will be subject to the R/R&D spending requirements outlined by the mechanism you are applying to. There might be some flexibility in this spending requirement, but it will require prior approval from your Contracting Officer in that case.
Let me know if you have any additional questions!
-Wout
Hi Shoba,
I am responding to your questions in the same order as you posted them:1) For NSF STTR, the submitting organization has to have a PI from the small business, but the subaward must have a co-PI from the partnering institution listed on the cover page and on the subaward budget. (see question #35 here)
2) Yes, NSF definitely allows for teams, and the team strengths are one of the scoring factors in the proposal review process. Just as NIH, NSF allows for Key or Senior Personnel members, all of which require a biosketch to be submitted with the proposal, as well as having a section within the proposal where you highlight the team’s strengths. For minor tasks, you can also use “other personnel” and have them included on the budget.
3) NSF STTR requires a minimum of 40% of the budget to be for the small business, at least 30% of the budget for the partner research institution, and the remaining 30% can be used toward each of these, or any other consultants or fee-for-service providers you require. So NSF STTR also allows up to 60% for the partnering institute.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
Hi!
For the Gantt chart, the best spot for that in your grant would be in either in your Approach section to help visualize your proposed work throughout the grant period, or with your conclusion at the end of your proposal.
For budget, there is no Excel template available from NIH, but the R&R Budget Form section of the application guide has very clear guidelines on how to structure your budget and more information on each of the budget categories.
Hi Hua,
Yes, including references throughout your text is strongly encouraged for SBIR proposals. It is best to provide a reference whenever you make a claim in your proposal, and references to peer-reviewed journals are preferred over websites or “personal communication” references. Using references helps you support statements in your Research Strategy and will show reviewers that you are up to date on the science in the field you propose to work in, and references can highlight your Key Personnel accomplishments and strengths in their biosketches. In fact, a bibliography (compiling all references used throughout your Research Plan) is a required document for a complete submission.
Any other questions, let us know!
Best,
WoutHi!
Responses to project pitches typically come in within 3 weeks of submission.
More information on pitch guidelines can be found here:
https://seedfund.nsf.gov/project-pitch/Let me know if there are any other questions, happy to help!
Hi Ryan!
Always double check the specific Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), but in general references do not count against your page limit and will be uploaded separately on the online submission platform at time of submission. For NIH, some general page limit information can be found here, and equally for NSF SBIR’s, there is no established page limitation for the references, but you must only include bibliographic citations, and no additional information outside of the 15-page Project Description.
If you are writing for another agency or FOA, let us know and we can help out!
-Wout
Hi, good question!
The NIH has released an update on the impact of COVID-19 and submissions here.
Basically, if your business is officially closed or unable to submit grant applications due to COVID-19, or if NIH is officially closed because of the impact of COVID-19, the NIH will consider the acceptance of late submissions on a case-by-case basis. So if you think there will be issues with meeting the deadline because of COVID-19, reach out to your Program Officer as soon as possible to see whether you qualify for a late submission.
Stay safe, and wash your hands!
-Wout
