Innovation Soup: SBIR/STTR

1. Innovation Soup: SBIR/STTR Mark Blanchard Technology Development Advisor VT Small Business Development Center VtEPSCoR/VGN Grant Writing Workshop June 5, 2007

2. A Rich Alphabet Soup SBA VDED UVM OSP VT PTAC EPSCoR SBIR DoD DOE DHS DHHS/NIH USDA DO-ED NSF DOT NIST NASA NOAA DOC EPA

3. SBIR – No Ordinary Acronym… • S – Set aside for Smallbusiness • 60% have < 25 employees, most common is 2 to 9 people • 50% have annual sales < $500,000 • B – Grantee must be a for-profit Business • I – Funds high risk Innovation R&D projects • R – Funds over $2.2 Billion in FY 2007 for Research SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH

4. Federally Funded R&D • “Regular Research” funds the Research Institution • Bigger, Longer, Broader Grants & Contracts • IP Ownership per RI policy • Contracts to “Primes” (usually big firms aka BWB) • Small Business Concern: SBIR/STTR • Intellectual Property Value Captured by SBC • Store of Value for Principals • Innovation hits the Market

5. SBIR New Ingredient – For Profit Intent • What’s Different Vs. Regular Research

6. New Ingredient – For Profit Intent • What’s Different Vs. Regular Research • Funds go to Small Business

7. New Ingredient – For Profit Intent • What’s Different Vs. Regular Research • Funds go to Small Business • May be less money: Phase I + Phase II ~ $850K

8. New Ingredient – For Profit Intent • What’s Different Vs. Regular Research • Funds go to Small Business • May be less money: Phase I + Phase II ~ $850K • Elapsed period ~ 3 Years

9. New Ingredient – For Profit Intent • What’s Different Vs. Regular Research • Funds go to Small Business • May be less money: Phase I + Phase II ~ $850K • Elapsed period ~ 3 Years Put Something on Market Where it can do good

10. Same Program, Two Flavors • SBIR • 2.5% of federal agency R&D budgets set aside specifically for small business. • 14 federal agencies participate. • STTR • Smaller program - 0.3% of federal agency R&D budgets and 5 agencies. • Requires small business collaboration with research institution.

11. Long Prep Time • Meals Vs. Snacks • Rigorous Process for Significant Purpose • Outcome has some uncertainty • Strategic Vs. Tactical Time Frame • Thinking 3+ years ahead • Fits Strategic Plan

12. Three Layer Cake, Sort Of • Phase I – Proof of Concept Study • $70,000 - $150,000 • 6 months • Phase II – Substantive R&D • Up to $750,000 • 2 years • Phase III – Commercialization • You’re on your own (sort of). Typically private or non-SBIR government sources used to get to market.

13. Spicing up Tech Transfer • Tried & True Commercialization Recipe • To fortify your Research Impact, try SBIR • Mix with your regular research, • Use the SBC as distribution vehicle.

14. Pretty Much the Same Formats • Proposals Same Look & Feel for NSF & NIH • DoD, NASA, Others: Same Rigor • Generally Electronic Submission

15. Pretty Much the Same Formats • Proposals Same Look & Feel for NSF & NIH • DoD, NASA, Others: Same Rigor • Generally Electronic Submission But you need to anticipate 2 New Questions…

16. Let’s Say You’re a Fine Research Greyhound

17. And You’re after a Significant Research Objective

18. #1

19. #1

20. #1

21. #1

22. #1

23. What are you going to do with it? ? ? ?

24. #2… As the Marketing Types Say,

25. Will the Dogs Eat the Dog Food? ?

26. Commercialization Recipe Is… #1 What you’re going to do with your technology when it looks like it will work #2 The needs it fills such that people will use it These get lightly stirred into your proposal in Phase I, heavily in Phase II.

27. Their Recipe or Yours? • “Acquisition” Oriented Agencies: DoD, NASA, DOT • “Grantee Initiated” Agencies: NIH, NSF, USDA Others are in between

28. For the Birds … Early Birds • SBIR funds early-stage proof of concept • You have to know your stuff, but • You don’t need a prototype -------------------------------------------------------- • SBIR does not fund existing products • SBIR is not for marketing

29. Techniques • Define your “Research Hypothesis” • Identify the Nuts, the Crunchy Bits • Consider Variant Mixtures • Pick a Solicitation & Start Process Early • Corral collaborators • Take a rough cut at a Budget • Get it down any way you can, Iterate.

30. Critical Seasoning Recap • A Taste for the Market • A Glimmer of Commerce • A Pinch of Desire to Participate • A Dose of Delivery • Reserved Tasty Bits of IP

31. Once you get a taste • Layer SBIRs from the same or different Agencies; Watch out for Overlapping • Stir in with Regular Research Grants • Use as part of your core R&D funding • Entice partners • Intellectual Property owned by the Enterprise

32. Vt Smorgasbord of Winners • From 1984, 60 Vermont businesses won over 200 Phase I & 67 Phase II grants worth $50 million. • They come in all shapes & sizes • ConceptsNREC – Rocket Fuel Turbo Booster Pumps • Beeken & Parsons, - Character Wood Furniture • Microstrain Inc. – Remote Communication with embedded sensors • Precision Bioassay – Advanced Statistical Methods ….and they come from all around the State.

33. Get Cookin’ withVT EPSCoR SBIR Phase 0 • Pre-seed grant program for prelim. data • Up to $10,000 • Solicitation for 2007 closed mid-March. Try next year. • Since 1992, 140 awards worth $1 Million • www.uvm.edu/~EPSCoR

34. Piqued your appetite?There’s help at the Barbie • VT SBIR/STTR Help Resources • Office of Sponsored Research: • www.uvm.edu/~ospuvm/ • Mark Blanchard, VtSBDC Tech Advisor • mblancha@vtsbdc.org (802) 281-5236 Paul Hale, Ph.D., VT Technology Council • Paul.hale@uvm.edu • VT-PTAC at Thinkvermont.com • SBIRWORLD.com, ZYN.com & Agency Websites