Small Business Innovation Research

1. Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Opportunities at the National Science Foundation Winslow Sargeant, Ph.D.Former SBIR/STTR Program Manager STTR/SBIR-HBCU/MI Technical Conference AAMURI Huntsville, AL January 30-31, 2006

2. Origins of Federal SBIR/STTR Programs Federal Research & Development Needs can be met by: Small Business Academia, Federal Labs Large Business Small Business is a key contributor to the Economy of the Nation Job Creation Wealth Creation

3. Employment of Scientists and Engineers*

4. NSF’s Vision Enabling the Nation’s future through discovery, learning, and innovation…*

5. NSF “Unique” Features Phase I Grantees Workshop Commercialization Planning Assistance Phase II Grantees Conference Networking Opportunities Among small businesses With investors Phase IIA Scientific/Engineering Research Supplement Small pilot program co-funded by the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) Program (NSF Education & Human Resources Directorate) minority institution subcontract (must be CREST grantee)

6. NSF “Unique” Features(cont) Phase IIB Commercialization Incentive Supplement with 3rd Party Match RAHSS Research opportunities for High School students SBIR MatchMaker Connecting NSF Phase II Grantees with Investors

7. SBIR “Innovation” Model

8. DOD SBIR/STTR HHS SBIR/STTR NASA SBIR/STTR DOE SBIR/STTR NSF SBIR/STTR ~104M DHS SBIR USDA SBIR DOC SBIR ED SBIR EPA SBIR DOT SBIR SBIR / STTR Participating Agencies

9. NSF is not the Final Customer NSF is not buying your product/process/software or your intellectual property NSF has broad market driven technology topics: you pose the problem, propose the solution, and identify the opportunity NSF wants to see you successfully commercialize your high-tech research You need investment dollars beyond NSF SBIR/STTR Doing Business with NSF

10. Phase I Feasibility Research – ~10-15% success rate at NSF SBIR – 6 months – up to $100,000 STTR – 12 months – up to $100,000 Phase II – Concept Development – ~30-40% success rate at NSF SBIR/STTR – 24 months up to $500,000 Phase IIB unique to NSF – Matches Third Party Investment NSF - $50,000 to $500,000 (Phase II + Phase IIB= 1M max) Investor - $100,000 to $1,000,000 Phase III – Commercial Application: Non SBIR, primarily Private Funding SBIR/STTR Phased Project Structure

11. Partnerships Opportunities in SBIR/STTR SBIR – Partnership Optional Small Business “Prime” (I.e., Grantee) Phase I up to 1/3 of budget can be out-sourced Phase II up to ½ of budget can be out-sourced STTR – Partnership Required 40% to 70% of the research by the Small Business 30% to 60% of the research by Academia/FFRDC* (I.e., Subawardee)

12. Faculty Partnership in Small Business Faculty members can own small firms Faculty members can be “Senior Personnel” on the grant budget Faculty members can consult Faculty members can be Principal Investigators (with official leave from university) Faculty members can be part of a university subcontract University laboratories can provide analytical testing and other support services

13. Roles for Students & Teachers in Small Business Grants Supplemental Grants to SBIR/STTR companies REU – Research Experience for Undergraduates and RAHSS**** Typically $6,000 support per student Up to 2 students per year/per grant RET – Research Experience for Teachers (K –12 & Community College Faculty) Typically $10,000 support per teacher Up to 2 teachers per year/per grant

14. SBIR/STTR Solicitation Topics Investment Focused (VCs, Angels) Biotechnology (BT) Electronics (EL) Information Based Technology (IT) Industrial Market Driven (Strategic Partners) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (AM) Chemical Based Technology (CT) Special Topics in Response to National Needs Security Technologies (ST) Manufacturing Innovation (MI) Emerging Opportunities (EO) Moving to 3 major topic clusters, by and large externally focused. The next solicitation will be coming out in March on EL and ST.Moving to 3 major topic clusters, by and large externally focused. The next solicitation will be coming out in March on EL and ST.

15. Solicitation Topics 12-18 month planning cycle Expect for that each Solicitation will offer 1 or more topics that represent: Investment business focused technologies Market driven technologies Special Topics in Response to National Needs Keep a watch on the topic offerings of the current solicitation for opportunities most relevant to you Next Solicitation release: by March 1, 2006 for June 13, 2006 deadline Topics: Manufacturing Innovation, Advanced Materials, Information Technologies, Emerging Opportunities.

16. Phase I Submissions FY07 Solicitation #1 opens on or before March 1, 2006 4 Topics: Deadline June 13, 2006 FY07 Solicitation #2 opens on or before September 1, 2006 Topics to be announced Deadline sometime early December 2006 Electronic (via the NSF FastLane Submission System) Can submit up to 1 month prior to the deadline Register company immediately Submit at least 3 to 5 days before the deadline

17. NSF Merit Review Process NSF “Peer Review” Typically reviewed at onsite panel meetings Panelists come from Academia/Industry/Government Labs Phase I – all proposals receive a minimum of 3 expert technical reviews Phase II – all proposals receive in-depth extensive reviews A minimum of 3 expert technical reviews A minimum of 3 expert commercial reviews

18. Intellectual Merit Quality of the Research Novelty of the idea (not incremental research)(may lie in application) Major advance to current technology Soundness of Science/Engineering Awareness/understanding of prior art and value-added Broader Impact Commercialization Potential Benefit to society Market Focused Who is the Customer? NSF Merit Review Criteria

19. SBIR/STTR Commercialization History – Very Important Part of the Review! Revenue from SBIR/STTR Funding Previous SBIR/STTR Phase II Awards Follow-on-Funding from Government and Private Sector Total Sales Revenues from Commercialization of Phase II Projects

20. EPSCoR/SBIR Advantage EPSCOR stands for Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research NSF strong partnership between EPSCoR and SBIR Programs EPSCoR may fund Phase I proposals that do not make the first cut of “ 1 in 8-10” but are recommended for funding But you must submit a competitive proposal!

21. SBIR/STTR Commercialization History – Very Important Part of the Review! Revenue from SBIR/STTR Funding Previous SBIR/STTR Phase II Awards Follow-on-Funding from Government and Private Sector Total Sales Revenues from Commercialization of Phase II Projects

22. NSF FY-03 Phase I (2,272 submissions and 476 awards)

23. Questions to Consider Is there a need for the technology? Has the necessary team for a successful program been assembled? Who will benefit from this technology? Who are the customers and who will invest? Has ownership of intellectual property been addressed?

25. NSF SBIR/STTR Home Page

26. NSF SBIR/STTR Home Page