The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs offer valuable funding opportunities for innovative small businesses; however, the competition for SBIR/STTR awards can be fierce, with many applications being submitted across the nation, proposing several groundbreaking technologies. To increase your chances of success, it's important to understand what SBIR/STTR reviewers are looking for in an application. In this blog we will be diving into each of these steps and how they pertain to all the SBIR/STTR agencies.
Registrations and Administrative Criteria:
The largest, and most easily avoidable, reason SBIR and STTR applications are denied (sometimes even without review) is the application fails to meet the basic registration and administrative requirements. In most instances these registrations are required before you can submit them to the agency’s application portal so they may be harder to miss. To learn more about the basic registration requirements read more here: SBIR/STTR Registration Requirements.
Each funding opportunity has its own required documents and formatting. While in some cases the structure is fairly consistent (Technical Narrative, Budget, CVs, Commercialization Plan, etc.), other agencies have developed a unique format for their applications. For example, the AFWERX SBIR/STTR Phase I Open Topics program asks Technical Narratives to be submitted in the form of a “pitch deck”. It is imperative that, as the applicant, you have a thorough understanding of the documents and format required.
TurboSBIR.com offers expert assistance through this process. Our goal is to ensure that startups and innovators get their foot through the door and are set up for a successful application. Our software has a detailed and easy to follow workflow custom built for each SBIR/STTR agency to make certain that no steps are overlooked. Expert assistance can also be offered by one of our grant writers in the event you wish to have a second pair of eyes look over your application or guide you along the way.
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Alignment with Program Objectives:
The next step in this process is for SBIR and STTR reviewers to assess whether your application aligns with the specific objectives of the funding program. Each solicitation has its own set of objectives. Some may only have one listed if they are looking for a single new technology while others will include a list of possible topics. If a solicitation is an “Open Topic”, it is still imperative that your innovation aligns with the agency’s mission.
Commonly, agencies will include their topics in their solicitations; however, there will be times that only some of their topics are listed, with implicit goals that applicants must figure out to set their proposals apart from others. For example, the Department of Transportation (DoT) offers a list of possible larger funding areas on their website, while their solicitations only list some of these topics. The desired solicitation and agency missions must be thoroughly reviewed before submitting a proposal for your technology.
Your proposal should clearly communicate how your innovation addresses the program's research and development goals and the identified needs in the industry or market. It's crucial to showcase how your project aligns with the program's objectives to convince the reviewers of its relevance and potential impact.
Some solicitations also outline specific needs and criteria for each topic. It is necessary to ensure that your proposal clearly outlines how your innovation can best meet the needs of the funding agency of interest. For example, the Department of Agriculture may be looking for novel irrigation systems specifically for rural farmers among certain demographics or geographic areas. Your innovation may be an innovative irrigation solution; however, your proposal should be written to explain how your potential product can best serve the demographic and/or is best-suited for the geographic area within the United States. At the same time, a case also must be made to explain why the product will have a large enough commercial market opportunity, to justify a strong profitable business in the future. As you may imagine, this can be challenging given the requirement of being specially applicable to a specific demographic/geographic area.
Qualifications and Expertise:
Reviewers assess the qualifications and expertise of the principal investigator (PI) and the rest of the research team. If you are unsure about who qualifies as a PI, the responsibilities of a PI, or have any other questions feel free to read more on Understanding the Role of a Principal Investigator.
In your proposal you should highlight the relevant experience, skills, and expertise that demonstrate your team’s capability to execute the project successfully. Provide clear evidence of the PI's track record in related research, technical accomplishments, and past funding success. Collaborations with research institutions or industry partners can also enhance your application by showcasing a multidisciplinary approach.
Your proposal should clearly communicate how your innovation addresses the program's research and development goals and the identified needs in the industry or market. It's crucial to showcase how your project aligns with the program's objectives to convince the reviewers of its relevance and potential impact.
If you are unsure where to begin with contacting and including academic or other partners for your application, you can explore TurboInnovate, a highly useful and cost-effective tool for finding matched partners and other research ideas, including previously funded applications and companies. TurboInnovate uses information you provide about your innovation and innovation to scan the landscape and brings up potential matching researchers, institutions, and potential team members subject-matter experts, who could serve as consultants or collaborators. The platform goes beyond this by generating comprehensive market research reports in minutes. These reports include similar technologies, patents, relevant agencies, potential investors, global news, and more.
Commercial Potential and Market Impact:
The SBIR/STTR program is a three staged program. The first stage is to demonstrate feasibility, the second stage is to prototype your innovation, and the third stage is achieving commercialization. The program's goal is to move startups and small businesses through the idea phase to commercialization; therefore, the potential of commercialization is highly relevant to the reviewers.
The team focuses on fostering innovation that can create commercial value and contribute to economic growth. Reviewers evaluate the commercial potential and market impact of your project. With this said, be mindful of what exactly the agency is looking for when it comes to potential investments. For agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), commercialization may for example, refer to the company launching its new therapeutic in the market after successful clinical trials. But for agencies within the Department of Defense (DoD), commercialization means that they acquire the technology for use within the DoD itself.
It is important that you outline how your idea and organization have stronger commercialization potential than existing and potential competitors. Your application should clearly demonstrate the market need for your solution and the potential market size and demand. Outline your commercialization strategy and plans for intellectual property protection. Providing market research, customer feedback, and letters of support from potential customers and industry partners can dramatically help illustrate the commercial viability of your innovation.
Technical Merit and Innovation:
Reviewers will put their maximum scrutiny in evaluating the technical merit and innovation of your project. This means the reviewers assess how likely your innovation is to work in practice and ensure it is unique in the landscape. More specifically, they look for originality, technical feasibility, and the potential to advance the field.
To break it down further, the reviewers are looking to confirm that the idea is in fact innovative. They do so through market research and reviewing previously funded technologies in the field. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the team of reviewers includes field experts that can assess your proposal and research to determine if the idea truly is feasible. Next, the team will look to see if the innovation has the potential to advance the field it is being applied to. The largest goal of the SBIR and STTR program is to move innovative ideas to the commercial stage to better improve society.
Some agencies include additional requirements in their merit review. The NSF (National Science Foundation) also specifically looks specifically for broader societal, environmental, and other forms of impact. This means the reviewers are looking for proposals to outline how the project can potentially benefit society and contribute to desired outcomes.
It's crucial to clearly communicate the novelty and uniqueness of your technology or solution, with hard evidence. Articulate how your project addresses a specific technological challenge, presents new approaches, or improves existing methods. Including supporting evidence such as prototypes, research data, references from literature and/or technical specifications will strengthen your case. Applications will have a clear location to include this information. It is imperative that the research is comprehensive and includes supporting evidence.
Budget and Project Plan:
It is during the budget proposal that the applicant can explain and request the amount of funding they think would be necessary to move their idea to the next stage. Reviewers analyze the budget and project plan to ensure they are reasonable and well-thought-out. Present a clear, detailed budget that justifies the requested funds and aligns with the project's goals and deliverables. A comprehensive project plan with well-defined milestones, timelines, and deliverables demonstrates that you have a realistic and feasible path to execute the project successfully.
Each agency has a cap on funding amounts that can be requested per project, and can be dependent on the phase, solicitation, topic etc. This can be found in their solicitation, as well as sometimes on their website. For example, when it comes to AFWERX Phase I open topic SBIR solicitations have a maximum funding amount of $75k, while the National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase I SBIR/STTR offers a maximum funding amount of $275k. Applications can be denied if the budget proposal requests funding in excess of the maximum award amount. You also don’t get any brownie points by asking for less money than what’s allowed – the budget proposed should be realistic and commensurate with the needs of the technology being proposed to be developed.
If you are unsure how best to present your budget plan explore Understanding the SBIR/STTR Budget Proposal.
Crafting strong SBIR/STTR applications requires a clear understanding of what reviewers are looking for. By addressing the evaluation criteria mentioned above - alignment with program objectives, technical merit and innovation, qualifications and expertise, commercial potential and market impact, and a sound budget and project plan - you can increase your chances of success.
Many agencies are also updating their review processes, proposal formats, award turnaround time, and more. Recently, the DoD has been required to offer “Open Topic” solicitations in addition to their traditional specific topic opportunities to applicants. However, every agency’s “Open Topic” solicitation varies. As the SBIR/STTR agency processes continue to change and evolve, remember to always read the most recent solicitation versions, and then proceed to present your proposal in a compelling, concise, and well-structured manner that follows the most up-to-date agency proposal requirements and expectations.
