Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2013 (STTR)

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12592/nsf12592.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

Program Solicitation
NSF 12-592

Replaces Document(s):
NSF 11-561

National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering      Industrial Innovation and Partnerships

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time):

October 20, 2012 – November 20, 2012

LOI must be submitted in order to submit a full proposal

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time):

December 20, 2012

A LOI must have been submitted on or before 11/20/2012

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND REVISION NOTES

New requirements for the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program:

• A Letter of Intent (LOI). Note that a LOI is required prior to submission of a full STTR proposal.
• A signed SBIR/STTR Funding Agreement Certification. (See the Special Award Conditions section of this solicitation.)

All proposals that fail to address the following items will be considered non-responsive and will be returned without review:

1. A proposal submitted after 5:00 p.m. (proposer’s/submitter’s local time) on the deadline date. The “proposer’s time” is the time zone associated with the company’s address, as registered with NSF at the time of proposal submission.
2. A proposal that does not contain all the required components uploaded into the appropriate module within FastLane. See the required components below that make up a complete proposal. All proposals must have each of the items listed below, without exception.

A complete proposal consists of the following:

1. Project Summary (reference section A.9.2)
2. Project Description (15 page limit) and all 7 parts (reference section A.9.3)
3. References Cited (reference section A.9.4) – required by NSF for all proposals
4. Biographical Sketches (reference section A.9.5) – required by NSF for all proposals
5. Budget and Sub-budgets (reference section A.9.6)
6. Current and Pending Support – the proposal being submitted is considered pending support” and must be listed (reference section A.9.7).This means that ALL submitted proposals MUST contain this document, without exception.
7. Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources (reference section A.9.8) – required by NSF for all proposals
8. Supplementary Documents (reference section A.9.9)

3. A proposal with items in the Supplementary Documents section other than the following:
   1. Letters of Support for Technology (no more than 3 letters; reference section A.9.9.1)
   2. Post Doc Mentoring Plan (required if funds are included on line “B.1 Post Doctoral Scholars” on the proposer’s budget or a subaward budget; reference section A.9.9.2)
   3. Company Commercialization History must be provided using the NSF template if Phase II SBIR/STTR awards have been received previously (reference section A.9.9.3)
   4. Data Management Plan (reference section A.9.9.4) – required by NSF for all proposals
   5. Letters regarding Use of Human or Animal subjects e.g. Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval of animal use (if applicable; reference section A.9.9.5)
4. A STTR proposal with a budget exceeding $225,000.
5. A proposal missing a Company Commercialization History, if a company has certified on the Cover Page that it has previously received SBIR/STTR Phase II awards. A Company Commercialization History must be submitted using the NSF template (reference section A.9.9.3).
6. A proposal with documents placed in the “Additional Single Copy Documents” module in FastLane.
7. A collaborative proposal (defined as simultaneous proposal submissions from different organizations, with each organization requesting a separate award) is prohibited. Note – Small business concerns are encouraged to collaborate with research institutions; however, only one proposal, with subawards, should result.
8. A proposal lacking sufficient technical/commercial potential substance to justify review.
9. A proposal that does not fall within the scope of the topic or subtopic as delineated in the topic or subtopic description.
10. A proposal not containing research proposed in science, engineering, or education.
11. Unacceptable objectives as defined in Section IV.

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

General Information

Program Title:

Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2013 (STTR)

Synopsis of Program:

The Small Business Technology Transfer program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.

The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) requires researchers at universities and other non-profit research institutions to play a significant intellectual role in the conduct of each STTR project. These researchers, by joining forces with a small company, can spin-off their commercially promising ideas while they remain primarily employed at the research institution. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011).

NSF seeks to help reach the nation’s biological innovation goals, and the larger objective of growing the bioeconomy The bioeconomy has emerged as a national priority because of its growth potential across many key industries and its societal benefits, which include transforming manufacturing processes, increasing agricultural productivity, advancing medicine, addressing energy needs, and meeting challenges in the environment. The STTR research topic for this solicitation is Enhancing the Bioeconomy using emerging Biological Technologies (EBBT). Proposals must use a biologically-based approach, such as synthetic biology, systems biology, metabolic engineering, proteomics, bioinformatics, and computational biology, to address business opportunities in key industry sectors including biomedical, biomanufacturing, and sustainable agriculture. For additional information reference section A.10.

WEBINAR: A webinar will be held within 6 weeks of the release date of this solicitation to answer any questions about the solicitation. Details will be posted on the SBIR/STTR website: http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/index.jsp as they become available.