No Award, but Reasonable Impact Score? Take a Second Look.
If you have submitted a proposal for the 2013 NIH Omnibus Solicitation, received your Summary Statement with a reasonable Impact Score, but not yet received notice of award, you'll want to follow up with your NIH Program Manager now. The federal budget is usually not finalized and approved until well into each fiscal year (which runs from October 1 to September 30). Since SBIR and STTR are set-aside programs whose funding is based upon the total extramural R&D budget of each participating agency, Program Managers tend to be conservative about making awards early in the year so they don't exceed their budget. On the flip side, that might mean that additional funds become available late in the year that MUST be spent. A call or email to your Program Manager could potentially prompt them to take another look at your proposal and use some of the released money to fund your project.
If you are recommended for funding at the end of the fiscal year, be aware that you will need to respond very promptly to NIH's request for Just In Time (JIT) information or you may miss out. JIT information generally includes SBIR/STTR Eligibility Certification, Current Other Support and Certifications for Human Subjects and Vertebrate Animals. BBC is available to help with your JIT materials and submissions so you can take advantage of this end-of-year opportunity. In the meantime, call that Program Manager!
Becky Aistrup
Principal Consultant
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Consider the Differences Between SBIR/STTR and Venture Funding
Entrepreneurs often tell us they avoid going after SBIR funding because it's "too slow" and doesn't meet the "need-for-speed" in their fast-moving market. Interestingly, a 2008 study from Harvard Business School reports that serial entrepreneurs (that is, those that have previously raised VC funding successfully) require an average of 21 months to fund a subsequent company.
On the other hand, first-time entrepreneurs take 37 months! Thirty-seven months is approximately the average duration of a complete Phase I and Phase II SBIR R&D project. If that isn't compelling enough, remember that SBIR/STTR is non-dilutive capital. No equity. No interest. In other words... free.
If you haven't already done so, it may be time to reconsider SBIR/STTR as part of your funding strategy. Here's a little comparison of SBIR vs. VC factors:
Any questions? Michael Kurek, PhD Partner |
Dept. of Defense Rapid Innovation Fund  BAA's Released
All four 2013 DoD Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) have now been released--Army, Air Force, Navy and DoD (multi-component). The RIF Program was established to facilitate the rapid insertion of innovative small business technologies into military systems or programs that meet critical national security needs identified by the sponsoring components. RIF also advances innovative technologies that show a clear transition path to fielding into existing defense acquisition programs.
The RIF program is not an SBIR set-aside, but it is primarily for the validation and transition of technologies developed by small businesses including those developed under the SBIR & IR&D programs. Technologies should address specific topics identified in the solicitation and be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6 or above. Funding is up to $3 million over two years.
Applicants must submit a white paper as directed in the specific solicitation, and full proposals will be invited based on review of the white papers. White paper deadlines and links to the solicitations are shown below.
White paper due 9/23/13
White paper due 9/30/13
White paper due 10/8/13
White paper due 10/21/13 *Not sure about terms? Need help? Contact BBCetc at 734.635.8462/ becky@bbcetc.com. Becky Aistrup Principal Consultant
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DID YOU KNOW....
NIH issues Special Announcements for Small Business Research Opportunities throughout the year in addition to their standard SBIR & STTR Omnibus solicitation?  These are in the form of RFAs (Requests for Application) and PAs (Program Announcements). RFA's are issued for a specific program purpose for one or more of NIH's Institutes or Centers and funds are set aside for that RFA competition under the SBIR/STTR program. Generally these have one unique proposal deadline date that is different from the Omnibus Solicitation due dates.
PA's usually bring attention to stated scientific areas of interest to NIH in which they would like to see more applications. Separate SBIR/STTR moneys are not set aside for the PA topics, and the proposal due dates follow the standard Omnibus solicitation due dates.
Examples of current SBIR RFAs & PAs include:
Innovative Molecular Analysis Technology Development for Cancer Research and Clinical Care (SBIR)
(PAR-13-327 posted August 9, 2013)
National Cancer Institute
Application Receipt Date(s): November 4, 2013; May 28, 2014; November 4, 2014; May 27, 2015; November 4, 2015; May 27, 2016
Click to view
Abuse-Resistant and Abuse-Deterrent Formulations and Devices to Avoid the Abuse, Misuse and Diversion of Prescription Opioids by Patients
(RFA-DA-14-013 posted July 16, 2013
National Institute on Drug Abuse
RFA-ES-13-009
Application due date: 10/11/13
Novel Methods for Obtaining Molecular Information from Archived Tissue Samples
(RFA-ES-13-009 posted July 17, 2013)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Application due date: 10/17/13
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BBCetc Wins Second Year of Federal and State Funding for Michigan FASTconnect Program
BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting has been awarded a second year of grant funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration to continue and expand its FASTconnect program in the state of Michigan.
The grant is from the SBA's Federal and State Technology (FAST)
 Partnership Program, which is aimed at stimulating economic development among small, high-technology businesses through federally-funded programs such as SBIR and STTR.
"The MI FASTconnect program was enthusiastically received by both the companies and the statewide commercialization partners during its first year," said Martin Dober, senior vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which provided a match to the SBA grant. "Providing support to start-up companies in commercializing their technologies can be critical for their success and, in the long run, will help drive the economy and create jobs."
Twenty awards of $95,000 each were granted to state and local economic development agencies, business development centers and colleges and universities across the country. FASTconnect Program with the goals of:
- Strengthening the technological competitiveness of small businesses by connecting Michigan SBIR/STTR awardees to commercialization resources within the state
- Promoting the innovation and commercialization of new technologies by enhancing the business skills of Michigan SBIR/STTR awardees via a Peer Mentor Network.
- Increasing women and minority participation in technology innovation through outreach programs to foster and encourage participation in the SBIR/ STTR programs.
BBCetc has managed the State of Michigan's SBIR/STTR Assistance Program, which includes outreach, assessment, training, and one-on-one assistance with proposal preparation, since 2002. During that time, its Michigan clients have been awarded over $120 million in SBIR and STTR funding. The company also assists businesses and economic development groups throughout the U.S. and worked in 29 states last year alone.
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Onsite
Proposal Prep for NIH
Sep 10-11 - Grand Rapids, MI
Sep 16-17 - Chicago, IL
Sep 25-26 - Plymouth, MI
Oct 1 - Charlottesville, VA
Oct 9-10 - St. Louis, MO
NIH Commercialization and Budget Planning
Oct 2 - Charlottesville, VA
All Agencies Commercial-ization and Budget Planning
Oct 4 - Blacksburg, VA
SBIR 101-Intro & Overview
Sep 24 - New York, NY
Oct 9 - Ann Arbor, MI
SBIR/STTR Agency Overview and Proposal Prep
Sep 10 - Akron, OH
Oct 3 - Blacksburg, VA
Proposal Prep for NSF
Oct 16 - Rochester, MI
NASA and DOE Tips Session
Sep 30, McLean, VA
Sep 19 - ABCs of SBIR/STTR Funding
Oct 1 - Tips on Electronic Submission to DoE
Oct 3 - How to Prepare a Budget for SBIR/STTR Proposals
Oct 10 - What You Need to Know About Gov't. Audits
Oct 17 - Practical Strategies for Developing Indirect Rates
Oct 23 - Essentials of Commercialization Planning
Oct 24 - QuickBooks & Compliance for SBIR/STTR Recipients
Oct 29 - DoE Overview and Topics Review
Oct 31 - DoD Topic Overview and Components
A selection of BBCetc's recorded webinars
is now available
for purchase. 
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Important DOE Dates
The Dept. of Energy's FY 2014 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 1 solicitation opened Aug. 12. Letters of Intent are due Sept. 3 and the application deadline is Oct. 15. Award notifications are preliminarily planned for late Jan. 2014 with a grant start date in late Feb. 2014.
NIH Contract Solicitation Pre-released
National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have pre-released their SBIR Phase I Contract solicitation (PHS-2014-1). The solicitation will open on or around Aug. 29 with a closing date on or around Nov. 13. Reminder: this is an NIH Contract solicitation, so it is topic driven. Click to view topics
NASA announced that they expect to issue their SBIR solicitation in November (it is usually issued in September). Stay tuned to sbir.nasa.gov for more information. In addtion, BBC will host a webinar with Dr. Richard Lesher, NASA's SBIR / STTR Program Director to discuss the solicitation in November. Details to be announced.
DOD's SBIR 2013.3 and STTR 2013.B solicitations are now open to proposal submission. The solicitations close on Sept. 25 at 6 AM ET.
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"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."
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who we are
BBCetc is nationally recognized for its expertise in helping technology-based entrepreneurs win federal grants and contracts through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and use it strategically to propel growth. Its Michigan clients have been awarded over $120 million in funding since 2002.
BBCetc capabilities include:
-Technology Assessment
-Commercialization
Planning
-SBIR/STTR/Other
Research Grant
Assistance
-Entrepreneurial Training
-Grants/Contracts
Management
734-930-9741
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