NOVEMBER 2015top
How do I know if NIH is interested in funding my project?
The NIH is one of the 'easier' federal agencies to apply to because every year it issues an Omnibus Solicitation, requesting investigator-initiated topics. This means that rather than telling you exactly which projects they will fund, the NIH asks you, the investigator, to come up with the ideas. As long as these ideas are related to Human Health, have the requisite level of Technological Innovation and Commercial Potential, they may be appropriate for SBIR/STTR.

However, you still need to do some homework to make sure your idea fits within the research interests of the NIH's Institutes and Centers. So before you put a lot of work into developing your proposal, there are a couple of things you can do...Read on

BAA: Not just for sheep. 
The Dept. of Defense's U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command recently issued a Broad Agency Announcement Extramural Medical Research (W81XWH-16-R-BAA1) Fiscal 2016. What's a BAA, you ask?

The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a competitive funding opportunity announcement to solicit proposals for basic and applied research using your ideas, expertise and strengths to address government needs and interests. The BAA mechanism was created in 1984 and is detailed in Federal Acquisition Regulations, FAR 35.016. The regulations stipulate that a BAA will:
  • Fulfill requirements for scientific study and experimentation that advances the state-of-the-art or increases knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on a specific system or hardware solution;
  • Address an agency's need for basic research that is outside of existing programs;
  • Read on
Lockheed Martin Issues NOAA Topics of Interest
Lockheed Martin (LM) has released a listing of SBIR NOAA 2016 solicitation topics with identified LM personnel interested in particular SBIR topics. The purpose of this listing is to help connect companies with the appropriate Lockheed Martin technical points of contacts to explore opportunities for partnership and innovation. If your firm has interest in a topic, is considering submitting a proposal and would like to seek Lockheed Martin's support through an endorsement, sponsorship and/or partnership opportunity, please contact the individuals listed next to the appropriate topic as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for letter approvals. Contact information is provided. Please have your SBIR solicitation number included in your correspondences with the point of contacts.

Using NIH ASSIST Streamlines SBIR/STTR Submission
In case you haven't heard about it yet, ASSIST is now available for submissions to the January 5, 2016 SBIR and STTR Omnibus solicitation. What is ASSIST? ASSIST (Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking) is NIH's online system for the preparation, submission and tracking of grant applications through Grants.gov to NIH.

To gain a better understanding of how ASSIST works, BBCetc's Lisa Kurek attended the ASSIST session at the recent NIH SBIR/STTR National Conference in Seattle. Lisa and Kris Bergman both attended NIH's Nov. 4 "How to Submit with ASSIST" webinar presented by NIH, and Kris has already been actively working with BBC clients using ASSIST.

There are numerous features in ASSIST that are not available with downloadable forms including:
  • Secure web-based data entry
  • Collaboration of multiple users
  • Pre-submission validation of many NIH and Grants.gov business rules (aka "error checking")
  • Pre-population of data from eRA Commons profiles
  • Pre-submission print/preview of application in NIH format (e.g., you'll be able to see the compiled proposal BEFORE you submit)
  • Submission status tracking for both Grants.gov and eRA Commons within a single system
Applicants will have the option to continue to use downloadable forms or ASSIST. Lisa's and Kris's conclusion?? "We will be recommending that all of our NIH clients use ASSIST and we're ready to 'assist' them!"

HHS Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program Beginning
HHS can now provide up to $3 million in additional funding for your Phase II SBIR/STTR project through the Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CRP). Find the newly released CRP solicitations on the HHS SBIR/STTR Funding page. The two solicitations will be discussed in an informational webinar on Dec. 2, 2-3:30 p.m. EST. Register here. Standard due dates apply.

Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) for NIH and CDC Phase I SBIR and STTR Grantees
This FOA seeks to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that builds upon biomedical research to develop technologies, products and services that benefit society. Toward meeting this objective, the NIH is now expanding the program to include additional participating NIH and CDC Institutes and Centers. Due dates: December 10, 2015; March 21, 2016. 
 
who we are
BBCetc is nationally recognized for its expertise in helping technology-based entrepreneurs win federal funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and use it strategically to propel growth. BBCetc capabilities include:
  • Commercialization Planning
  • Research Grant Assistance
  • SBIR/STTR Training (Course Catalog)
  • Grants/Contracts Management 
  • Tech-Based Economic Development Programs   
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BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, LLC

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  training on tap
Onsite Training 
Proposal Prep for DoD
Dec 16 - Southfield, MI

Proposal Prep for NIH
Jan 21 - Ann Arbor, MI

SBIR/STTR Grant Writing Workshop
Jan 27-28 - Chicago, IL
Jan 27-28 - Vail, CO

SBIR/STTR 101: Into & Overview
Jan 28 - Ann Arbor
Webinars
Webinars are 1-2 PM
Nov 19 - Forms, Budgets and Electronic Submission for NSF

Jan 6 - Policies & Procedures for SBIR/STTR Awardees

Also:
Nov 18, 2-4 PM ET

  solicitationssolicitations  
HHS/NIH Omnibus
Closes Jan 5

Opens Nov 8; closes Dec 8
NSF STTR Ph I 16-604
Opens Nov 11; closes Dec 11 

Closes Dec 16

Opens Nov 12; closes Feb 1

Opens Nov 30; closes Feb 9

DoD SBIR 2016.1 and STTR 2016.A
Releases Dec 11; opens Jan 11; closes Feb 17
 miresourcesinnovation    summit

Join BBCetc's Lisa Kurek and Becky Aistrup for the SBIR/STTR Innovation Summit Dec. 1-3 in Austin, TX. Attendees will learn from and network with SBIR/STTR leaders and program experts on how to gain access to the $2.6 billion of non-diluted annual capital, the largest early-stage seed funding in the world. Lisa will present Phase II Proposal Development workshops on Dec. 1, 8:30 a.m.-Noon and 1-4:30 p.m. 
 more funding
BRAIN Initiative: Next Generation Invasive Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System 
Encourages investigators to pursue translational and clinical studies for recording and/or stimulating devices to treat nervous system disorders and better understand the human brain. NIH anticipates providing $13.5 million per year to fund an estimated four-to-seven awards. The application due date is April 27, 2016.

Novel Genomic Technology Development 
PAR-16-016 SBIR
(also offered as an STTR and Direct to Phase II solicitation)
NHGRI (National Human Genome Research Institute) seeks to catalyze major advances in genomics through technology development. The goal is to provide a mechanism for support of very novel and high impact work from across this gamut of genomics technology development. This initiative seeks to support technologies that will have a major impact in the next three-to-five years. Due dates are January 14, 2016; October 31, 2016; October 31, 2017