FEBUARY 2016top
Determining Salaries in NSF SBIR/STTR Projects
One question frequently asked by BBCetc's clients preparing SBIR/STTR proposals is "how do I determine salaries for my project team members"?

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires applicants to align salaries to wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and describes the process in the NSF SBIR Salary Validation Guide. The process is fairly straightforward because there are a limited number of occupational categories that cover the range of job descriptions on a typical SBIR/STTR R&D project. Read on
NIST Releases SBIR Phase I Federal Funding Opportunity
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is soliciting Phase I SBIR R&D applications with a submission deadline of April 14, 2016. Successful applicants can be awarded funding of up to $100,000 for a six-month feasibility study. Proposals are solicited in the following Topic Areas:
  • Advanced Sensing for Manufacturing
  • Biomanufacturing
  • Cryptography and Privacy
  • Cyber Physical Systems
  • Lab to Market
  • Materials Genome
  • Quantum-based Sensors and Measurements
Click here for an overview of Topics in each area. The solicitation (2016-NIST-SBIR-01) and related documents can be obtained online.
 
Financing Plan a Key Part of SBIR/STTR Commercial Plan
SBIR/STTR Program Managers know that their awardee companies will need resources beyond the R&D funding their programs provide in order to successfully commercialize their innovation. In the Commercialization Plan the reviewers expect to see a clear description of the resources the applicant Company expects to need and a credible plan for obtaining those resources. The Financing Plan provides that information.

The typical outline for a Commercialization Plan calls this section "Finance and Revenue Model" but these are actually two separate issues that should each be addressed in its own section. Let's focus on the Financing Plan first. The "Revenue Model" will appear in a following post.

The Financing Plan section should begin with the Company's estimate of the total amount of operating capital it will need to get the product from here to there. You can define both here and there. For example, here might be either the start date of your Phase II SBIR project or its end date. I'd recommend the start date for reasons described below. "There" is typically the market launch date of the product.  Read on

Grantees are Program Ambassadors with NSF Toolkit
The National Science Foundation has developed a guide for their grantees to help them spread the word of their accomplishments and promote potential NSF funding opportunities to other entrepreneurs. The guide supplies sample posts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs or other platforms as well as quick facts on the NSF SBIR/STTR program. It also provides general digital media tips such as:
  • Have a purpose - how do you want to use each channel? Have a strategy.
  • Use your platform regularly and personally. Your content should add value and encourage participation.
  • Keep posts short and sweet.
  • Proofread content.
  • Link back and out to other content. Use URLs, link shorteners and hashtags.

Updates from DoD DOD
Call for Abstracts
The Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) provides a collaborative environment for military medical care providers with deployment experience, DoD scientists, academia, and industry to exchange information on research advancements and health care developments in the areas of Combat Casualty Care, Military Operational Medicine, Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine, and Military Infectious Disease Research Programs. The location and date of the 2016 MHSRS are yet to come, however the MHSRS website will be accepting abstracts from February 8 to April 1 in over 30 research topic areas.

New AF Compliance Requirements Instituted
The Air Force SBIR/STTR Program Office is instituting new requirements in an initiative to combat fraud in its program. Applicants are now required to read through the "Compliance with SBIR and STTR Program Rules" training on the AF website. The Certificate of Training Completion at the end of the document must then be signed by a company official and attached to the SBIR/STTR proposal. Failure to do this will result in the proposal being removed from consideration.

AF Success Stories
The Air Force SBIR/STTR Program has compiled a series of brief, informative videos of commercial success stories resulting from the Air Force SBIR/STTR funding. The videos are available for viewing at this link, with more to come.
 
More Funding Opportunities
Army Research Institute (ARI) for the Behavioral and Social Sciences FY16 Foundational Science Research Unit Broad Agency Announcement (W911NF-16-R-0005)
ARI is the Army's lead agency for the conduct of research, development, and analyses for the improvement of Army readiness and performance via research advances and applications of the behavioral and social sciences that address personnel, organization, training, and leader development issues. Current deadline: May 6, 2016  View

Small Business Alzheimer's Disease Research (SBIR PA-16-091, STTR PA-16-092) The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to encourage applications from eligible small business concerns in the area of Alzheimer's disease. National Institute on Aging (NIA), Standard dates through April 2019  View
 
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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  training on tap
SBIR Intro and Proposal Prep Essentials for NSF, NIH & DoD
March 22-24 - Blacksburg, Charlottesville & Norfolk, VA

Proposal Prep for NSF
Mar 23 - Plymouth, MI

Commercialization for SBIR-Stage Companies
Mar 24 - Ann Arbor, MI

University Participation in SBIR/STTR
March 25 - Norfolk, VA

Commercialization for SBIR-Stage Companies
 March 25 - Norfolk, VA

Proposal Prep for DoD
April 21 - Sterling Hts, MI

Webinars
Webinars are 1-2 PM ET
Mar 9 - Tips on SBIR/STTR Forms and Electronic Submission to NIH

  solicitations  
HHS/NIH Omnibus
Closes Apr 5

Closes Apr 5

DoC (NIST) 2016 SBIR
Closes Feb 29

  iCorps at nih
NIH is offering its I-Corps™ entrepreneurial training program across 14 Institute/Centers at the NIH and CDC to support NIH/CDC SBIR/STTR funded small businesses to accelerate the translation of innovations from the lab to clinical practice. I-Corps™participants receive lessons on how to build a scalable business model as well as entrepreneurial trainings, and mentorship opportunities. Deadline for applications: March 21. View funding announcement
  kudos!
On February 12 in New York City, Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration   delivered the country's State of Entrepreneurship address. Highlighted as an example of transformative companies creating success out of the government's  SBIR/STTR programs was EpiBone, a graduate of the SBIR Impact NYC program managed by BBCetc.

Brooklyn-based EpiBone is using 3D printing and bio-fabrication to engineer bone grafts. Its pioneering technology utilizes a scan of the patient's bone defect and the patient's own stem cells to construct and cultivate a defect-specific autologous-like bone graft. 

Contreras-Sweet noted that the SBIR/STTR programs are "the world's largest source of non-dilutive angel capital for small businesses. America's seed fund has invested $40 billion in entrepreneurs with big ideas."  

HylaPharm, founded in 2010, has received a $300,000 SBIR contract from the National Cancer Institute to re-purpose an existing drug for the treatment of breast cancer. With the University of Kansas, BBCetc assisted HylaPharm with development of its SBIR proposal. "The SBIR application process is highly competitive," said Daniel Aires, HylaPharm's president and CEO and KU Medical Center division director of dermatology. "...Receiving this award validates the promising preclinical results and significant potential of our work." After a year of study, the company will be eligible to apply for a second phase of SBIR funding, which is designed to bring the project to the point where it can begin to be tested in human trials. Read more
  save the date
The 18th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference is set for November 15-17 in Orlando, FL. The conference is relevant to a diverse audience, including biomedical entrepreneurs; principal investigators; grants and contracts administrators; and industry partners and investors. Registration opens in spring. Stay tuned for more information.