APRIL 2016top
Four Tips to Prep for DoD's Upcoming Solicitations
The Dept. of Defense (DoD) will pre-release its SBIR 2016.2 and STTR 2016.B solicitation on April 22 when participating components will issue the topics for which they seek proposals. If you think your technology might have an application for a DoD component and topic, here are four things you should be thinking about right now to get you started on the right foot.

1. Get Registered! In order to submit by the June 22 deadline you must complete several registrations that can take 4-to-6 weeks to finish, so best get crackin'! Here are the registrations you need:

a. EIN (Employer Identification Number), aka Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN). Apply here

b. DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System), a unique 9-digit number issued by Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) for each physical location of your business. Submit a request online. Read on

Attend the National SBIR/STTR Conference
Catch BBCetc SBIR/STTR workshops while you're there!
The National SBIR/STTR Conference is set for May 23-25 in Washington. The conference presents an ideal opportunity to learn how to participate and compete for funding in these two programs while interacting with SBIR/STTR program managers and staff, industry leaders and veteran awardees to glean advice on how to access SBIR/STTR, build partnerships, and create successful commercialization strategies.

If you're going to the conference, be sure to attend the Mon., May 23, workshops presented by BBCetc team members, Michael Kurek, PhD, and Becky Aistrup.  Becky will present Phase II SBIR/STTR Proposal Preparation which addresses key elements of the process of writing a competitive Phase II proposal, which includes the concept of managing your Phase I SBIR/STTR to get to Phase II. Michael will provide an SBIR Overview which will review Agency types and missions, grants vs. contracts, project phases, topics, assistance, references, tools, innovations - and how to make the most of the National SBIR/STTR Conference.  Both workshops will be presented twice on March 23, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m.
More information and registration

From the Agencies
National Science Foundation 
Review Process Explained
The latest issue of the NSF Quarterly Update answers an important question: Who evaluates NSF SBIR/STTR proposals? What does the review process entail?

A. In Phase I, technical reviewers with expertise in the field of research being proposed and/or the target market area proposed are asked to confidentially review proposals. These technical reviewers always possess technical training and expertise in relevant areas of science, engineering, or technology. The Phase I review process relies heavily on input from these technical reviewers, with some reviewers having a mix of commercial and technical expertise. Read on

NIH National Institutes of Health
New Features on eRA Commons
The Principal Investigator (PI) Screens for Status, JIT, and Closeout have been redesigned on the NIH eRA Commons website. Here's  what you can expect:
  • The eRA Commons' Status screen for PIs has a more refined interface, a responsive design and user friendly grouping of information. Searches on the Recent/Pending eSubmissions and List of Applications/Grants screens now provide a total count of applications/grants at the top of the screen. The results are grouped by Application ID/Grant number and are expandable and collapsible as needed.
  • eRA has updated the look of both the Just-in-Time (JIT) and Closeout screens for PIs to improve readability and flow and support "Drag & Drop" functionality to upload files while dynamically validating file size and format. 
Also, a condensed version of the Status screen for PIs is now available for use on mobile devices through a special URL. See eRA News for more information on this topic. 

New PHS Assignment Request Form
Applicants who want to make requests regarding the assignment and initial peer review of applications need to use a new PHS Assignment Request Form. New fields in the form include:
  • Awarding Component request both positive ("assign to") and negative ("do not assign to")*
  • Study Section or Special Emphasis Panel Requests, both positive and negative
  • List of potential reviewers in conflict and why
  • List of scientific expertise needed to review the application More info

New Font Guidelines for Attachments
Text in grant application PDF attachments must now follow these minimum requirements: 

  • Font size of 11 points or larger (smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100 percent).
  • Type density no more than 15 characters per linear inch.
  • Line spacing no more than six lines per vertical inch.
  • Black text color (color text in figures, graphs, diagrams, charts, tables, footnotes, and headings is acceptable as long as it is legible).

NIH recommends Arial, Garamond, Georgia, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, Times New Roman, and Verdana type faces. Note that PDF attachments that don't conform to the minimum requirements listed above may be withdrawn from consideration. More info


FORMS-D Application Instructions Now Available
NIH has launched a whole new approach to delivering application instructions. View the video overview to learn about the new filtered views of the instructions for the various grant programs, and how the HTML version of the general guide has been organized.
 

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More Funding Opportunities
R43/R44 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant - Phase I, Phase II, and Fast-Track I
Encourages applications for projects to transfer technology out of the NIH intramural research labs into the private sector. If selected for SBIR funding, the SBC will be granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive patent license agreement for internal research use for the term of and within the field of use of the SBIR award to technologies held by NIH with the intent that the SBC will develop the invention into a commercial product to benefit the public.
Standard due dates through 9/6/2018

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
Onsite
Proposal Prep for DoD
April 21 - Sterling Hts, MI

MI Community Program/Networking
April 20 - Grand Rapids, MI
April 21 - Ann Arbor, MI

SBIR/STTR 101/Proposal Prep for NIH
May 3-4 - St. Louis, MO

SBIR/STTR 101
May 3 - Dover, DE

Proposal Prep Essentials for DoD, DoE and USDA
May 3-4 - Dover, DE

SBIR/STTR 101 Introduction & Overview
May 17 - Ann Arbor, MI

Proposal Prep Essentials for NSF, DoD, DoE and USDA
May 17 - Ann Arbor, MI

SBIR 101: Introduction
May 18 - Marquette, MI
(Lunch & Learn)
May 18 - Marquette, MI 
(5:30-7 p.m.)

SBIR 101 & Grants Management Workshop
May 19 - Houghton, MI
Webinars
Webinars are 1-2 p.m. ET
Grants and Contracts Management Series
Apr 7- How to Prepare a Budget for SBIR/STTR Proposals
Apr 21- Practical Strategies for Indirect Rate Development
Apr 28 - QuickBooks and Compliance for SBIR/STTR Recipients

Also in April:
Apr 12 - Essentials of SBIR/STTR Commercialization Planning

Navy Forum for SBIR/STTR Transition, May 16-18
National Harbor, MD

SBIR/STTR National Conference, May 23-25
Washington D.C.
(see story at left)

18th Annual HHS SBIR/STTR Conference, Nov 15 - 17 Orlando, FL 

 news on sbir/sttr  reauthorization  
The House Small Business Committee has approved the Commercializing Small Business Innovation Act of 2016 that would reauthorize SBIR and STTR programs ahead of their scheduled expiration dates in 2017. This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs through 2022. Read the National Small Business Assoc. press release. Read legislation text
  solicitations  
HHS/NIH Omnibus
Closes Sep 5
Closes Sep 5

DoC National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Ph I SBIR
Closes Apr 14 

Closes June 16
Closes June 20

DoD SBIR 2016.1 and STTR 2016.B
Pre-release: April 22, Opens May 23, Closes June 22

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