Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer Henry Ahn SBIR/STTR Program Director The National Science Foundation

NSF SBIR/STTR Program Specifics Agenda SBIR/STTR Overview NSF SBIR Stats NSF SBIR/STTR Program Specifics Unique Features of NSF SBIR What We Fund/Do Not Fund Review Process Tips on Strengthening Proposal

WHAT IS THE NSF SBIR/STTR PROGRAM? Photo Credit: Graphene Frontiers, LLC

The SBIR/STTR Program Congressionally mandated program Overarching aim is to help build a strong national economy Goals include: stimulating technological innovation in the private sector increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results SBIR began at NSF in the 1970’s STTR added in 1992 Currently 11 federal agencies participate

SBIR/STTR at NSF The NSF: NSF SBIR/STTR: A federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, currently with a $7.5 billion budget NSF SBIR/STTR: An approximately $190 million program that aims to catalyze the commercialization of high-risk technological innovations Funds roughly 400 companies each year

SBIR De-risks Later Investments Academia Industry “Valley of Death” --Phase I-- ----Supplements----- -----Phase II------ Resources Available ($) Discovery Development Commercialization Investors

SBIR v. STTR Special STTR Requirements SBIR Cooperative research agreement between small business and university/non-profit research institution in place to protect intellectual property A minimum of 40% of budget allocated to the small business; a minimum of 30% of the budget goes to the university/non-profit research institution; the remaining 30% can be distributed as appropriate for the project SBIR 2/3 of budget allocated to the small business

Program Stats NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Grantees Company Size: ~ 92% of awardees have 10 or fewer employees History: ~ 87% of awardees had never had a prior SBIR/STTR Phase II award from any agency Company Age: ~ 78% of awardee companies were incorporated within the past 5 years Start-up Creation: Many Phase I awardees have just formed their business based on the availability of SBIR funding Based on 3-year average

Program Stats – Past 3 Years Phase I: Average of 338 awards from 2,112 proposals received per year (16% funding rate) Phase II: Average of 118 Phase II awards from 303 proposals received per year (39% funding rate) About 10-15 Phase II companies are acquired each year About half of all Phase II grantees raise significant third-party funding during the Phase II award as a direct result of their NSF research (~ $60 million cumulative per year)

Grants That Go Beyond Funding Recipients receive training and mentorship in key business areas Connection to other small companies performing innovative R&D Winning an SBIR/STTR award signals success to investors, partners and customers

PROGRAM SPECIFICS Photo credit: DeviceFarm

Qualifications: Must be a Small Business Set up as a for-profit organization Has 500 or fewer employees (including affiliates) Located in the US >51% owned and controlled by US individuals (citizen or legal resident)

What’s Different about NSF SBIR NSF won’t buy anything from you We don’t identify the application or technology space You identify the market need and propose a tech-based solution Broad program topics cover almost every area of technology: Educational Technologies & Applications Information Technologies Semiconductors and Photonic Devices & Materials Internet of Things Electronic Hardware, Robotics & Wireless Technologies Advanced Manufacturing & Nanotechnology Advanced Materials & Instrumentation Chemical & Environmental Technologies Biological Technologies Smart Health and Biomedical Technologies Topic fit is much less important than meeting the technical and commercial requirements of the solicitation

What We Fund R&D to overcome significant technical hurdles Novel, proprietary Prove feasibility/viability of a new product, process or service High technical risk, early-stage development A significant commercial opportunity Game-changing technology in the chosen market/application space Product-market fit validated by customers/partners

What We Don’t Fund Basic research (i.e., research with the primary goal of knowledge creation) Incremental (evolutionary) improvement to an existing product or service Projects where: There is no strong chance of commercial success NSF funding can’t make a big impact on the company’s prospects Analytical or “market” studies of existing technologies or products/services

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION Photo Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

Basic Application Information Applications require written proposals responding to a solicitation (solicitations released 90 days before the submission deadline) Deadlines in June and December Upcoming Deadline: June 14, 2017 Submitting a proposal to NSF does not constitute a public disclosure. All information is treated as confidential, and proprietary details may be marked. Proposals are reviewed by technical and commercial experts; process may last 4-5 months Awards begin about 6 months from submission

NSF SBIR Application Tips Innovative product with significant societal impact Strong evidence that the technology works as intended Understanding of the market potential, customers and commercialization strategy Support letters from potential partners, customers or investors Strong management team/advisory board Communication with PD’s strongly encouraged

Key Takeaways Seed funding for high technical risk, high return innovations Focus is on commercialization – important even at Phase I NSF is not a customer – you identify the market need Funding is only for R&D – you will need money beyond NSF funding Pivots are OK, but must be evidence-based Don’t stress over submission topic or sub-topic Communicate with the Program Director Start early! Based on 3-year average

THANK YOU Contact Us: sbir@nsf.gov www.nsf.gov/sbir @NSFSBIR Henry Ahn hahn@nsf.gov 703-292-7069