A Seminar on the SBIR 2.0 Joint-Agency Robotics Solicitation 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®1 Presented by Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach® Robotics Technology Development & Deployment (RTD2)

Seminar Agenda SBIR Overview RTD2 Overview The Proposal Process – Required Registrations – Proposal Preparation – Proposal Submission Review and Evaluation Process Funding Processes What happens beyond Phase I? 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®2

3 The R&D Funding Challenge High-Risk Projects are tough to fund Funding sources are demanding – Banks insist on collateral and debt service – Investors want equity, “a voice”, and a schedule of their profitable returns Friends and Family Angels Venture Capitalists 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

4 The Holy Grail of R&D Funding Willingness to fund high-risk projects R&D capital without debt to service An Investor who won’t take equity Protection for Intellectual Property Support for Commercialization All of the above from one source We’ve just described the basic characteristics of The SBIR Program! 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

5 SBIR Program Overview Mission: Apply entrepreneurial spirit of small business to solve tough problems Matchmaking Federal R&D needs to small business capabilities Required planning for commercialization The SBIR “set-aside” must be spent annually by the largest Federal agencies 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

6 Actually, It’s Two Programs SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) – Applicants are Small Businesses STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) – Applicants are Small Businesses in partnership with a Research Institution 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

7 How Much Money is Available in FY 2011? SBIR – Approx. $2 Billion – 2.5% of the R&D budget of the qualifying Federal Agencies. STTR – Approx. $250 Million – 0.3% of the R&D Budget of the qualifying Federal Agencies 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

8 The SBIR “Pie” DOD HHS NASA DOE NSF TOTAL FY 2011 >$2¼ Billion Labeled Agencies also do STTRs 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

9 Agency SBIR Differences Granting Agencies Investigator proposes project approach Ü Less-specified topics Ü Assistance mechanism Ü More flexibility DOD HHS/NIH NASA DOEd EPA DOT DOC DHS Contracting Agencies Agency specifies the project requirements Ü Highly focused topics Ü FAR-driven procurement Ü More fiscal requirements DOEd NSF DOE USDA DOD HHS/NIH DHS

10 SBIR Program Applicant Eligibility A small business (  500 employees) owned by individuals ( >50% ) who are US Citizens or Legal Resident Aliens, and is US located, and independently operated Organized for making a profit Principal researcher (The PI) must be principally employed by the small business (or the research institution if STTR*) * For most agencies 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

11 A Competitive Three-Phase Program Phase I: Feasibility Phase II: Proof-of-Concept Phase III: Commercialization 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

12 Phase I Conceptual Design Awards are made up to $150,000 for 6-12 months to support the conceptual feasibility and design of the solution using the technological approach of the proposer. 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

13 Phase II Prototype Development Awards of up to $1,000,000, for as many as two more years, expand the Phase I design to “proof of concept” and evaluation of commercialization potential. 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

14 Phase III Commercialization No SBIR set-aside funds support this phase. During this period the developer moves the innovation from the laboratory into “end use” in the marketplace. 11/11/2010 © Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®

© Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®, Who Owns the Intellectual Property? The Applicant does! Full rights are retained for – Technical Data – Patentable Inventions But you have to take the appropriate measures to protect your IP or the Government can eventually take it over!

© Fred Patterson, The SBIR Coach®, SBIR Phase I Dynamics Phase I Topics – “The RFP” Proposal preparation and submission Proposal review and evaluation Phase I project selection

Robotics Technology Development & Deployment (RTD2) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®17 FOA: PAR All proposals submitted to this FOA will be reviewed and considered for Award by all five participating Agencies!

11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®18

Key Dates 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®19

The Topics 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®20

The Topics (cont.) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®21

Award Information 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®22

NIH SBIR Application Protocols 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®23

11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®24

11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®25 The Technical Proposal SIX PAGE LIMIT

3 Website Registrations 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®26

Getting Authorized to Submit Form Your Company (Sole Proprietor / LLC / S or C Corp) – Obtain a DUNS Number – Obtain an IRS EIN (Tax-ID)  optional but strongly suggested – Open a Business Bank Account Register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) Register on Grants.gov – Obtain AOR credential Register on the NIH’s eRA Commons – Obtain SO credential and associate the PI 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®27

Download the Application Template 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach® 28

Grants.gov (cont.) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®29

Grants.gov (cont.) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®30

Grants.gov (cont.) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®31

Grants.gov (cont.) 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®32

Preparing the Proposal 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®33 LET’S LOOK AT THE ADOBE FORMS TEMPLATE USING ADOBE READER 9

Preparing the Proposal Fill in the Forms and upload all proposal elements to the Template per the current NIH Proposal Guide: 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®34

Submitting the Proposal AOR – Upload proposal to Grants.gov by 5PM Dec 20 th – Receive confirmation with your GRANT# If all elements verified as OK the proposal is passed on to NIH If errors are found: – Fix errors (Forms related - not proposal content related) – Re-submit as “Corrected” PI – Receives confirmation from eRA Commons – Must check Status for Warnings and Errors – Fix Errors and re-submit through Grants.gov – Extra 2-days allowed to fix errors 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®35

Proposal Review Process Proposal is first screened in a “Streamlining” Process Administered by the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR) – “Best half” are sent to a 2 nd -level Peer Review (Study Group) for discussion and scoring – Rest are only given a cursory review by the CSR and are neither discussed nor scored Applicants are provided a written summary of the reviewers opinions – PI must retrieve it from the eRA Commons. 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®36

Proposal Review Process 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®37

Who Performs the Review? 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®38 Both the “streamling” preliminary review and the Study Group Review for discussion and scoring will be conducted by – Representatives of all Five Participating Agencies – Others who have “Robotics” backgrounds – Others ? All Agencies will consider all proposals submitted under this FOA.

Scored Review Criteria 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®39

NIH Peer Review Scoring System 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®40

Funding Process The Reviewed Proposals and the Reviews will be directed to the appropriate Agency (or Agencies) for a funding decision. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Don’t let the uncertainty of who funds what deter you from submitting. 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®41

The Optional Cover Letter 11/9/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®42

The Optional Letter of Intent 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®43

What Next? Phase II? 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®44

What Next? Phase II? 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®45 Standard NSF Phase II Polices and Procedures will apply.

My Advice to Applicants Yes, the NIH submission process can be a nightmare, but if you follow instructions carefully you can get through it successfully. Don’t give up! If you can get through it you’ll have a decent chance as many will have given up in frustration. Don’t make the Cover Letter the only place where you identify the Agency and Topic you’re applying to. Do discuss commercialization strategy. Leave PLENTY of time for registrations. Get some help! 11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®46

11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®47

11/11/2010© Fred Patterson – The SBIR Coach®48 The Joint-Agency Robotics Solicitation