Solicitation Information

**STOP**

Before proceeding to the solicitation, read the important Administrative and Technical Screening Information items below and also check the SBIR/STTR Frequently Asked Questions web page.

SBIR Program Solicitation (NSF 09-541) It is very important to read the solicitation document - it is the "requirements document" for the program. Please follow the link below and then contact the appropriate Program Manager for each of the topics.

FY 2010 Solicitation (NSF 09-541)
The June 9, 2009 proposals must be in response to the following topic/subtopics:

• Biotech and Chemical Technologies (BC)
• Education Applications (EA)
• Information and Communication Technologies (IC)
• Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (NM)

NEW FOR THIS SOLICITATION:

• This solicitation will ONLY accept proposals for the Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR).
• This solicitation will support projects up to $150,000. 
• The NSF Commercialization History Template MUST be used.
• Signed Consultant letters must be uploaded as a part of the budget justification.
• You are strongly encouraged to contact the cognizant program officer to get feedback on your potential project.
• This solicitation will ONLY accept a maximum of 4 proposals in total per organization.
• This solicitation has a Phase I Proposal Checklist to be used as a reference guide (this document does not need to be included in the submitted proposal).
  

Proposals not meeting the administrative and technical requirements are not accepted by the SBIR program.  The following list highlights key reasons for return without review:

• A proposal submitted after 5:00 p.m. (proposer's/submitter's local time) on the deadline date. The "Proposer" is the company and the time zone associated with the company's address will be used to determine if a proposal is late.
• A Project Summary without all required information (reference section A.9.2).
• A Project Description that exceeds 15 pages or does not have all the parts.
• An SBIR proposal with a budget exceeding $150,000.
• A proposal missing a Company Commercialization History; if the company has certified that it has received previous SBIR/STTR Phase II awards (reference section A.9.9.2).
• A proposal that has documents placed in the “Additional Single Copy Documents" module in FastLane.
• Collaborative proposals (defined as simultaneous proposal submissions from different organizations, with each organization requesting a separate award). Note: Small business concerns are encouraged to collaborate with research institutions; however, only one proposal should result.

Technical Issues:

• A proposal must have sufficient commercial potential substance to justify review,
• A proposal must have sufficient technical substance to justify review,
• A proposal must fall within the scope of the topic or subtopic as delineated in the topic or subtopic description, and
• A proposal must have research proposed in science, engineering, or education.