Future Solicitation Dates

Please bookmark the following site and visit to get updated info on when solicitations will be open from various agencies: www.zyn.com/sbir/scomp.htm

The current NIH SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitation will be released mid-January 2009. The due dates for CY 2009 will be April 5, August 5, and December 5.

NIH SBIR/STTR Applications to Transition to Adobe-based Forms Beginning January 8, 2009

The NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-117 announced the schedule for transitioning from PureEdge to Adobe-based forms. SBIR/STTR applications submitted after the January 7, 2009 AIDs receipt date must be submitted using Adobe-based forms. Additional information is available at the NIH Electronic Submission of Grant Applications website http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt.

Courses and Events of Interest

Course: Out of the Cubicle and Into Business
January 20th (Kick-off of 11 course series)
Cary, NC
www.outofthecubicle-intobusiness.com
Fee: $297 for course (or pay for individual sessions)

Event:  SBIR Webinar
January 29th, 3:00 - 4:00PM
Registration:  Email sbir@sbtdc.org
Fee:  NO CHARGE
Attend this free afternoon seminar to learn about the $2.2 Billion in R&D funding available for innovative technologies via the Federal Government's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.  The Seminar will introduce attendees to SBIR/STTR programs, the services that the SBTDC provides to those looking to submit proposals, as well as sources of additional program information. 

Course: FastTrac Tech
February 3rd - April 14th  (Tuesday evenings, 5:30 to 9:00PM)
CED Entrepreneurship Center, RTP
www.cednc.org/fasttrac
Fee:  CED Members $595/ Non-Members $695
This course is a comprehensive business planning program that addresses the needs of start-up entrepreneurs who are refining their business ideas, writing their business plans and seeking to grow sustainable high-impact companies. The program combines instruction from experienced business professionals, one-on-one business mentoring, peer learning, and ample tools to help entrepreneurs produce all the elements of an effective business. After completing the class, entrepreneurs walk away with a detailed business plan and executive summary presentation, and a strong understanding of how to finance a company.

Event: Biotech 2009 Conference
February 16-17, 2009
Raleigh Convention Center
www.cednc.org/biotech
CED's 18th annual Biotech Conference unites the Southeast's life science community to celebrate one of the biotech industry's most dynamic regions. This two-day conference will focus on potential impact of the new political landscape and what biotech companies should do to prepare for the change. CED's Biotech 2009 includes world-class speakers, a variety of panels on industry topics and trends, and networking opportunities with life science leaders.

Event:  North Carolina Nanotechnology Commercialization Conference
Mar 25-26, 2009
Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC
www.ncnanotechnology.com/public/root/events.asp

New Report: Advancing Innovation in North Carolina (2008)

See the recently released report by the NC Board of Science and Technology: www.ncscitech.com/PDF/reports/Advancing_Innovation_in_NC_Full_Report.pdf

NC SBIR Incentive/Match Programs and Green Business Fund

NC appropriated $3.5 million to provide matching grants for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer assistance ($1.3 million less than last fiscal year). The department also will receive $1 million in additional funds for the NC Green Business Fund, which provides grants to private businesses with fewer than 100 employees to encourage the growth of a green economy in the state. The first 13 awards for the Green Business Fund were announced late last month by Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue.

SBIR Proposal Writing Basics: Great Minds May Think Alike But...

Gail & Jim Greenwood, Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.
Copyright © 2008 by Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.

Writing an SBIR/STTR proposal is a fair amount of work.  That's why some companies like to divvy up the work, and have several employees write different sections of the proposal.  Then someone pulls the various pieces together to form a complete proposal.

In theory, that might look like a great way to write one of these proposals.  However, our experience suggests that this is tougher than it looks.

The most common problem is for the various authors to have slightly different ideas about key parameters of the proposal.  They may differ in how feasibility will be measured, who will be the PI, and what tasks will be accomplished and when.  As you might imagine, if there are inconsistencies between key sections of the proposal, the result is confusion in the mind of the reviewers as they try to figure out what is being proposed.

This problem can be mitigated by including several important steps in the proposal preparation process.

First, all of the authors should sit down in advance and go through the entire proposal, outlining it in great detail, and agreeing on all key parameters.  There is less likelihood for inconsistencies in the proposal if everyone is on the same page (literally) in terms of the outline.

Second, whoever is the lucky dog who gets to take the input from the other authors and put it into a single proposal must understand that their job is much more than just appending one Word file onto another.  He or she must read through the proposal from beginning to end, with an eye for inconsistencies, leaps of faith, and similar problems.

Third, the company should have someone review the draft proposal who was not involved in drafting any of its parts.  Even though the previous step will eliminate some inconsistencies, some may still remain because the integrator of the various authors' pieces, if he or she was one of the authors, likely will not be able to see all of the inconsistencies and similar problems.  The recommended reviewer might be someone in the company who was not one of the authors, or it could be a third party.  We always recommend such a review, even if only one person drafts the proposal, because of the "fresh eyes" that this brings to the proposal.