Mar 13 -- The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites comments by May 13, 2024 regarding reinstating Phase II Reporting Requirements for the NSF Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Programs.
This request is for reinstating interim reporting requirements for the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit. Unlike fundamental or basic research activities that focus on scientific and engineering discoveries, the NSF SBIR/STTR programs support the creation of opportunities to move fundamental science and engineering out of the lab and into the market at scale, through startups and small businesses representing deep technology ventures.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs have two phases: Phase I and Phase II (with an optional Phase IIB as matching supplements). SBIR/STTR Phase I is a 6–12 month experimental or theoretical investigation that allows the awardees to determine the scientific and technical feasibility, as well as the commercial merit of the idea or concept. Phase II further develops the proposed concept, building on the feasibility project undertaken in Phase I, and accelerate the Phase I project to the commercialization stage and enhance the overall strength of the commercial potential. As such, Phase II SBIR/STTR awards have a longer expected period of performance of 24 months.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs request approval from OMB on the reinstatement of the NSF SBIR/STTR Phase II interim/progress report data collection.
The interim/progress report will be required every six months for the life of the Phase II award. The report collects information on the technical progress of the funded NSF work, which allows managing Program Directors to monitor the project and ensure that the award is in good standing. The report is divided into 6 sections: (1) Basic Reporting Data, (2) Level of Effort, (3) SBIR-wide Certifications, (4) Cooperative Agreement (NSF-specific Certifications), (5) Technical Narratives, and (6) Project Milestones.
The kinds of data collected from the report include name of the startup company, information on the principal investigator (PI) (name, email address, and phone number), the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees working at the startup, amount of funding received during the award period. In addition, information pertaining to company officers and key personnel, their corresponding ownership status, and their levels of efforts provided to the startups are also requested. Collectively, these data will enable the managing Program Directors to (1) evaluate a given company's business structure, (2) ascertain the level of commitment of the PI(s), co-PI(s), and key personnel to the startup venture, and (3) identify conflicts of interests (if any), as part of the due diligence process that the programs undertake to verify that there are no fraudulent or inappropriate business practices.
The report also asks about: inputs (i.e.,project expenditures, efforts exerted by key personnel), outputs (i.e., R&D activities, technical progresses), outcomes (i.e., research milestones, fundraising activities), and impacts (i.e., technical and/or commercial successes).
Finally, the report also requests: (1) a discussion of progresses highlighting key technical and commercial activity/results during the reporting period, (2) compliance requirements checklists from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and NSF, and (3) a Gantt chart describing the project status, as well as task assignments to key personnel in the project.
NSF SBIR/STTR:
https://seedfund.nsf.gov/
Draft data collection instruments and technical documentation requested from NSF by AEAStat.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-05270