We are excited for the events, awards, and other opportunities coming in 2020, and we’re kicking things off with an update of the newly released agency solicitations and approaching submission dates, including:
National Science Foundation
U.S. Dept. of Defense
U.S. Dept. of Transportation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
U.S. Dept of Homeland Security
National Institutes of Health
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
National
Science Foundation (NSF)
The NSF has
released its new SBIR and STTR solicitations (nsf20527, nsf20578) for
calendar year 2020. You might remember that the 2019 solicitation
closed on Dec 12, so the closed period was a mere five days!
There are some
changes and significant news:
Maximum Award Amount Increased | The maximum award amount has been
increased to $256,000, formerly $225,000. This is consistent with
congressional legislation increasing the maximum award for 2020 across all
agencies.
Submission Window
Modification | The NSF now has
four open “windows” when you can submit:
Dec.
18, 2019 – Mar. 5, 2020March
6 – June 4, 2020June
5 – Sep. 3, 2020Sep.
4 – Dec. 3, 2020
VertueLab has no
information on the review cycle, but we expect this might lead to faster
notifications than the old spring/fall cycles.
In addition, there
are a number of new program managers, as well as changes to ownership of
topic areas.
Learn more about the latest
solicitation
Department
of Defense (DoD)
As of January 14,
2020, the DoD has opened its 20.1 and 20.3 Broad Agency Announcements, and
the open question period is now closed. Proposals are due February 12.
There are too many
topics to list, but here is a bit of teaser, with topics related to:
Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (i.e. drones)BiochemicalInformation
systemsEnergy
systems, storageAtmospheric
water harvestingSensorsWearables…
and so much more
See the full DoD topics list
Department
of Transportation (DOT)
DOT released its
annual SBIR notice with some big changes!
Question Period | There is a pre-solicitation question
period from January 6, 2020 through January 29, 2020. Pre-solicitation
instructions and full descriptions of U.S. DOT’s proposed FY20 Phase I
solicitation research topics can be found here.
Streamlined
Solicitation Process
| The solicitation period will be shortened to 30 days, and the proposals
requirements will be streamlined, reducing the page requirements for the
technical proposal.
Evaluation
Down-Selection | DOT evaluation
teams will down-select the finalists being considered for awards. Finalists
will be invited to participate in DOT’s new Pitch Day.
Pitch Day Added | Following on the success of the U.S. Air Force’s SBIR Pitch
Day, DOT will introduce its own version of an in-person
Pitch Day event for SBIR finalists, to take place at DOT Headquarters in
Washington, D.C. This event will allow DOT evaluators to interact with the
finalists to both hear their 15-minute “pitch” and engage in a Q&A
session. Real-time evaluation enables quicker decision-making and
streamlined Phase I awards.
Learn more about the DOT
SBIR/STTR Program changes.
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
NOAA released its
2020 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under CFDA number 11.021.
Research topics
include:
AquacultureRecreational
and commercial fisheriesWeather
service improvement & evolutionNext
generation NOAA platformsNext
generation observation and modeling systemsFlood
inundation
For more details,
access the full solicitation here.
Department
of Homeland Security (DHS)CLOSING
SOON!
DHS released their
2020 topics to include tech development of:
Handheld
detection/imagingCrowded
place securityData
protection, and other topics.
Submissions are
due January 20.
Note: This will be
the DHS’s only release for 2020. More info here.
National
Institutes of Health (NIH)
The NIH Omnibus is
due April 5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also participate in the HHS
Omnibus SBIR solicitation.
Applicants may
also apply via the SBIR/STTR targeted grant solicitation,
and the annual HHS SBIR contract.
The targeted SBIR/STTR grant solicitations are focused on specific research
areas, and the HHS SBIR contract clearly requests certain types of
technologies.
Learn more about
NIH SBIR/STTR here.
Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
The USDA SBIR Phase 1 Request For Applications
(RFA) is released every year in June, with due dates in October.
Research topics
include:
Forests
and related resourcesPlant
production and protection – biologyAnimal
production and protectionAir,
water, and soilsFood
science and nutritionRural
developmentAquacultureBiofuels
and bio-based productsSmall
and mid-size farmsPlant
production and protection – engineering
Learn more about
the USDA SBIR/STTR Program here.