Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Manufacturing

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Manufacturing is sponsored by National Science Foundation. Supports innovative manufacturing technologies involving design engineering for small businesses. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $275,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Small businesses in the US If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I - Manufacturing.

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NSF 16-554: Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I (SBIR) Download the solicitation (PDF, 1mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering Industrial Innovation and Partnerships Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposals submitted outside the window of May 16 - June 16, 2016 will be returned without review.

Proposer's time is defined as the time zone associated with the company's address (as registered in FastLane) at the time of proposal submission. Important Information And Revision Notes NSF's SBIR program provides non-dilutive funds for early-stage research and development (R&D) at small businesses. This R&D should be based on innovative, transformational technology with potential for substantial commercial and/or societal benefits.

The program invites proposals from small businesses across a broad range of science and engineering disciplines. If you are successful, you will receive a grant of up to $225,000 for a 6-12 month development/feasibility project. You can then compete for a second grant of up to $750,000 over a 2-year period, with the aim of advancing the technology toward commercial deployment.

The award duration can be 6-12 months. Proposers will indicate their requested duration on the cover page of the proposal. NSF encourages proposals from a diversity of entrepreneurs -- new and seasoned.

What is most important is that you have a transformative idea or innovation and that your team's primary goal is the commercialization of the technology. Having no commercialization track record will not count against you – for many companies, an NSF SBIR award is their first attempt at commercializing an innovation.

The NSF SBIR Program is particularly interested in proposals that focus on clean energy technology including energy sources that are renewable or otherwise alternatives to traditional fossil fuels such as geothermal, solar wind, biomass, nuclear, methane and emerging sources such as water power.

The program is also interested in technologies that help improve energy efficiency or reduction in energy consumption such as building efficiency, more effective distribution of electricity, and vehicle technologies that improve engine efficiency or fuel economy. Small businesses that will be working with a research institution may also consider the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. STTR is similar to SBIR.

In fact, the programs are discussed in tandem at several points throughout this solicitation and on the SBIR/STTR website. However STTR has a separate, concurrent Phase I solicitation with a similar due date. Several important differences between SBIR and STTR are outlined on the SBIR/STTR website .

Video resources on the SBIR/STTR website provide a general program description, solicitation-specific information, and helpful proposal preparation advice. A follow-up series of Q&A sessions hosted by SBIR/STTR Program Directors will be held in the months leading up to the deadline date. Links to register for the Q&A sessions will be posted on the SBIR/STTR website.

Required Registrations. Start Now - These registrations take time, and if left to the last minute could jeopardize your proposal submission! Register the same information in the same way in each of these systems to avoid troubles later.

See the Additional Eligibility section for more details. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) System for Award Management (SAM) Small Business Administration (SBA) Company Registry NSF FastLane - register company and Principal Investigator (PI) Our Returned Without Review List shows the DO's and DON'Ts to ensure that your proposal is not rejected before review.

Comply with this list to ensure that your proposal will be reviewed by technical and commercial experts in the field. The SBIR/STTR Program will be participating in a pilot program during FY2016 that will employ a streamlined budget process for proposals. Please refer to Section V.

A. of this solicitation for further information. Please note that effective with this solicitation, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must sign the Cover Sheet at the time of proposal submission.

Proposals cannot be accepted without the signature of the AOR. Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) ( NSF 16-1 ), which is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 25, 2016.

Please note however, that this solicitation contains information that deviates from the standard NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) ( NSF 16-1 ), including Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines.

Summary Of Program Requirements Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is intended to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.

The SBIR/STTR program solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011). SBIR/STTR policy is provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the SBA Policy Directive.

A main purpose of the legislation is to stimulate technological innovation and increase private sector commercialization. The NSF SBIR/STTR program is therefore in a unique position to meet both the goals of NSF and the purpose of the SBIR/STTR legislation by transforming scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization.

Accordingly, NSF has formulated broad solicitation topics that conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests. The topics are detailed on the SBIR/STTR website. Note: The submission of the same project idea to both this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation is strongly discouraged.

More information about the NSF SBIR/STTR Program can be found on the Program Homepage . Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Peter Atherton, Information Technologies (IT), Prakash Balan, Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT), Steven Konsek, Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials, and Internet of Things (I), Glenn H. Larsen, Educational Technologies and Applications (EA), Rajesh Mehta, Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN), Muralidharan S.

Nair, Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW), Ben Schrag, Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI), Ruth M. Shuman, Biological Technologies (BT), Jesus V.

Soriano, Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) Technologies, Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): Anticipated Type of Award: Fixed Award Amount Estimated Number of Awards: 200 (pending the availability of funds) Anticipated Funding Amount: $45,000,000 For SBIR Phase I pending the availability of funds.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Only firms qualifying as a small business concern are eligible to participate in the SBIR/STTR program (see Eligibility Guide for more information). Please note that the size limit of 500 employees includes affiliates . The firm must be in compliance with the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive(s) and 13 CFR 121.

The primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the small business concern at the time of award and for the duration of the award, unless a new PI is named. Primary employment is defined as more than 50% employed by the small business. NSF normally considers a full-time work week to be 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19.

6 hours per week to be in conflict with this requirement. As such, the PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the US, as evidenced by citizenship, permanent residency or an appropriate visa. The PI does not need to be associated with an academic institution.

There are no PI degree requirements (i. e. , the PI does not have to hold a Ph.

D. or any other degree). A PI may be primarily employed at another organization at the time of submission , as long as he or she is primarily employed at the proposing small business at the time of award.

A PI must devote a minimum of one calendar month to an SBIR Phase I project. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 2 An organization may submit no more than two Phase I proposals in total during this cycle, which is defined as this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation.

For example, an organization may submit one (1) SBIR Phase I and one (1) STTR Phase I proposal, two (2) SBIR Phase I proposals, or two (2) STTR Phase I proposals during this cycle. These eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first two proposals received will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review.

No exceptions will be made. The submission of the same project idea to both this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation is strongly discouraged. Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 1 No person may be listed as the principal investigator for more than one proposal submitted during this cycle, which is defined as this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation.

Co-PIs are not permitted on a Phase I SBIR proposal. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: This solicitation contains information that deviates from the standard NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Indirect costs plus fringe benefits are limited to a maximum rate of 150% of direct salaries and wages. This limitation may entail mandatory committed cost sharing by the organization.

In such cases, it constitutes an exception to NSF's cost sharing policy. Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposals submitted outside the window of May 16 - June 16, 2016 will be returned without review.

Proposer's time is defined as the time zone associated with the company's address (as registered in FastLane) at the time of proposal submission. Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Summary of Program Requirements Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions Proposal Preparation Instructions NSF Proposal Processing and Review Procedures Merit Review Principles and Criteria Review and Selection Process Award Administration Information Notification of the Award The National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency of the Federal Government, invites eligible small business concerns to submit Phase I proposals for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

NSF will support high-quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science and engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit if the research is successful.

By increasing the incentive and opportunity for small firms to undertake cutting-edge, high-risk, high-quality scientific, engineering, or science and engineering education research, the NSF SBIR/STTR program seeks to transform scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit by emphasizing private sector commercialization .

The fundamental mission of NSF is to promote discoveries and to advance education across the frontiers of knowledge in science and engineering. Consistent with that mission, the NSF SBIR/STTR Program encourages and supports a wide range of proposals.

These proposals are reviewed under NSF's merit review criteria, which cover both the quality of research (intellectual or technical merit) and its potential impact on society (broader/commercial impacts). The following broad solicitation topics conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests.

The topics, listed below, are detailed on the SBIR/STTR website : Educational Technologies and Applications (EA) Information Technologies (IT) Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW) Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN) Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI) Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT) Biological Technologies (BT) Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) Technologies The topics and subtopics guide the logistics of the review process but do not affect award decisions.

In fact, NSF recognizes that innovation often can't be categorized. Therefore, proposals are accepted in any areas of technology that show promise of high commercial and societal impact, not just those listed above.

Proposals should describe the development of an innovation that demonstrates the following characteristics: Involves a high degree of technical risk – for example: Has never been attempted and/or successfully done before; Is still facing technical hurdles (that the NSF-funded R&D work is intended to overcome).

Has the potential for significant commercial impact and/or societal benefit, as evidenced by: Having the potential to disrupt the targeted market segment; Having good product-market fit (as validated by customers); Presenting barriers to entry for competition; Offering potential for societal benefit (through commercialization under a sustainable business model).

The aim of the Phase I project should be to demonstrate technical feasibility of the proposed innovation and thereby bring the innovation closer to commercialization. For more in-depth program information please reference the SBIR/STTR website . SBIR Phase I proposals may be submitted for funding up to $225,000.

SBIR Phase I projects run for six to twelve months. Award notification is typically four to six months from the proposal submission deadline date. Awards will have an effective date of January 1, 2017 for proposals submitted to this solicitation.

IV. Eligibility Information Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Only firms qualifying as a small business concern are eligible to participate in the SBIR/STTR program (see Eligibility Guide for more information). Please note that the size limit of 500 employees includes affiliates .

The firm must be in compliance with the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive(s) and 13 CFR 121. The primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the small business concern at the time of award and for the duration of the award, unless a new PI is named. Primary employment is defined as more than 50% employed by the small business.

NSF normally considers a full-time work week to be 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19. 6 hours per week to be in conflict with this requirement. As such, the PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the US, as evidenced by citizenship, permanent residency or an appropriate visa.

The PI does not need to be associated with an academic institution. There are no PI degree requirements (i. e.

, the PI does not have to hold a Ph. D. or any other degree).

A PI may be primarily employed at another organization at the time of submission , as long as he or she is primarily employed at the proposing small business at the time of award. A PI must devote a minimum of one calendar month to an SBIR Phase I project.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 2 An organization may submit no more than two Phase I proposals in total during this cycle, which is defined as this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation. For example, an organization may submit one (1) SBIR Phase I and one (1) STTR Phase I proposal, two (2) SBIR Phase I proposals, or two (2) STTR Phase I proposals during this cycle.

These eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first two proposals received will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

The submission of the same project idea to both this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation is strongly discouraged. Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 1 No person may be listed as the principal investigator for more than one proposal submitted during this cycle, which is defined as this SBIR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation.

Co-PIs are not permitted on a Phase I SBIR proposal. Additional Eligibility Info: Partnering. Proposing firms are also encouraged to take advantage of research expertise and facilities that may be available to them at colleges, universities, national laboratories, and from other research providers.

Such collaborations may include research subcontracts or consulting agreements. The employment of faculty and students by the small business may also occur. However, note that for an SBIR Phase I Proposal, a minimum of two-thirds of the research, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the small business concern, and the balance may be outsourced to consultants or subcontractors or a combination thereof.

Please note that although partnering is encouraged, proposals submitted should NOT mark the proposal as "Collaborative" in FastLane. Ownership and Venture Capital, Joint Ventures. Please note that NSF has elected not to use the authority given under 15 U.

S. C. § 638(dd)(1) (also §5107 of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act).

Hence, small businesses that are majority-owned by one or more venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds or private equity firms are NOT eligible to submit proposals or receive awards from the NSF SBIR/STTR program. Proposals from joint ventures and partnerships are permitted, provided the proposing entity qualifies as a small business concern (see the Eligibility Guide for more information). Broad Participation.

Socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns are encouraged to participate. REQUIRED REGISTRATIONS: The information provided for the 4 registrations below should match exactly to avoid processing complications. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS).

In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget policy directive 75 FR 22706, each proposer must have a DUNS number prior to submission of a proposal to NSF. Any subawardees named in the proposal must be registered in FastLane, which requires that they also obtain a DUNS number ( https://iupdate. dnb.

com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome. htm ). System for Award Management (SAM) Registration.

Each proposer (excluding subawardees) must be registered in the SAM database prior to submission of the proposal. The SAM is the primary registrant database for the U. S.

Government. This SAM registration must be maintained with current information at all times during which the organization has an active award or a proposal under consideration by NSF. Failure to comply with the SAM registration requirement prior to proposal submission may impact the processing of the proposal.

To register in the SAM, go to https://www. sam. gov/ .

NSF is able to determine whether or not a firm has registered in SAM upon submission; no special documentation is required. During proposal submission in FastLane, you may receive a warning that your firm is either 1) not registered in SAM; or 2) the record in FastLane does not match the data in SAM. If you have indeed registered with SAM but the data do not match those in FastLane, you can still successfully submit a proposal.

However, please work to resolve this mismatch after proposal submission because the mismatch must be resolved before a proposal can be awarded. Small Business Administration (SBA) Company Registration. Receipt of an SBC ID is required prior to submission of the proposal.

SBA maintains and manages a Company Registry for proposing SBIR/STTR companies at http://www. sbir. gov/registration/ to track ownership and affiliation requirements.

The SBIR/STTR policy directive requires each small business concern (SBC) applying for a Phase I or Phase II award to register in the Company Registry prior to submitting an application. All SBCs must report and/or update ownership information to SBA prior to each SBIR/STTR application submission or if any information changes prior to award. Please see the SBA registration documentation section of the Proposal Submission Instructions.

FastLane (NSF's electronic submission system): https://www. fastlane. nsf.

gov/n1/N1AddInst. html . BENCHMARKS (APPLIES TO PREVIOUS SBIR/STTR AWARD WINNERS) Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark.

The Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate benchmark required by the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 is implemented. For Phase I applicants that have received more than 20 Phase I federal SBIR/STTR awards over the past 5 fiscal years, the minimum Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate is 0. 25 over those 5 fiscal years.

Small businesses who fail to meet this transition requirement will be notified by SBA and will not be eligible for an NSF Phase I award in this submission cycle. Further information: Transition Rate Benchmark . Commercialization Benchmark.

The commercialization benchmark required by the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 only applies to Phase I applicants that have received more than 15 Phase II federal SBIR/STTR awards over the past 10 fiscal years, excluding the last two years.

These companies must have achieved the minimum required commercialization activity in order to be eligible to receive a Phase I award, as determined by the information entered in the company registry at SBIR. gov . Firms for which the commercialization benchmark applies should consult SBIR.

gov for more information: Commercialization Benchmark . V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Full Proposal Instructions : Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the guidelines specified in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=gpg .

Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-PUBS (7827) or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov . See Chapter II.

C. 2 of the GPG for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the GPG instructions.

With regard to the guidance above, this solicitation DOES contain many instructions that DEVIATE FROM THE STANDARD NSF GPG proposal preparation instructions. Generally, this solicitation contains the information needed to submit prepare a proposal and refers to specific sections of the GPG only when necessary! The instructions in this solicitation take precedence over instructions in the GPG in the event of a conflict.

Please note that proposals must be submitted in FastLane, NSF's electronic proposal submission system. Applications are NOT accepted through Grants. gov.

Soliciting Pre-Submission Feedback. Potential proposers may (but are NOT required to) email a 1-2 page executive summary to the cognizant SBIR/STTR Program Director to help gauge whether a project meets the program's intellectual merit and broader/commercial impact criteria. The summary should discuss: the company and team; the market opportunity, value proposition, and customers; the technology/innovation; and the competition.

Program Director contact information can be found on the technology area pages below. Potential proposers are discouraged from submitting an executive summary to multiple Program Directors in parallel. Please note that responsiveness of Program Directors will be limited in the 2 weeks leading up to the solicitation deadline.

Phase I Proposal and Program Objectives. An SBIR/STTR Phase I proposal must describe the research effort needed to establish the feasibility of the proposed scientific or technical innovation. The primary objective of the Phase I effort is to determine whether the innovation has sufficient technical and broader/commercial impact merit for proceeding into a Phase II project.

A secondary, but still important, objective is to assess potential commercial feasibility of the proposed work. The deliverable of an SBIR/STTR Phase I grant is a report of technical accomplishments that will be included as part of the Phase II proposal package in FastLane. Marking Proprietary Information.

To the extent permitted by law, the Government will not release properly identified and marked technical and commercially sensitive data. If the proposal contains proprietary information, check the box at the bottom of the proposal cover page and identify proprietary technical data in the proposal by clearly marking the information and also providing a legend.

Typically, proprietary information is marked in the text either with an asterisk at the beginning and end of the proprietary paragraph, underlining the proprietary sections, or choosing a different font type. An entire proposal should not be marked proprietary. Debriefing on Unsuccessful Proposals.

When a proposal is declined, verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, summaries of review panel deliberations, if any, and a description of the process by which the proposal was reviewed will be available electronically.

Phase I proposals that have been declined or returned without review by NSF are NOT eligible for reconsideration under the same program solicitation; however, proposals may be resubmitted under a subsequent solicitation after substantial revisions have been made. Proposal Format and Sample Limitations. Samples, videotapes, slides, appendices, or other ancillary items will not be accepted.

Websites containing demonstrations, etc. , may be cited in the proposal, but reviewers are not required to access them. Multiple column formats are not accepted.

Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger should be used or Times New Roman or Computer Modern fonts at a font size of 12 points or larger. For more detailed help in preparing and submitting a proposal via the NSF FastLane system, please see the SBIR/STTR FastLane Submission Guide on the SBIR/STTR website . Proposal Returned without Review.

The following list shows the DO's and DON'Ts of proposal submission. Failure to comply with this list means that a proposal may be returned without review. DO's of NSF SBIR Phase I Proposal Submission: INCLUDE ALL REQUIRED ELEMENTS.

Submit a proposal that is complete. Even if the FastLane system allows a proposal to be submitted without these items, ALL proposals must have each of the items listed below, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Preliminary Budget and Budget Justification Current and Pending Support Collaborators and other Affiliations Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources Supplementary Documents (all that are applicable) PROVIDE COMPANY COMMERCIALIZATION HISTORY (if applicable). Submit a Company Commercialization History form (on the NSF template) if your company has received an SBIR/STTR Phase II proposal previously (from any agency).

DO NOT modify the NSF Company Commercialization template to include additional narrative or information beyond what is required on the form. DON'Ts of NSF SBIR Phase I Proposal Submission: DO NOT SUBMIT LATE. Submitting a proposal late means submitting after 5:00 p.

m. on the deadline date, "proposer's time", which is determined by the time zone of the company's address as registered with NSF. DO NOT VIOLATE THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL CONTENT RULES: Do not submit a Project Description that is more than 15 pages long.

Do not submit a Budget exceeding $225,000. Do not submit a "Collaborative Proposal" (a special proposal type in FastLane). Collaboration with research institutions is encouraged; however, only one proposal, submitted by the company and with subawards to the research institution(s), should result.

Do not submit a proposal that lacks sufficient technical/commercial potential substance to justify review; does not contain research proposed in science, engineering, or education; or contains unacceptable objectives . Do not upload additional information, beyond what is specifically required and permitted, into the proposal (marketing materials, research results/academic papers, patent applications, etc.)

Do not upload any documents to the "ADDITIONAL Single Copy Documents" subsection under the "Single Copy Documents' section in FastLane except " Collaborators and Other Affiliations ." However, please note that you may complete the "List of Suggested Reviewers" section, if you wish. Do not upload documents to the Supplementary Documents except those described in" 9.

Supplementary Documents ." Each NSF SBIR Phase I proposal shall have the following components. Cover Sheet and Certification.

Complete topic and subtopic fields must be included on the cover sheet. Designate one, and only one, topic and subtopic. All proposals must be electronically signed.

If a proposer fails to disclose on the proposal cover page whether another Federal Agency has received this proposal (or an equivalent or overlapping proposal), the proposer could be liable for administrative, civil or criminal sanctions.

NSF will not make awards that duplicate research funded or expected to be funded by other agencies, although in some cases NSF may fund portions of work described in an overlapping proposal provided that the budgets appropriately reduce costs and allocate costs among the various sponsors. Project Summary [One (1) page MAXIMUM].

The Project Summary should be written in the third person, informative to other persons working in the same or related fields, and, insofar as possible, understandable to a scientifically or technically literate lay reader. It should not be an abstract of the proposal. Do not include proprietary information in the summary.

Proposals that do not contain a complete Project Summary will not be accepted by FastLane or will be returned without review. The Project Summary is completed in FastLane by entering information into 3 text boxes; the aggregate of the 3 text boxes cannot exceed 4,600 characters (including spaces). Please note that the character count function of some word processors excludes hidden characters that WILL be counted by FastLane.

Therefore, proposers may consider aiming for fewer characters (e. g. , 4000) instead in order to avoid having to slim down