Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program is sponsored by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and various federal agencies (e.g., NSF, DOD, DOE, NIST). The STTR program is similar to SBIR, expanding funding opportunities in the federal innovation R&D arena. A key difference is its emphasis on public/private sector partnerships, encouraging joint ventures between small businesses and non-profit research institutions.

NSF 18-592: Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. NSF 18-592: Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I (STTR) Posted: September 4, 2018 Download the solicitation (PDF, 1. 3mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering Industrial Innovation and Partnerships Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): Important Information And Revision Notes The National Science Foundation's Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program- also known as America's Seed Fund powered by NSF - provides small businesses with equity-free funding to conduct research and development (R&D) work that will lead to the commercialization of innovative new products and services.

The NSF STTR program seeks innovative proposals that show promise of commercial and societal impact. We invite the submission of proposals in almost any area of science and technology (more information on our technical topics is available here ). STTR Phase I proposals are expected to outline R&D projects with the aim of establishing technical feasibility or proof of concept of unproven, risky technologies.

Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to $225,000 over a period of 6 to 12 months (the period to be decided by the applicant). Successful STTR applicants will receive initial Phase I funding roughly 6 months after the solicitation deadline. Companies that receive a Phase I award are eligible to apply for a Phase II award (award amount up to $750,000; duration 2 years).

STTR Program Directors host webinars in the months leading up to the proposal deadline. Further information about the program, including the webinar schedule, short videos, a step-by-step guide on how to submit a proposal, and a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ), is available at https://seedfund. nsf.

gov . We also encourage potential applicants to consider requesting personalized feedback via the submission of an Executive Summary via the website as detailed in section V. A.

To apply for NSF STTR Phase I funding, the small business must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), Research. gov, and SBIR. gov. To register with SAM, the small business must have a valid DUNS number.

These registrations take time, so we recommend starting several weeks or a month prior to the proposal deadline; see section V. B for details. Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) ( NSF 18-1 ), which is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 29, 2018.

Please note that this solicitation contains information that deviates from the standard NSF PAPPG proposal preparation guidelines. Summary Of Program Requirements Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I (STTR) Introduction to the Program: The NSF STTR program focuses on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit.

Unlike fundamental research, the NSF STTR program supports startups and small businesses in the creation of innovative, disruptive technologies, getting discoveries out of the lab and into the market. The NSF STTR Program funds early or "seed" stage research and development. The program is designed to provide equity-free funding and entrepreneurial support at the earliest stages of company and technology development.

The STTR program is Congressionally mandated and intended to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds to build a strong national economy by stimulating technological innovation in the private sector; strengthening the role of small business 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 STTR program at NSF solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011) and was reauthorized by Public Law 114-328 .

STTR policy is provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the STTR 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 and innovation into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization.

Because the program has no topical or procurement focus, the NSF offers very broad solicitation topics that are intended to encourage as many eligible science- and technology-based small businesses as possible to compete for funding. The topics are detailed on the website . In many cases, the program is also open to proposals focusing on technical and market areas not explicitly noted in the aforementioned topics.

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. Henry Ahn, Biomedical (BM) Technologies, Peter Atherton, Information Technologies (IT), Anna Brady-Estevez, Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT), Nancy U.

Kamei, Digital Health (DH) and Medical Devices (MD), Steven Konsek, Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI), Rajesh Mehta, Educational Applications and Technologies (EA), Linda K. Molnar, Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN), Muralidharan S.

Nair, Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW), Ben Schrag, Other Topics (OT), Rick Schwerdtfeger, Internet of Things (IoT), Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices, Ruth M.

Shuman, Biological Technologies (BT), Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences --- Education and Human Resources --- Office of International Science and Engineering --- Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) Anticipated Type of Award: Fixed Award Amount Estimated Number of Awards: 40 (pending the availability of funds) Anticipated Funding Amount: $9,000,000 For STTR 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 the Code of Federal Regulations ( 13 CFR 121 ).

For STTR proposals, the applicant small business must also include a partner Research Institution (RI) in the project, see additional details below. 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 at least 51 percent 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. The PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the United States, 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 is not required 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 of effort per six months of performance to an STTR Phase I project.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1 An organization may submit no more than ONE Phase I proposal to this SBIR/STTR cycle (where SBIR/STTR cycle is defined to include the SBIR Phase I solicitation and the STTR Phase I solicitation with a December 2018 deadline). This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced.

In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first proposal received will be accepted and the remainder will be returned without review. 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 to this solicitation. There is no limit as to the number of proposals for which a given person may act as the co-PI.

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 (PAPPG) 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: 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): 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.

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 Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The STTR program provides startups and small businesses with equity-free funding to conduct research and development (R&D) work.

The funding is intended to spur the creation of innovative new products and services to market, and to drive the commercial success of the small business. The NSF STTR Program encourages the submission of proposals across all areas of science and engineering (except drug development). The NSF recognizes that innovation often can't be categorized.

Therefore, proposals are accepted in almost any area of technology that shows promise of high commercial and/or societal impact. The aim of a Phase I project should be to demonstrate technical feasibility of the proposed innovation and thereby bring the innovation closer to commercialization.

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).

For more in-depth program information please reference the program's website and the solicitation-specific merit review criteria in section VI. Phase I proposals may be submitted for up to $225,000 in R&D funding intended to support projects from 6-12 months in duration. Typically, small businesses will be notified of the award decision four to six months after the submission deadline.

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 the Code of Federal Regulations ( 13 CFR 121 ). For STTR proposals, the applicant small business must also include a partner Research Institution (RI) in the project, see additional details below.

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 at least 51 percent 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. The PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the United States, 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 is not required 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 of effort per six months of performance to an STTR Phase I project.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1 An organization may submit no more than ONE Phase I proposal to this SBIR/STTR cycle (where SBIR/STTR cycle is defined to include the SBIR Phase I solicitation and the STTR Phase I solicitation with a December 2018 deadline). This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced.

In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first proposal received will be accepted and the remainder will be returned without review. 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 to this solicitation. There is no limit as to the number of proposals for which a given person may act as the co-PI.

Additional Eligibility Info: Broad Participation. Socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses and women-owned small businesses are encouraged to participate. STTR Research Institution.

The STTR Policy Directive requires that the applicant small business include an eligible research institution as a subawardee on the project budget. The STTR partner is typically either a not-for-profit institution focused on scientific or educational goals (such as a college or university), or a Federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC).

For an STTR Phase I Proposal, a minimum of 40% of the research, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the small business concern, and a minimum of 30% must be performed by the partner research institution, with the balance permitted to be allocated to either of these, or to other subawards or consultants. 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.

Please note that although partnering is encouraged, proposals submitted should NOT mark the proposal as "Collaborative" during submission. 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). Government-Wide Required Benchmarks: (Applies to previous SBIR/STTR award winners ONLY) Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark.

For Phase I applicants that have received more than 20 Phase I federal SBIR/STTR awards over the past five fiscal years, the minimum Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate is 0. 25 over those five fiscal years. Small businesses who fail to meet this transition requirement will be notified by SBA and will not be eligible to submit a Phase I proposal to this submission cycle.

Commercialization Benchmark. The commercialization benchmark required by the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 only applies to 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 to be eligible to submit a Phase I proposal, 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. More information on both of the above benchmarks can be found here . 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 Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=pappg . Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-PUBS (7827) or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov .

See PAPPG Chapter II. C. 2 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 PAPPG instructions. This solicitation contains the information needed to prepare a proposal and refers to specific sections of the PAPPG only when necessary. The instructions in this solicitation take precedence over instructions in the PAPPG in the event of a conflict.

Soliciting Pre-Submission Feedback. Potential proposers may (but are NOT required to) submit an Executive Summary via the seedfund. nsf.

gov website to help gauge whether a project meets the program's intellectual merit and broader/commercial impact criteria. The Executive Summary questionnaire will ask for the small business to discuss the company and team; the market opportunity, value proposition, and customers; the technology/innovation; key technology risks to be addressed by this effort; and the competition.

The cognizant Program Director will respond with feedback. Please note that responsiveness of Program Directors will be limited as the solicitation deadline approaches. Phase I Proposal and Program Objectives.

The NSF SBIR/STTR program funds costs related to research and development (R&D) tasks only.

In this context, R&D is defined as: A systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied; A systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or A systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements An STTR Phase I proposal must describe an R&D effort that is geared at determining, insofar as possible, the scientific and technical merit and feasibility of a new concept or innovation that has the potential to be developed into new products, processes, or services.

Successful Phase I proposals demonstrate that the NSF-funded R&D will significantly reduce the technical risk (and in some cases, other forms of risk) involved in bringing these new products, processes, or services to market. The only required deliverable of an STTR Phase I grant is a report describing the technical accomplishments and outcomes of the Phase I project. Objectives Not Responsive to the Solicitation .

Examples of project objectives that are not appropriate to include as part of an NSF STTR-funded effort are non-technical efforts (such as business development, market research, and sales and marketing) as well as manufacturing, indirect research and development, and patent costs. Note that NSF’s Beat The Odds Boot Camp activity represents an exception to the aforementioned restrictions; see section V for more details.

Project objectives that are not in line with NSF’s STTR program mandate include evolutionary development or incremental modification of established products or proven concepts; straightforward engineering efforts with little technical risk; evaluation or testing of existing products; and basic scientific research unconnected to any specific market opportunity or potential new product, process or service.

Projects not responsive to the above considerations may be returned without review to the proposer. Phase I proposals 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. Confidentiality and Proprietary Information.

STTR data, including proposals, are protected from disclosure by the participating agencies for not less than four years from the delivery of the last report or proposal associated with the given project. 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. Your proposal is confidential and will only be shared with reviewers and NSF staff (as appropriate). Your proposal to NSF does not constitute a public disclosure.

If your company is chosen for a Phase I award, you will be prompted to write a project summary and description of intellectual merit and broader impact for the public. Your proposal WILL NOT be shared. 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 resubmission 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 or Times New Roman or Computer Modern fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger, should be used.

Small businesses applying for NSF Phase I must be registered with the following systems in order to submit a proposal to NSF. Note that some of the registrations below (in particular, SAM. gov) can take several weeks to complete, so please start early.

You must register your company name, physical address and all other identifying information identically in each of these systems. We recommend that you begin early and register your small business in the following order: Small businesses applying for NSF Phase I must complete the required registrations outlined below, prior to submitting the proposal in the NSF FastLane system.

You must register the company name, address and other information identically in each of these systems. We recommend that you register your small business in the following order: Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS). In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget policy directive 75 FR 22706, each applicant must have a DUNS number prior to submission of a proposal to NSF.

Any subawardees named in the proposal must also be registered in Research. gov, which also requires the organization's DUNS number ( https://iupdate. dnb.

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

Each applicant small business (excluding subawardees) must register the company with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to registering their company in Research. gov. The SAM is the primary registrant database for entities to do business with 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. To register in SAM, go to https://www. sam.

gov/ . Small Business Administration (SBA) Company Registration. Receipt of a Small Business Concern identification number (SBC ID) is required prior to submission of the proposal.

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

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. Research.

gov: For more information, consult the “About Account Management” page at http://www. research. gov .

C. DO's and DON'Ts of Proposal Preparation and Submission 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 program website . Failure to comply with the below guidelines means that a proposal may be returned without review.

DO 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.

Budget and Subaward Budgets Current and Pending Support Collaborators and Other Affiliations Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources Supplementary Documents (all that are applicable) DO provide a 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 award 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. DO NOT submit late. FastLane will not permit submission after 5:00 p.

m. "proposer's time" on the deadline date. Proposer's time zone is set by the company in the organization registration area of Research.

gov. Late proposals will not be accepted. DO NOT submit a Project Description that is more than 15 pages long. DO NOT submit a Budget exceeding $225,000.

DO NOT include any funds on Lines E2, F or G2 of the Budget. These are not allowable costs under a Phase I grant. 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 intellectual/technical or broader/commercial potential substance to justify review; does not contain research proposed in science, engineering, or education; or is not responsive to the solicitation 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 with the following exceptions: 1) you must complete the " Collaborators and Other Affiliations " section; and 2) at your option, you may also complete the "List of Suggested Reviewers" section.

DO NOT upload documents to the Supplementary Documents except those described in Supplementary Documents. D. Detailed Instructions on Proposal Preparation Cover Sheet and Certification.

Complete topic and subtopic fields should be included on the Cover Sheet. Designate one, and only one, topic and subtopic. If a proposer fails to disclose on the proposal Cover Sheet 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. NOTE: To save your data, be sure to click the "OK" button at the bottom of the screen prior to navigating away from the Cover Sheet.

If you receive any error messages when you click "OK", you must clear all errors and re-click "OK" to save the data. 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 the three text boxes in the Project Summary module. Information MUST be entered into all three text boxes, or the proposal will not be accepted. Do not upload your Project Summary as a PDF file .

Box 1: Overview, Key Words, and Subtopic Name: Describe the potential outcome(s) of the proposed activity in terms of a product, process, or service. Provide a list of key words or phrases that identify the areas of technical expertise to be invoked in reviewing the proposal; and the areas of application that are the initial target of the technology. Provide the subtopic name.

Box 2: Intellectual Merit: This section MUST begin with “This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project... ” Address the intellectual merits of the proposed activity. Do not include proprietary information in the summary.

Briefly describe the technical hurdle(s) that will be addressed by the proposed R&D (which should be crucial to successful commercialization of the innovation), the goals of the proposed R&D, and a high-level summary of the plan to reach those goals.

Box 3: Broader/Commercial Impact: In this field, discuss the expected outcomes in terms of how the proposed project will bring the innovation closer to commercialization under a sustainable business model. In this box, also describe the potential commercial and market impacts that such a commercialization effort would have, if successful.

As appropriate, also discuss potential broader societal impacts of the innovation (e.g. educational, environmental, scientific, societal, or other impacts on the nation and the world). Project Description. [Fifteen (15) pages MAXIMUM].

The project description is the core of the proposal document, where you convince the STTR Program Director and the expert reviewers that your proposed R&D project meets the NSF’s criteria for intellectual merit and broader/commercial impact. Present evidence that the proposed technology is innovative, that development of it entails high technical