The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the Federal Government.
Phase I is typically a study phase to evaluate the scientific merit of the idea and or perform small scale testing.
Phase II is typically a demonstration phase in which prototypes are built and tested. Refer to individual SYSCOM Phase II guidelines at www.navysbir.com/phaseii.htm.
Phase III is work that derives from, extends, or logically concludes efforts performed under SBIR but is funded by sources other than the SBIR Program (e.g. Government program funds or private sector funding). The success of the Navy SBIR Program is measured by companies using Phase III to transition their SBIR efforts into products, tools or services that benefit the Navy acquisition community.
One important strength of the SBIR program is that once a company has received a Phase I award, follow-on Phase III awards can be awarded in a non-competitive process since the competitive process took place under Phase I.
The Option will typically only be awarded if the company is selected for a Phase II award. The Option is used to provide the contractor with bridge funding between the end of the Phase I and start of the Phase II. It will not bridge the entire gap, but will reduce the time the company is without funding while waiting for the Phase II award. It is very important to include the Option funding in your original proposal so that it can be awarded as part of the Phase I contract. If it is not, your company will not receive the Phase I option funding.
The Phase I Base amount shall not exceed $162,500 and the Phase I Option amount shall not exceed $100,000. The Base and Option Periods of Performance shall not exceed six (6) months each.
Phase III is work that derives from, extends, or logically concludes efforts performed under SBIR but is funded by sources other than the SBIR Program (e.g. Government program funds or private sector funding). The success of the Navy SBIR Program is measured by companies using Phase III to transition their SBIR efforts into products, tools or services that benefit the Navy acquisition community.
One important strength of the SBIR program is that once a company has received a Phase I award, follow-on Phase III awards can be awarded in a non-competitive process since the competitive process took place under Phase I.
Yes.
A small business concern for purposes of an award of any funding agreement under the SBIR Program is one which, including its affiliates, has a number of employees not exceeding 500.
SBIR awards can only be granted to companies that meet the eligibility requirements. However, universities and Federal laboratories and for-profit corporations, both large and small are allowed to team with small businesses and participate in the program as subcontractors.
No, but they can be subcontractors to a small business.
No. SBIR/STTR work must be performed in the United States.
No. To be eligible for award of SBIR funding agreements, a small business concern has to meet the following qualifications:
- be independently owned and operated
- principal place of business is located in the United States
at least 51 percent owned or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of its voting stock is owned by United States citizens or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens.
Yes. However, justification needs to be made based on the critical nature of the technology of the existing SBIR/STTR effort.
During the Pre-Solicitation, companies can review the topics that most likely will be included in the announcement and contact topic authors to further discuss the topics with them. Email is the preferred way to communicate with SBCs, but phone calls are also allowed. The Pre-Solicitation Phase is typically one month in length. Proposals are not accepted during this time.
The day that the SBIR/STTR Solicitation is released it is considered “open”. This means that direct communication regarding topic clarification between small business and government TPOC is no longer allowed. Clarifying questions must go through the SITIS website (see question below for more information). The Solicitation period is typically one month in length. During the open solicitation period companies may upload proposal to the submission site for evaluation.
No. The Navy will reject proposals with a base effort higher than the amounts listed.
No, a proposal must respond to a solicitation published by one or more of the participating agencies.
For Phase I, a minimum of two thirds of the research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the proposing firm, and for Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the proposing firm.
SITIS stands for the SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System. It is the online question and answer system that can be used to provide technical clarification for the topics in the current Solicitation. SITIS will open to questions during pre-release and close to new questions two weeks prior to the Announcement close date. During pre-release a small business may begin asking technical questions through SITIS and receive responses via direct email and through viewing on SITIS.
Complete payment instructions are located in the Getting Paid section at www.navysbir.com/paid.htm
This answer to this question depends on how the contract is written. If these are matching funds for a Phase II Option period already written into a contract, the NAVWAR SBIR Program office will require an Option Request form with all signatures and a TTP/TTA.
If this is a request to add funding that was not already written in the contract, please be prepared to answer the following questions:
- What is the rationale for the plus-up for funding?
- What additional tasks are being performed?
- Are these additional tasks in scope of the original contract?
- What FY and appropriation is the matching funds?
The answer to this question depends on how the contract is written. We will have to be clear how much non-SBIR funding is received, what is the appropriation, and what tasks will be used with SBIR funds and what tasks will be used for non-SBIR funds. Please contact the NAVWAR SBIR Program Office with your specific request.
A contract modification will need to be issued. Please notify the SBIR Program office of the change.
The KO will require a list of required GFP/GFE. Please include this with the require PR Package documentation. If you already have a contract in place, notify the SBIR Program office of the change. A contract modification will need to be issued.
If the firm has been doing something that constitutes fraud, waste, and abuse, please notify the NAVWAR SBIR Program Office, the issue will be escalated and communicated to the appropriate parties for action.
Please notify the SBIR Program office of the change. The KO will need to be involved, a contract modification will need to be issued, if applicable.
Please notify the SBIR Program office of the change. A contract modification will need to be issued.
Please notify the SBIR Program office of the change. A contract modification may need to be issued.