Outline

1
Outline Part II

• Requirements and Qualifications
• Phase I Components
• Subcontractors
• Phase II Overview
• Tips and Resources

2
SBIR Requirements

• Small U.S. Businesses
• U.S. owned controlled (gt51)
• lt500 employees
• PI works for company
• Subcontractors
• Universities, Federal Labs
• Up to 1/3 budget in Phase I
• Up to 1/2 budget in Phase II
• Almost All AT Companies

Ownership Change SABIR Act 2005
http//www.theorator.com/bills109/hr2943.html
3
STTR Requirements

• Principal Investigator
• Work for small business (SB) OR non-profit
  research institution (RI)
• Minimum 10 time effort
• SB RI Requirements
• Formal agreement between SBC and RI
• Research Institution at least 30 of budget
• Small Business at least 40 of budget
• Subcontractors
• Other Small Businesses, Federal Lab
• Up to 30

4
Other Considerations

• Expertise
• Research, Design, Fabrication, Development,
  Testing, Market Research, Clinical Trials,
  Analysis..
• Administrative, Contractual, Legal,
• Infrastructure
• Office, Shop, Lab, Equipment, Software
• Grantsmanship
• Opportunity Cost
• 100 to 200 hours
• 10,000 to 20,000 _at_ 100 / hr

5
Sub-Contractors

• Why Bother?
• Save Time Money
• Fill Gaps in Expertise
• Fill Gaps in Infrastructure
• Access To Consumers
• Elders, People w Disabilities, Clinicians
• Cultivate Path to Market
• OEM, Suppliers, Marketing Distribution,
  Licensee
• Write the Proposal!

6
Market Research in SBIR/STTR

• Best Practice Customer Centered Design
• 37 of AT companies NEVER used consumers in
  product design (DOC, 2003)
• Applications
• Design Requirements
• Prototype Validation
• Price Point
• Purchase Intent

7
Phase I Proposal

• Registration
• Significance
• Background
• Research
• Work Plan
• Sub-Contractors
• Letters of Participation
• Other Stuff

Generally, we wont focus on the STTR Program
but similar considerations apply.
Phase I is the Gateway to Phase II and the
Presentation Focus
8
Registration

• Small Business Must Obtain
• DUNS number
• Entity Identification Number (EIN)
• Register EARLY
• Grants.gov (Ed, NIH, etc.)
• Fastlane (NSF)

9
Significance

• Market
• Description, Demographics, Trends, Drivers,
  Legislation, Reimbursement, Competition
• UNMET NEEDS
• Description, Impact, Importance
• Agency Mission, Long Range Plan
• Relevance to Your Proposal
• Opportunity
• Why Your Company Is Interested

10
Significance (Market/Needs)

• Trade Publications
• Academic Journals
• Online Databases
• Legislation
• Agency Websites (mission, long range plan)
• Advocacy Organizations
• Market Research (public, free)
• Market Research (private, contracted)
• Contracted () e.g. Forrester Research

11
Significance (Market)

• Demographics
• US Census Bureau
• Disability Statistics Center
• Product Information
• Abledata
• US Patent and Trademark Office

12
Significance (Legislation)

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act
• Hearing Aid Compatibility Act
• Goals 2000 Educate America Act
• New Freedom Initiative
• Olmstead Decision Executive Order
• Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act
• National Instructional Materials Accessibility
  Standards
• No Child Left Behind Act
• Assistive Technologies Act

13
Significance (Legislation)

• National Conference of State Legislatures
• National Collaborative on Workforce and
  Disability

14
Background

• State of the Art
• Research (Yours and Others)
• Products and Technology (Yours and Others)
• GAPS
• In Products and Technology
• Failure to Address UNMET NEEDS
• History of Accomplishment
• Companys Ability to Carry Out Research
• Prior Research, Research Infrastructure,
  Expertise, Successful Product Development,
  Publications

15
Research (Overview)

• What will be Done
• General Description
• GAP (s) to be Addressed
• Innovation
• Novelty
• Challenge
• Expected Result (s)
• Consumer Validated Prototype
• Bench Tested Prototype

16
Research (Objectives)

• OBJECTIVES (1,2,3)
• Detailed Description (s)
• Relate to GAP (s) being filled
• Specific Challenge (s)
• How Challenge (s) will be Overcome
• Method (s)
• Evaluation (s) (Progress, Successful Completion)
• Subcontractors
• Specific Role (s)

17
Research (Scope)
Reasonable Rigor given the research objectives
and time and budgetary constraints...

• Phase I
• Limited time and budget
• Proof-of-concept prototype
• Bench testing, validation with focus groups
• Small or large scale clinical trials
• Phase II
• Still limited time and budget
• Pre-commercial prototype
• Bench testing, validation with focus groups
• Small scale clinical trials

Yes!
No!
Yes!
Maybe?
18
Work Plan

• TASKS (related to OBJECTIVES)
• What (1 or 2 Sentences, Details under Objectives)
• Who (Lead, Staff)
• How Much ( FTE lead, FTE staff)
• When (Start date, Stop date)
• Where (Location, Facilities, Tools)
• Subcontractors
• Who, How Much, When, Where
• 1 TASK to 1 OBJECTIVE (Ideal)
• Bar Charts, Timelines

19
SBIR Outlines

• Education Solicitation (January 2007)
• NSF Solicitation (December 2006)

20
University Subcontractors

• Faculty consultants, research facilities,
  graduate students
• Patent and Trademark Act (Bayh-Dole) of 1982
• University Owns New Intellectual Property
• From Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students
• During Work Hours, On Property, Using Equipment
• Each University Establishes Policy for Working
  with Private Sector (or Not!)

21
University Subcontractors

• Technology Transfer Office
• Manages intellectual property
• Market research, technology disclosures, patent
  applications, brokering, licensing, trains
  faculty
• Implements university policy
• Avoiding Intellectual Property Issues
• Negotiate ownership and licensing terms up
  front. Often Challenging!
• Bring intellectual property to the university for
  refinement, fabrication, testing, trials No NEW
  intellectual property! Generally a much better
  approach.

Work with University Tech Transfer Office Up
Front!!
22
Federal Lab Subcontractors

• Scientist consultants, research facilities,
  fabrication, production
• Technology Innovation Act (Stevenson-Wydler) of
  1982
• Agency Mission
• Transfer Mechanisms
• Material Transfer Agreement
• License Agreement
• Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

23
Federal Lab Subcontractors

• Federal Laboratory Consortium
• 700 federal labs (maybe 250 BIG labs)
• 6 regions (NE, MA, SE, MW, SW, FW)
• Federal Laboratory Locator Service
• Match small business to laboratory capabilities
  and expertise

Work with FLC Locator Service (s) First!!
24
Letters of Participation

• From Subcontractors, Consultants
• For Completion Of RD Tasks
• From (Potential) Commercialization Partners
• To Support Business Opportunity (Path To Market)
• From Market Experts (E.g. Advocacy Groups)
• To Support Market Need

25
Other Stuff

• Prior and Current Funding
• Application to Other Agencies
• Key Staff Bio-Sketch
• Key Staff CV / Resume (Appendix)
• Subcontractor Descriptions
• Subcontractor Letter of Participation (Appendix)

26
Phase I Final Report

• Plan for Final Report from Day 1!
• Due Within 3 Months of Phase I Completion
• Format Provided by Funding Agency Prior to
  Completing Phase I
• Progress on Each Objective/Task
• How Progress Was EVALUATED
• Percent Completion for Each Objective/Task
• Problems Encountered
• How Problems Were Overcome
• Budget Report
• Agency-Specific Questions

27
Phase II Overview

• Move product to pre-commercialization stage
• Testing and refinement of prototype developed in
  Phase I
• Award amounts
• 350K to 750K for 2 years
• Budgetary Guidelines
• At least 50 small business
• Up to 50 subcontractors

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Phase II Components
Phase II Components

• Identification of Problem
• Phase I Results
• Technical Objectives and Work Plan
• Commercialization Plan and History
• Outcomes and Impact
• Company information
• Finance and Production Plans
• Key Personnel and Available Resources

29
Commercialization Plan

• Products and services that will utilize your
  technology
• Customers and market size
• Money needed after Phase II to bring product to
  market
• Source of these funds
• Competition
• Barriers to market entry and how these barriers
  will be overcome

30
Budget

• Total budget Direct costs Indirect costs
  Fee/Profit
• Indirect costs
• Negotiated Rate preferred by some agencies,
  although not required if rate is within
  guidelines
• E.g. NIH requires a negotiated rate for indirect
  costs exceeding 25 of total direct costs
• Fee/Profit- 7 of total budget is generally
  accepted

31
Tips

• Follow Solicitation Outline
• Section Headings, Sections Contents...
• Follow Solicitation Instructions
• Fonts, Referencing, Page Limits, Line Spacing,
  Margins
• Eliminate Redundancy!
• Easy to Read
• Short, Clear Sentences, Limit Jargon, Clearly
  Explain Necessary Jargon, Proper Grammar,
  Spelling
• Check for Sample Awards

32
Tips

• Use the Program Manager
• Send Proposal Abstract, Follow Up Call
• Right Agency or Institute, Likely Interest in
  Proposal
• Dont Propose Too Much
• Technically Feasible, Enough Time, Enough Money
• Key Staff MUST Have Enough Time on Project
• Do Your Homework!!!
• Current Research, Competing Products
• Cite these References in Your Proposal!

33
Tips

• Human Subjects (Especially People with
  Disabilities)
• Privacy, Waivers, Fees, Transportation, Food,
  Accessibility
• Reflect Costs in Budget
• Budgetary Instructions
• Stay Within Budget!
• Fees/Profit, Indirect Rate, Subcontractor Limits,
  Travel
• Past Awards (Online Databases)
• Abstracts, Types of Research Funded
• Tables, Graphs, Drawings
• You May Be Asked for Alt-Text (blind reviewers)

34
Tips

• Break up the Proposal!
• E.g. Hardware Development
• Software Development
• Accessory Development
• Training Materials Development
• Build Off of Prior Work
• Much of an SBIR Proposal can be strengthened and
  reused
• Its not luck that one small business won 18
  Phase I and 9 Phase II SBIR awards from DoED

35
SBIR Solicitations

• Small Business Administration
• Overview of SBIR, STTR Program
• SBIR Gateway
• Upcoming Solicitations
• National Institutes of Health Apr Aug Dec
• National Science Foundation Jun Dec
• Education Jan
• Transportation May
• Agriculture Sept

36
Past Awards

• Small Business Administration
• TECHNET (Database 1983)
• Awards, Abstracts National Institutes of Health
• CRISP (Database 1983)
• SILK (Text Files 1996)
• National Science Foundation
• AWARDS SEARCH (Database 1983)
• Education
• AWARDS HISTORY (Database 1983-2000)
• AWARDS (Text 2001)
• Agriculture Topic 8.6 Rural and Community
  Development
• AWARDS (Text 2002)
• Transportation
• VOLPE LIBRARY (Text 1999)

37
Online Market Data

• U.S. Census Bureau (All)
• T2RERC Industry Profiles (Vision, Education)
• MarkeTrak (Hearing)
• Disability Statistics Center (All)
• National Organization on Disability (All)
• Online Resource for Disability Statistics (All)
• National Center on Education Statistics
  (Education)
• DisabilityInfo.gov (All)
• Microsoft Accessibility Part I, Part II
  (Trans-generational)
• NSF Science and Engineering (Disability
  Statistics in)

38
Online Advocacy

• United Cerebral Palsy Association
• The Alzheimers Association
• National Federation of the Blind
• Learning Disabilities Association of America
• National Association of the Deaf
• American Council of the Blind
• World Institute on Disability
• American Foundation for the Blind
• Self Help for Hard of Hearing People

39
Legislation Funding

• Industry Profile on Education Technology
• Legislation, Funding related to Learning
  Disabilities
• Industry Profile on Visual Technology
• Legislation, Funding related to Low Vision
  Blindness
• Special Interest Group on Technology Transfer
• Brief Descriptions, Links to Disability
  Legislation
• RESNA
• Government Affairs Committee, Policy White Papers
• Department of Justice
• Guide to Disability Rights Laws
• Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page
• Many Useful Links

40
Industry Profiles (Visual Impairment)
Section
Assessment of Needs
Legislation
Funding Sources
Appendix A. Manufacturers
Appendix B. Sources of Financial Aid for Eye Care
Appendix C. State and Provincial Services
Appendix D. Conferences and Tradeshows
Appendix E. Associations
Appendix F. Publications
References
Section
Acknowledgment
Introduction
Executive Summary
Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye
Vision Assessment
Eye Care Professionals
Visual Impairments, Causes and Treatments
Major Causes of Adult Blindness
Major Causes of Childhood Blindness
Demographics
Market Growth
Technologies
41
Other Resources

• SBA SBIR Handbook
• NIH Grant Writing Tips Sheets
• NIH Grant Application Guidelines
• NSF Grant Proposal Guide
• Agriculture SBIR Example Awards

42
T2RERC

• National Center, NIDRR Funded
• 1 of about 20 RERC
• 4 research projects
• Public Policy Project
• Market Research Project
• Efficacy Project
• 4 development (transfer projects)
• Fortune 500 Project
• Supply Push Project
• Demand Pull Project

No cost for work that falls under a T2RERC project
43

AZtech Services

• Fee-for-Service
• Solicitation Consultation
• Secondary Market Research
• Demographics, Competition, Legislation and
  Funding
• Primary Market Research
• Focus Group, Panels, Surveys
• Design Requirements, Prototype Validation, Price
  Point, Purchase Intent
• Grant Writing and Editing
• AZtech Home

General resource, also work that doesnt fall
under a T2RERC project
44
Questions?
45
Thank You!

• Steve Bauer
• smbauer_at_buffalo.edu
• 716-829-3141 x117
• Jen Flagg
• jlflagg_at_buffalo.edu
• 716-829-3141 x144