NASA SBIR/STTR Program Solicitation Details | Phase II | 1. Program Description

SBIR and STTR opportunities are solicited annually pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-219), Small Business Innovation Research Program Reauthorization Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-554), the Small Business Research and Development Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-564), the Small Business Technology Transfer Program Reauthorization Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-50), and as most recently amended by Congress has extended the SBIR and STTR programs through September 30, 2011 (P.L. 112-17). A new authorization or extension is anticipated prior to this end date.

Executive Order: This Solicitation complies with Executive Order 13329 (issued February 26, 2004) directing Federal agencies that administer the SBIR and STTR programs to encourage innovation in manufacturing related research and development consistent with the objectives of each agency and to the extent permitted by law.

On February 26, 2004, the President issued Executive Order 13329 (69 FR 9181) entitled "Encouraging Innovation in Manufacturing." In response to this Executive Order, NASA encourages the submission of applications that deal with some aspect of innovative manufacturing technology. If a proposal has a connection to manufacturing this should be indicated in the Part 5 (Related R/R&D) of the proposal and a brief explanation of how it is related to manufacturing should be provided.

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 1203, stated that federal agencies shall give high priority to small business concerns that participate in or conduct energy efficiency or renewable energy system research and development projects. If a proposal has a connection to energy efficiency or alternative and renewable energy this should be indicated in Part 5 (Related R/R&D) of the proposal and a brief explanation of how it is related to energy efficiency and alternative and renewable energy should be provided.

Both the SBIR and STTR programs are divided into three funding and development stages.

Phase I: The purpose of Phase I is to determine the scientific, technical, commercial merit and feasibility of the proposed innovation, and the quality of the SBC's performance. Phase I work and results should provide a sound basis for the continued development, demonstration and delivery of the proposed innovation in Phase II and follow-on efforts.Successful completion of Phase I objectives is a prerequisite to consideration for a Phase II award.

Phase II: The purpose of Phase II is the development, demonstration and delivery of the innovation. Only SBCs awarded Phase I contracts are eligible for Phase II funding agreements.Phase II projects are chosen as a result of competitive evaluations and based on selection criteria provided in the Phase II instructions.

Maximum value and period of performance for Phase I and Phase II contracts:

* Nominal period of performance for a Phase II is 24 months. If your period of performance is less than 18 months, you may not be eligible for a Phase II Enhancement as described below.

Phase II Enhancement (PII-E): The objective of the Phase II-E Option is to further encourage the transition of Phase II contracts into Phase III awards by providing a cost share extension of R/R&D efforts to the current Phase II contract with new Phase III contracts. Eligible firms must secure a 3rd party investor to partner and invest in enhancing their technology for further research, infusion, and/or commercialization.Under this option, NASA will match with SBIR/STTR funds up to $250,000 of non-SBIR/non-STTR investment from a NASA project, NASA contractor, or 3rd party commercial investor to extend an existing Phase II project for up to a minimum of 4 months to perform additional R/R&D. The total cumulative award for the Phase II contract plus the Phase II-E match is not expected to exceed $1,000,000.00 of SBIR/STTR funding. The non-SBIR or non-STTR contribution is not limited since it is regulated under the guidelines for Phase III awards.

Additional details, including specific submission dates and how to apply for the Phase II-E, will be provided no later than the 15^th month of the performance of the Phase II contract. Select applicants will also be notified on when they can submit their application packages and will have a period of 2 weeks to get them submitted. Application packages will not be accepted before or after the notified 2-week submission period.

Phase III: NASA may award Phase III contracts for products or services with non-SBIR/STTR funds. The competition for SBIR/STTR Phase I and Phase II awards satisfies any competition requirement of the Armed Services Procurement Act, the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, and the Competition in Contracting Act.Therefore, an agency that wishes to fund a Phase III project is not required to conduct another competition in order to satisfy those statutory provisions. Phase III work may be for products, production, services, R/R&D, or any combination thereof that is derived from, extends, or logically concludes efforts performed under prior SBIR/STTR funding agreements. A Federal agency may enter into a Phase III agreement at any time with a Phase I or Phase II awardee.

There is no limit on the number, duration, type, or dollar value of Phase III awards made to a business concern. There is no limit on the time that may elapse between a Phase I or Phase II and a Phase III award. The small business size limits for Phase I and Phase II awards do not apply to Phase III awards.

Subtopics listed in Section 9. (S3.05 and S3.08) of this solicitation have Technology Available (TAV) with NASA IP. Subtopics with the "TAV" designation address the objective of increasing the commercial application of innovations derived from Federal R&D. While NASA scientists and engineers conduct breakthrough research that leads to innovations, the range of NASA's effort does not extend to product development in any of its intramural research areas. Additional work is necessary to exploit these NASA technologies for either infusion or commercial viability and likely requires innovation on behalf of the private sector. However, NASA provides these technologies "as is" and makes no representation or guarantee that additional effort will result in infusion or commercial viability. As with all SBIR awards, these TAV subtopics are intended to cultivate innovation in the private sector and to identify a commercially promising NASA technology and the technological gaps that must be filled in order to transition it to the marketplace.

The NASA technologies identified in "TAV" subtopics are either protected by NASA-owned patents (NASA IP) or if not patented, are dedicated to the public domain. If a TAV subtopic cites a patent, a non-exclusive, royalty-free research license will be required to use the NASA IP during the SBIR performance period. If there is no patent cited, the technology is freely available for use without the need for any license.

Disclaimer: TAV subtopics may include an offer to license NASA IP on a non-exclusive, royalty-free basis, for research use under the SBIR contract. When included in a TAV subtopic as an available technology, use of the NASA IP is strictly voluntary.Whether or not a firm uses NASA IP within their proposed effort will not in any way be a factor in the selection for award.

All offerors submitting proposals addressing TAV subtopics, citing NASA IP must submit a non-exclusive, royalty-free license application if the use of the NASA IP is desired. The NASA license application is available on the NASA SBIR website: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/research_license_app.doc. Only those research license applications accompanying proposals that result in an SBIR award under this solicitation will be granted.

SBIR awards resulting from TAV subtopics that list NASA IP will include, as necessary, the grant of a non-exclusive research license to use the NASA IP under the SBIR contract awarded. SBIR offerors are hereby notified that no exclusive or non-exclusive commercialization license to make, use or sell products or services incorporating the NASA IP will be granted unless an SBIR awardee applies for and receives such a license in accordance with the Federal patent licensing regulations at 37 CFR Part 404. Awardees with contracts for subtopics that identify specific NASA IP will be given the opportunity to negotiate a non-exclusive commercialization license or if available, an exclusive commercialization license to the NASA IP.

An SBIR awardee that has been granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free research license to use NASA IP under the SBIR award may, if available and on a non-interference basis, also have to access NASA personnel knowledgeable about the NASA IP. For further information, see Section 5.7.6.