NASA SBIR/STTR Program Solicitation Details | 3. Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements

3.4.1 General Requirements

The Phase I contract will serve as a request for proposal (RFP) for the Phase II follow-on project. Phase II proposals are more comprehensive than those required for Phase I. Submission of a Phase II proposal is in accordance with Phase I contract requirements and is voluntary. NASA assumes no responsibility for any proposal preparation expenses.

A competitive Phase II proposal will clearly and concisely (1) describe the proposed innovation relative to the state of the art and the market, (2) address Phase I results relative to the scientific, technical merit and feasibility of the proposed innovation and its relevance and significance to the NASA interests and (3) provide the planning for a focused project that builds upon Phase I results and encompasses technical, market, financial and business factors relating to the development and demonstration of the proposed innovation, and its transition into products and services for NASA mission programs, other government agencies and non-government markets.

3.4.2 Format Requirements 

Note: The government administratively screens all proposals and reserves the right to reject any proposal that does not conform to the following formatting requirements.

Page Limitations and Margins 

Note: Technical proposal uploads with any page(s) going over the required page limit will not be accepted.

A Phase II technical proposal shall not exceed a total of 46 standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.6 x 27.9 cm) pages. Proposals uploaded with more than 46 pages will prompt a warning which will prevent the completed proposal from being submitted. Each page shall be numbered consecutively at the bottom. Margins shall be 1.0 inch (2.5 cm). The space allocated to each part of the technical content will depend on the project chosen and the offeror's approach. The additional forms required for proposal submission will not count against the 46-page limit.

Type Size 

No type size smaller than 10 point shall be used for text or tables, except as legends on reduced drawings. Proposals prepared with smaller font sizes may be rejected without consideration.

Header/Footer Requirements  

Header must include firm name, proposal number and project title. Footer must include the page number and proprietary markings if applicable. Margins can be used for header/footer information.

Classified Information 

NASA does not accept proposals that contain classified information.

Project Title

The proposal project title shall be concise and descriptive of the proposed effort. The title should not use acronyms or words like "Development of" or "Study of." The NASA research topic title must not be used as the proposal title.

Proposal Package

Each complete proposal package submitted shall contain the following items:

1. Proposal Contact Information. (3.4.3.1)
2. Proposal Certifications, electronically endorsed. (3.4.3.2)
3. Proposal Summary (must not contain proprietary data). (3.4.3.3)
4. Proposal Budget. (3.4.3.4)
5. Technical Content - 10 Parts in the order specified in section 3.4.4, not to exceed 46 pages (for SBIR AND STTR), including all graphics, and starting with a table of contents. (3.4.4)
6. Research Agreement between the SBC and RI (STTR only). (3.4.5)
7. Briefing Chart (must not contain proprietary data). (3.4.7)
8. NASA Evaluation License Application, only if TAV is being proposed. (1.6)
9. Capital Commitments Addendum Supporting Phase II and Phase III (optional). (3.4.6)

Note: Letters expressing general technical interest are not required or desired and will not be considered during the review process. However, if submitted, such letter(s) will count against the page limit. Letters of funding support commitments are allowable for Phase II proposals but will be considered only under Factor 4 - Commercial Potential and Feasibility. Letters of funding support commitments should be submitted as part of the Capital Commitments Addendum.

Firm Level Forms

In addition to the above items, each offeror must submit the following firm level forms, which must be filled out once during each submission period and are applicable to all firm proposal submissions:

1. Firm Certifications (3.4.8)
2. Audit Information (3.4.9)
3. Prior Awards Addendum (3.4.10)
4. Commercial Metrics Survey (3.4.11)

Previews of all forms and certifications are available via the NASA SBIR/STTR Firm Library, located at: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html.

Note: Website references, relevant technical papers, product samples, videotapes, slides or other ancillary items will not be considered during the review process.

3.4.3 Forms 

All form submissions shall be done electronically, and do not count towards the 46-page limit.

3.4.3.1 Contact Information 

A sample Contact Information form is provided in the NASA SBIR/STTR Firms Library http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html. The offeror shall provide complete information for each contact person and submit the form as required in section 6.

Note: Contact Information, is public information and may be disclosed.

3.4.3.2 Proposal Certifications

A sample Proposal Certifications form is provided in the NASA SBIR/STTR Firms Library http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html. The offeror shall provide complete information for each item and submit the form as required in section 6.

3.4.3.3 Proposal Summary

A sample Proposal Summary form is provided in the NASA SBIR/STTR Firms Library http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html. The offeror shall provide complete information for each item and submit the form as required in section 6.

Note: The Proposal Summary, including the Technical Abstract, is public information and may be disclosed. Do not include proprietary information in this form. 

3.4.3.4 Proposal Budget

A sample of the Proposal Budget form is provided in the NASA SBIR/STTR Firms Library http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html. The offeror shall complete the Budget Summary following the instructions provided with the sample form. The total requested funding for the Phase II effort shall not exceed $750,000. Contextual help is provided on the electronic budget form for additional explanation. Information shall be submitted to explain the offeror’s plans for use of the requested funds to enable NASA to determine whether the proposed price is fair and reasonable.

Note: The government is not responsible for any monies expended by the firm before award of any contract.

In addition, the following additional uploads, must be submitted in the Proposal Budget form, as applicable:

Proposal Requirements for Use of Federal Services, Facilities or Equipment:

In cases where an offeror seeks to use NASA or another federal department or agency services, equipment or facilities, the offeror shall provide the following:

1. Statement, signed by the appropriate government official at the effected federal department or agency, verifying that the resources should be available during the proposed period of performance.  Offerors must upload this letter in the Proposal Budget form.
2. Signed letter on company letterhead from the contractor’s Small Business Official explaining why the SBIR/STTR research project requires the use of federal services, equipment or facilities, including data that verifies the absence of non-federal facilities or personnel capable of supporting the research effort, a statement confirming that the facility proposed is not a federal laboratory, if applicable, and the associated cost estimate.  Offerors must upload this letter in the Proposal Budget form.

See Part 8 of the Technical Proposal for additional information on use of federal Facilities.

Use of Subcontractors and Consultants:

Subject to the restrictions set forth below, the SBC may establish business arrangements with other entities or individuals to participate in performance of the proposed R/R&D effort.

Note:

1. Offerors should list consultants by name and specify, for each, the number of hours and hourly costs.
2. Breakdown of subcontractor budget should mirror the SBC’s own breakdown in the Proposal Budget form and include breakdowns of direct labor, other direct costs, profit, as well as indirect rate agreements. 
3. A signed letter of commitment is required for each subcontractor and/or consultant.  For educational institutions, the letter must be from the institution’s office of sponsored programs.

Subcontractors' and consultants' work has the same place of performance restrictions as stated in section 1.5.2.

The following restrictions apply to the use of subcontracts/consultants and the formula below must be used in preparing budgets with subcontractors/consultants:

Example:

For an SBIR Phase II this is acceptable since it is below the limitation of 50%.

For an STTR Phase II, where there is a subcontract with a company other than the RI, this is unacceptable since it is above 30% limitation.

See Part 9 of the Technical Proposal for additional information on the use of Subcontractors and Consultants.

Milestone Plan

For Phase II, offerors shall submit a proposed quarterly milestone plan with the Proposal Budget form.  The milestone plan shall be in accordance with the proposed work plan outlining the work to be accomplished each quarter and the cost proposed associated with each of the quarterly milestones. The cost breakdown shall be similar to the Proposal Budget form for each of the proposed quarterly milestones (i.e., each milestone should include the labor, supplies, travel and profit associated with those tasks to be accomplished that quarter). The proposed cost associated with each quarterly milestone must be realistic for the work to be accomplished but is not required to be equally distributed across each quarter. 

3.4.4 Technical Proposal 

This part of the submission shall not contain any budget data and must consist of all ten (10) parts listed below in the given order. All ten parts of the technical proposal must be numbered and titled. Parts that are not applicable must be included and marked “Not Applicable.” A proposal omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this Solicitation and may be rejected during administrative screening. The required table of contents is provided below:

Phase II Table of Contents

Part 1:    Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………….…………Page 1

Part 2:    Identification and Significance of the Innovation and Results of the Phase I Proposal

Part 3:    Technical Objectives

Part 4:    Work Plan

Part 5:    Related R/R&D

Part 6:    Key Personnel

Part 7:    Phase III Efforts, Commercialization and Business Planning

Part 8:    Facilities/Equipment

Part 9:    Subcontracts and Consultants

Part 10: Related, Essentially Equivalent and Duplicate Proposals and Awards

Part 1: Table of Contents 

The technical proposal shall begin with a brief table of contents indicating the page numbers of each of the parts of the proposal.                               

Part 2: Identification and Significance of the Innovation and Results of the Phase I Award

Please provide a summary of your Phase I results and building on those results succinctly describe the Phase II proposed work including:

• The proposed innovation.
• The relevance and significance of the proposed innovation to an interest, need or needs within the subtopic.
• The proposed innovation relative to the state of the market, the state of the art and its feasibility.

Please be advised that the evaluators may review the Phase I final technical report to verify accuracy of this summary. However proposers shouldn’t rely on this and should include relevant results in the Phase II proposal.

Part 3: Technical Objectives 

Define the specific objectives of the Phase II research and technical approach, including the technical questions posed in the subtopic description that must be answered to determine the feasibility of the proposed innovation.

Note: All offerors submitting proposals who are planning to use NASA IP must describe their planned developments with the IP. The NASA Evaluation License Application should be added as an attachment under Proposal Certifications (see section 1.6).

Part 4: Work Plan

Include a detailed description of the Phase II R/R&D plan to meet the technical objectives. The plan should indicate what will be done, where it will be done and how the R/R&D will be carried out. Discuss in detail the methods planned to achieve each task or objective. Task descriptions, schedules, resource allocations, estimated task hours for each key personnel and planned accomplishments including project milestones shall be included. Offerors should ensure that the estimated task hours provided in the work plan for key personnel are consistent with the hours reported in the Proposal Budget form.  If the offeror is a joint venture or limited partnership, a statement of how the workload will be distributed, managed and charged should be included in the proposal.

Part 5: Related R/R&D 

Describe significant current and/or previous R/R&D that is directly related to the proposal including any conducted by the PI or by the offeror. Describe how it relates to the proposed effort and any planned coordination with outside sources. The offeror must persuade reviewers of his or her awareness of key recent R/R&D conducted by others in the specific subject area.

Part 6: Key Personnel and Bibliography of Directly Related Work 

Identify all key personnel involved in Phase II activities whose expertise and functions are essential to the success of the project. Provide bibliographic information including directly related education and experience.  

The PI is considered key to the success of the effort and must make a substantial commitment to the project. The following requirements are applicable:

Functions: The functions of the PI are: planning and directing the project, leading it technically and making substantial personal contributions during its implementation, serving as the primary contact with NASA on the project and ensuring that the work proceeds according to contract agreements. Competent management of PI functions is essential to project success. The Phase II proposal shall describe the nature of the PI's activities and the amount of time that the PI will personally apply to the project. The amount of time the PI proposes to spend on the project must be acceptable to the Contracting Officer.

Qualifications: The qualifications and capabilities of the proposed PI and the basis for PI selection are to be clearly presented in the proposal. NASA has the sole right to accept or reject a PI based on factors such as education, experience, demonstrated ability and competence, and any other evidence related to the specific assignment.

Eligibility: This part shall also establish and confirm the eligibility of the PI, and indicate the extent to which other proposals recently submitted or planned for submission in the year and existing projects commit the time of the PI concurrently with this proposed activity. Any attempt to circumvent the restriction on PIs working more than half time for an academic or a nonprofit organization by substituting an ineligible PI will result in rejection of the proposal. However, for an STTR the PI can be primarily employed by either the SBC or the RI. Please see section 1.5.3 for further explanation.

Note: If the Phase II PI is different than that proposed under the Phase I, please provide rationale for the change.

Part 7: Phase III Efforts, Commercialization and Business Planning 

Present a plan for commercialization of the proposed innovation. Commercialization encompasses the transition of technology into products and services for NASA mission programs, other government agencies and non-government markets.

This part should complement, through narrative, the data provided by the applicant in the Commercialization Metrics Survey (CMS), including financial information. The CMS data is intended to support the company’s claims about their ability to achieve the proposed innovation’s commercialization for firms that have previously received SBIR/STTR awards, and provide a level of confidence regarding the SBC’s future viability. 

Note: Letters of funding support commitments should be submitted as part of the Capital Commitments Addendum and will be considered only under Factor 4 - Commercial Potential and Feasibility (section 4).

The commercialization plan should address the following areas:

Commercial Potential – Market

Describe (1) market segmentation and analysis, by providing the scope in dollars, and describe the commercial Total Addressable Market (TAM) that is appropriate to the proposed innovation, the segment in dollars of the TAM addressable by the proposed innovation and the projected percentage of the offeror’s market share in 2-3 years after entry into the identified market; (2) the proposed innovation in terms of target customers (e.g., NASA, other federal agency, commercial enterprise); and (3) the competitive landscape, by identifying potential competitors by company name within the identified market, discussing the barriers to entry and how many years it would take a competitor to enter this segment in terms of capitalization, technology, and people, and describing how the proposed innovation is different from the potential competition.

Commercial Intent – Plan

Describe (1) the commercial development plan by providing a development timeline to bring technology to market, discuss consultants, incubators and research institutions to achieve the plan; (2) the applicable business model (spin-out, license, OEM) the offeror would use to bring the innovation to market, the  channels of distribution (direct sales, distributors, etc.) that would be used in bringing the innovation into the identified market, the pro-forma 2-3 year revenue dollar projections based on the proposed innovation’s penetration of the identified market and any follow-on development (long term > 5 years) plans to expand your proposed innovation’s market presence; (3) the risks to the commercial development plan and what mitigations, if any, can be taken over a reasonable period of time to lessen the risks and (4) Intellectual Property protection methods, plans or processes within your company. 

Commercial Capability – Execution

Describe (1) the current and future company capitalization by discussing the technical, operations/manufacturing and business staff conducting the project; the physical plant, including facilities and the capital equipment, tooling and test equipment used to conduct the investigation; how the innovation will enter into production (i.e., in house or through a licensee) and what changes (if any) will be made to company capitalization for commercialization; (2) existing and future business relationships in terms of any formal Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Licensing Agreements with other companies/organizations and; (3) as applicable, the approach, path to market and revenues from past commercialization(s) resulting from SBIR/STTR awards disclosed in the CMS.

Part 8: Facilities/Equipment

Offerors must describe the necessary instrumentation and facilities to be used to perform the proposed work.  Offerors must ensure the resources are adequate and address any reliance on external sources, such as government furnished equipment or facilities.  In cases where an offeror seeks to use NASA or another federal department or agency services, equipment or facilities, the offeror shall describe in this part why the use of government furnished equipment or facilities is necessary.  See section 3.4.3.4and 5.13 for additional requirements when proposing use of federal facilities.  

Part 9: Subcontracts and Consultants 

The offeror must describe all subcontracting or other business arrangements, and identify the relevant organizations and/or individuals with whom arrangements are planned. The expertise to be provided by the entities must be described in detail, as well as the functions, services, number of hours and labor rates. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all organizations and individuals proposed to be utilized are actually available for the time periods proposed. Subcontract costs shall be documented in the Subcontractors/Consultants section of the Proposal Budget form and supporting documentation should be uploaded for each (appropriate documentation is specified in the form).  The narrative description of subcontracts and consultants in the technical proposal should support the proposed approach and documentation in the Proposal Budget form.

Part 10: Related, Essentially Equivalent, and Duplicate Proposals and Awards

WARNING – While it is permissible with proposal notification to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work for consideration under numerous federal program solicitations, it is unlawful to enter into funding agreements requiring essentially equivalent work.

If an applicant elects to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work under other federal program solicitations, a statement must be included in each such proposal indicating:

1. The name and address of the agencies to which proposals were submitted or from which awards were received.
2. Date of proposal submission or date of award.
3. Title, number and date of solicitations under which proposals were submitted or awards received.
4. The specific applicable research topics for each proposal submitted for award received.
5. Titles of research projects.
6. Name and title of principal investigator or project manager for each proposal submitted or award received.

Offerors are at risk for submitting essentially equivalent proposals and therefore, are strongly encouraged to disclose these issues to the soliciting agency to resolve the matter prior to award.

A summary of essentially equivalent work information, as well as related research and development on proposals and awards is also required on the Proposal Certifications form (if applicable).

3.4.5 Research Agreement (Applicable for STTR proposals only) 

3.4.6 Capital Commitments Addendum Supporting Phase II and Phase III 

Offerors for Phase II contracts are strongly urged to obtain non-SBIR/STTR funding support commitments for follow-on Phase III activities along with additional support of their Phase II effort from viable sources outside of the SBC.  In order to be considered valid, the funding support commitments must show that a specific and substantial amount (≥ $50,000) will be made available to the SBC to provide capital for the Phase III activities and (if applicable) support of their Phase II effort.  They must indicate the source, date, and conditions and contingencies under which the funds will be made available.  If Phase III activities will be funded internally by the SBC, the offeror should ensure that the financials provided in the Commercial Metric Survey (CMS) are current and accurate.

Evidence of funding support commitments from outside parties must be provided in writing and shall accompany the Phase II proposal.  Letters of commitment will specify the level of funding commitments, other sources to be provided and any funding contingencies/conditions, in addition to timing of the funding being made available to the SBC.  Expressions of technical interest in the Phase II research or of potential future financial support are not sufficient and will not be considered as capital commitments to the Phase II proposal and Phase III activities.  Letters of commitment must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the outside funding source and SBC with the authority to obligate funding. 

3.4.7 Briefing Chart 

A one-page briefing chart is required to assist in the ranking and advocacy of proposals prior to selection and contains the following sections:

• Identification and Significance of Innovation
• Technical Objectives
• Proposed Deliverables
• NASA Applications
• Non-NASA Applications
• Graphic

The briefing chart shall not contain any proprietary data or ITAR restricted data. An electronic form will be provided during the submissions process.

Note: The briefing chart is public information and may be disclosed. Do not include proprietary information in this form. 

3.4.8 Firm Certifications

Firm certifications that are applicable across all proposal submissions submitted to this solicitation must be completed via the Firm Certifications section of the Proposal Submissions Electronic Handbook. The offeror shall answer Yes or No as applicable. An example of the certification can be found in the NASA SBIR/STTR Firm Library http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html.

Note: The designated firm admin, typically the first person to register your firm, is the only individual authorized to update the certifications.

3.4.9 Audit Information

Although firms are not required to have an approved accounting system, knowledge that a firm has an approved accounting system facilitates NASA’s determination that rates are fair and reasonable.  To assist NASA, the SBC shall complete the questions in the Audit Information form regarding the firm’s rates and upload the federal agency audit report or related information that is available from the last audit. There is a separate “Audit Information” section in the Proposal Budget form that shall also be completed.  If your firm has never been audited by a federal agency, then answer "No" to the first question and you do not need to complete the remainder of the form. An electronic form will be provided during the submissions process.

The Contracting Officer will use this Audit Information to assist with negotiations if the proposal is selected for award. The Contracting Officer will advise offerors what is required to determine reasonable cost and/or rates in the event the Audit Information is not adequate to support the necessary determination on rates.

Note: The designated firm admin, typically the first person to register your firm, is the only individual authorized to update the audit information.

3.4.10 Prior Awards Addendum

If the SBC has received more than 15 Phase II awards in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit name of awarding agency, solicitation year, phase, date of award, funding agreement/contract number, and topic or subtopic title for each Phase II. If your firm has received any SBIR or STTR Phase II awards, even if it has received fewer than 15 in the last 5 years, it is still recommended that you complete this form for those Phase II awards your firm did receive. This information will be useful when completing the Commercialization Metrics Survey, and in tracking the overall success of the SBIR and STTR Programs. Any NASA Phase II awards your firm has received will be automatically populated in the electronic form, as are any Phase II awards previously entered by the SBC during prior submissions (you may update the information for these awards). An electronic form will be provided during the submissions process.

Note: The designated firm admin, typically the first person to register your firm, is the only individual authorized to update the addendum information.

3.4.11 Commercial Metrics Survey (CMS)

NASA has instituted a comprehensive commercialization survey/data gathering process for firms with prior NASA SBIR/STTR awards. If the SBC has received any Phase III awards resulting from work on any NASA SBIR or STTR awards, provide the related Phase I or Phase II contract number, name of Phase III awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number, amount, project title and period of performance. The survey will also ask for firm financial, sales and ownership information, as well as any commercialization success the firm has had as a result of SBIR or STTR awards. This information must be updated annually during proposal submission via the EHB. This information will allow firms to demonstrate their ability to carry SBIR/STTR research through to achieve commercial success, and allow agencies to track the overall commercialization success of their SBIR and STTR Programs. The survey should be limited to information requested above. An electronic form will be provided during the submissions process.

Note: Information received from SBIR/STTR awardees completing the survey is kept confidential, and will not be made public except in broad aggregate, with no firm-specific attribution.

The Commercialization Metrics Survey is a required part of the proposal submissions process and must be completed via the Proposal Submissions Electronic Handbook.  Also, Companies with no SBIR/STTR awards or only fairly recent SBIR/STTR awards will not be penalized under past performance for the lack of past SBIR/STTR commercialization.

3.4.12 Contractor Responsibility Information

No later than 10 business days after the notification of selection for negotiations, the offeror shall provide a signed statement from your financial institution(s), on its letterhead, stating whether or not your firm is in good standing and how long you have been with the institution.

3.4.13 Allocation of Rights Agreement (STTR awards only)