National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research 1999 Program Solicitation

Chapter 3. Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements

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3.1 Fundamental Considerations
3.2 Phase-I Proposal Requirements
3.3 Phase-II Proposal Requirements

3.1.1 Responsiveness to NASA Need. An SBIR Phase-I proposal must present a scientific or technical innovation that addresses a need as described in a specific subtopic. If the proposal as described in the Project Summary (Form 9B) is judged to be non-responsive to the subtopic, it will be rejected without evaluation. SBIR projects should address NASA needs requiring significant scientific or technical innovation, either experimental or theoretical.

3.1.2 Proposal Objective. A Phase-I proposal must describe the research effort needed to investigate the feasibility of the proposed scientific or technical innovation. The objective of the Phase-I effort must be to determine whether the innovation has sufficient technical merit for proceeding into Phase-II R/R&D.

The objective of Phase-II is to continue the R/R&D effort from Phase-I. Only NASA Phase-I awardees may compete for Phase-II projects.

3.1.3 Unacceptable Objectives. Proposed efforts directed toward market research; commercial development of existing products or proven concepts; straightforward engineering design for packaging or adaptation to specific applications; laboratory evaluations; and modifications of existing products without innovative changes are examples of projects that are not acceptable under the NASA SBIR program.

3.1.4 Multiple Proposal Submissions. An offeror may submit different proposals in response to any number of subtopics, but every proposal must be based on an unique innovation, must be limited in scope to just one subtopic, and may be submitted only under that subtopic.

3.1.5 Similar Proposals. Submitting substantially equivalent proposals to several subtopics is not permitted and may result in all such proposals being rejected without evaluation.

3.1.6 End Deliverables. The deliverable item at the end of a Phase-I contract shall be a professional quality report that justifies, validates, and defends the experimental and theoretical work accomplished. Furthermore, this report must demonstrate the basis for judgments about technical merit and feasibility of the innovation presented in the Phase-I proposal. It should connect the Phase-I results to Phase-II follow-on R/R&D and commercial applications. Delivery of a product or service with the Phase-I report may be desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Deliverable items for Phase-II contracts shall include products or services in addition to professional quality reports of further developments or applications of the Phase-I results. These deliverables may include prototypes, models, software, or complete products or services. The reported results of Phase-II must address and provide the basis for validating the innovation and the potential for implementation of commercial applications.

3.2 Phase-I Proposal Requirements

3.2.1 General Requirements:

Page Limitation. A Phase-I SBIR proposal shall not exceed a total of 25 standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.6 x 27.9 cm) pages, including cover page, budget, and all enclosures or attachments. Margins should be 1.0 inch (2.5 cm). All material submitted, except required listing of Phase-II awards (Section 3.2.6), will be included in the page count. Samples, videotapes, slides, or other ancillary items will not be accepted. Offerors are requested not to use the entire 25-page allowance unless necessary. Proposals exceeding the 25 page limitation will be rejected during administrative screening. The program would prefer proposals prepared on both sides of paper, if possible.

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

Brevity and Organization. The proposal should be focused, concise, and organized in accordance with the Solicitation requirements.

3.2.2 Format Requirements. All required items of information must be covered in the following prescribed order. The space allocated to each part of the technical proposal will depend on the project chosen and the offeror's approach.

Each proposal submitted must contain the following in the order presented:

· Proposal Cover (Form 9A), signed in ink, as page 1.
· Project Summary (Form 9B), as page 2.
· Technical Proposal (12 Parts), including all graphics, and starting at page 3 with a table of contents.
· Summary Budget (Form 9C), signed in ink.

3.2.3 Proposal Cover and Project Summary:

Page 1: Proposal Cover (Form 9A). A copy of the Proposal Cover sheet is provided in Section 9. Each offeror shall provide complete information for each item and submit the form as required in Section 6. The proposal 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.

Page 2: Project Summary (Form 9B). A copy of the Project Summary sheet is provided in Section 9. Offerors shall provide complete information for each item and submit Form 9B as required in Section 6. This technical abstract (limited to 200 words) shall summarize the implications of the approach and the anticipated results of both Phase-I and Phase-II. Potential commercial applications of the technology should also be presented.

3.2.4 Technical Proposal. The proposal shall not contain any budget data and must consist of all twelve parts numbered and in the prescribed order. A proposal omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this Solicitation and may be rejected during administrative screening. Parts that are not applicable must be noted as "Not Applicable." Offerors are advised to avoid including proprietary information (Section 5.4.1).

Part 1: Table of Contents. Page 3 of the proposal shall begin with a brief table of contents indicating the page numbers of each of the sections of the proposal.

Part 2: Identification and Significance of the Innovation. The first paragraph of Part 2 shall contain (1) a clear and succinct statement of the specific innovation proposed and why it is an innovation, and (2) a brief explanation of how the innovation is relevant and important to meeting the technology need described in the subtopic. The initial paragraph shall contain no more than 200 words. NASA will reject proposals that lack this introductory paragraph. In subsequent paragraphs, Part 2 may also include appropriate background and elaboration to explain the proposed innovation.

Part 3: Technical Objectives. State the specific objectives of the Phase-I R/R&D effort including the technical questions that must be answered to determine the feasibility of the proposed innovation.

Part 4: Work Plan. Phase-I R/R&D should address the objectives and questions cited in Part 3. The work plan should indicate what will be done, where it will be done, and how it will be done. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task should be discussed in detail. Schedules, task descriptions and assignments, resource allocations, estimated task hours for each key personnel, and planned accomplishments including project milestones shall be included.

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 principal investigator 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. At the offeror's option, this section may include concise bibliographic references in support of the proposal if they are confined to activities directly related to the proposed work.

Part 6: Key Personnel and Bibliography of Directly Related Work. Identify key personnel involved in Phase-I activities. Key personnel are the principal investigator and other individuals whose expertise and functions are essential to the success of the project. Provide bibliographic information including directly related education and experience.

This part shall also establish and confirm the eligibility of the principal investigator (Section 1.4.3), and indicate the extent to which other proposals recently submitted or planned for submission in 1999 and existing projects commit the time of PI concurrently with this proposed activity. Any attempt to circumvent the restriction on PIs working more than half-time for an academic or a non-profit organization by substituting an ineligible PI will result in rejection of the proposal.

Part 7: Relationship with Phase-II or Future R/R&D. State the anticipated results of the proposed R/R&D effort if the project is successful (through Phase-I and Phase-II). Discuss the significance of the Phase-I effort in providing a foundation for the Phase-II R/R&D continuation.

Part 8: Company Information and Facilities. Provide adequate information to allow the evaluators to assess the ability of the SBC team to carry out the proposed Phase-I and projected Phase-II and Phase-III activities. The offeror should describe the relevant facilities and equipment currently available, and those to be purchased, to support the proposed activities. NASA will not fund the acquisition of equipment, instrumentation, or facilities under SBIR Phase-I contracts as a direct cost (Section 5.14)

The capability of the offeror to perform the proposed activities and bring a resulting product or service to market must be indicated. Qualifications of the offeror and its principals in marketing-related products or services or in raising capital should be presented.

If an offeror proposes the use of unique or one-of-a-kind Government facilities, a statement, describing the uniqueness of the facility and its availability to the offeror at specified times, signed by the appropriate Government official must be included with the proposal. Proposals lacking this signed statement may be rejected without evaluation. If the proposer does not require the use of Government facilities or equipment, the proposer shall so state in this part of the proposal.

Part 9: Subcontracts and Consultants. Up to one-third of the research and/or analytical work (contract cost less fee) in Phase-I may be conducted under subcontract or other business arrangements. If the offeror intends such arrangements, they should be described in detail including functions, services, number of hours and labor rates, and extent of effort to be provided. The proposal must include a signed statement by each participating organization or individual that they will be available at the times required for the purposes and extent of effort described in the proposal. Failure to provide certification(s) may result in rejection of the proposal.

Part 10: Commercial Applications Potential. The commercial potential of the proposed SBIR project is a significant evaluation factor (Section 4.1.2). Therefore, offerors will discuss in this section the broad commercial applications for their project results and plans to bring the technology to commercial application. Offerors should discuss the following:

1. The specific commercial products or services contemplated and the corresponding target market niche;
2. Expected unique competitive advantage of the commercial products or services;
3. Nature of the corresponding contemplated commercial venture;
4. Importance of the contemplated commercial venture to the offeror's current competitive position and to its strategic planning; and
5. The offeror's capability and plans to bring the necessary physical, personnel, and financial resources to bear, in a timely way, to result in a viable commercial venture in the near term subsequent to Phase-II (if awarded).

Part 11: Similar Proposals and Awards. A firm may elect to submit proposals for essentially equivalent work under other program solicitations. However, NASA will not fund duplicate proposals for essentially equivalent work under any Government program. The offeror will inform NASA of related proposals and awards and must certify on the Proposal Cover (Form 9A) whether the offeror: (a) has received Federal Government awards for related work; or (b) has submitted currently active proposals for similar work under other Federal Government program solicitations; or (c) intends to submit proposals for such work to other agencies during 1999. For all such cases, the following information is required:

1. The name and address of the agencies to which proposals have been or will be submitted, or from which awards have been received;
2. Dates of such proposal submissions or awards;
3. Title, number, and date of solicitations under which proposals have been or will be submitted or awards received;
4. The specific applicable research topic for each such proposal submitted or award received;
5. Titles of research projects;
6. Name and title of the principal investigator/project manager for each proposal that has been or will be submitted or award received.

Note: Lack of the required certification on Form 9A or failure to declare the existence of related, similar or duplicate awards or proposals will result in rejection of the offer or loss of an award. If no such awards have been received or no such proposals have been submitted or are intended, the offeror shall so state in this part of the proposal.

Part 12: Previous NASA SBIR Awards. Provide a list of NASA SBIR Phase-I and Phase-II awards received, showing contract numbers, the year of award, Phase-I or Phase-II, the NASA Installations making the award, and project titles. If no prior NASA awards have been received, the offeror shall so state in this part of the proposal.

3.2.5 Proposed Budget:

1) Summary Budget (Form 9C). Offerors shall complete the Summary Budget, following the instructions provided with the form (Section 9) and include it and any explanation sheets, if needed, as the last page(s) of the proposal. Information shall be submitted to explain the offeror's plans for use of the requested funds to enable NASA to determine whether the proposed budget is fair and reasonable.

2) Property. NASA will not fund facility acquisition under Phase-I (Section 5.14). Proposed costs for materials may be included. "Materials" means property that may be incorporated or attached to a deliverable end item or that may be consumed or expended in performing the contract. It includes assemblies, components, parts, raw materials, and small tools that may be consumed in normal use. Any purchase of equipment or products under an SBIR contract using NASA funds should be American-made to the extent possible.

3) Travel. Travel during Phase-I is not normally allowed to prove technical merit and feasibility of the proposed innovation. However, where the offeror deems travel to be essential for these purposes, it is necessary to limit it to one person, one trip to the sponsoring NASA installation. Proposed travel must be described as to purpose and benefits in proving feasibility, and is subject to negotiation and approval by the contracting officer. Trips to conferences are not allowed under the Phase-I contract.

4) Profit. A profit or fee may be included in the proposed budget as noted in Section 5.9.

5) Cost Sharing. See Section 5.8.

3.2.6 Addendum for Prior SBIR Phase-II Awards. The Small Business Administration requires offerors, who have received more than 15 Phase-II awards from all agencies in the prior 5 fiscal years, to report those awards and their progress toward commercialization. The listing of awards shall be included in a separate "Addendum: Phase-II History" that will not be counted against the Phase-I 25-page proposal limit. The Addendum should be concise. Information for each Phase-II contract shall include:

(1) Name of awarding agency
(2) Date of award and date of completion
(3) Funding agreement number and amount
(4) Topic or subtopic name
(5) Project title
(6) Sources, dates and amounts of federal and/or private sector Phase-III follow-on funding agreements
(7) Post-Phase-II commercialization activities, including development, marketing, sales, and projections

3.3 Phase-II Proposal 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 strictly voluntary and NASA assumes no responsibility for any proposal preparation expenses.

Proposal Contents. Proposals shall be prepared in the following order. Failure to include any requested information in the proposal may make it non-responsive to the RFP. The proposal shall not contain any budget data and must consist of all 13 parts numbered and in following order. A proposal omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this Solicitation and may be rejected during administrative screening.

Part 1: Proposal Cover. (Form provided by awarding Center)

Part 2: Project Summary. (Form provided by awarding Center)

Part 3: Table of Contents.

Part 4: Results of the Phase-I Project. Briefly describe how Phase-I has proven the feasibility of the innovation, provided a rationale for both NASA and commercial applications, and demonstrated the ability of the offeror to conduct R/R&D.

Part 5: Technical Objectives, Approach and Work Plan. Define the specific objectives of the Phase-II research and technical approach; and provide a work plan defining specific tasks, performance schedules, milestones, and deliverables.

Part 6: Company Information. Describe the capability of the firm to carry out Phase-II and Phase-III activities including its organization, operations, number of employees, R/R&D capabilities, and experience relevant to the work proposed.

Part 7: Facilities and Equipment. This section shall provide adequate information to allow the evaluators to assess the ability of the SBC to carry out the proposed Phase-II activities. The offeror should describe the relevant facilities and equipment currently available, and those to be purchased, to support the proposed activities. NASA will not fund the acquisition of equipment, instrumentation, or facilities under SBIR Phase-II contracts as a direct cost (Section 5.14).

If an offeror proposes the use of unique or one-of-a-kind Government facilities, a statement, describing the uniqueness of the facility and its availability to the offeror at specified times, signed by the appropriate Government official must be included with the proposal. Proposals lacking this signed statement may be rejected without evaluation. If the proposer does not require the use of Government facilities or equipment, the proposer shall so state in this part of the proposal.

Part 8: Key Personnel. Identify the key personnel for the project, confirm their availability for Phase-II, and discuss their qualifications in terms of education, work experience, and accomplishments that are relevant to the project. For any PI, who is an employee of an academic or non-profit organization, provide a release statement as described in Section 1.4.3 of this Solicitation.

Part 9: Consultants and Subcontracts. Describe in detail any subcontracting, consultant, or other business arrangements. The proposal must include certifications by each participating organization or individual that they will be available at the times required for the purposes and extent of effort described in the proposal. Failure to provide subcontractor/consultant certifications may result in rejection of the proposal.

For Phase-II, a minimum of one-half of the work (contract cost less profit) must be performed by the proposing SBC unless approved in writing by the contracting officer.

Part 10: Commercialization and Phase-III Plans. Describe plans for commercialization (Phase-III) in terms of each of the following areas:

(1) Product or Service Commercial Feasibility: Provide a description of the (a) contemplated commercial product and/or service, the corresponding commercial venture, and the unique competitive advantage of both; and (b) technical obstacles to commercial applications, as well as plans to address them.

(2) Market Feasibility and Competition: Describe: (a) the target market niche including the distinction between U.S. Government and other markets; (b) estimated potential market size in terms of revenues to be realized by the offeror from U.S. Government markets and, separately, from other markets; (c) competitive environment in terms of present and likely competing similar and alternative technologies, and corresponding competing domestic and foreign entities; (d) significant developments within the targeted business sector; and (e) offeror's ability, if any, to protect relevant technology with patents or rights to exclusive access.

(3) Strategic Relevance to the Offeror: Describe the relevance of the targeted commercial venture to the offeror's: (a) current business segments; (b) relative position with respect to its competitors; and (c) strategic planning for the next 5 years.

(4) Key Management, Technical Personnel and Organizational Structure: Describe: (a) the skills and experience of key management and technical personnel relevant to bringing innovative technology to commercial application, (b) current organizational structure, and (c) plans and timeline for obtaining the balance of all necessary key business development expertise and other staffing requirements.

(5) Production and Operations: Describe: (a) business development progress to date regarding the contemplated commercial venture; (b) obstacles, plans, and associated milestones regarding all key business development elements; and (c) sources and components of private physical resources committed to date and plans for obtaining the balance of the necessary physical resources.

(6) Financial Planning: Describe: (a) the amounts and sources of private financial resources expended and committed to date with respect to the technology development project, and with respect to business development of the targeted commercial venture; (b) significant requirements of potential investors, creditors, and insurers of the venture; (c) proforma statement of cash flow with respect to the targeted commercial venture that includes best estimates of at least the following major components and timing thereof: capital investment, revenues, principal and interest payments, depreciation of relevant assets, other operating expenses; and (d) evidence of the offeror's current financial strength (audited or unaudited financial statements may be appended to address this).

Part 11: Capital Commitments Supporting Phase-II and Phase-III. Describe and document capital commitments from non-SBIR sources or from internal funds for pursuit of Phase-II and Phase-III. Offerors for Phase-II contracts are strongly urged to obtain valid non-SBIR funding support commitments for follow-on Phase-III activities and additional support of Phase-II from parties other than the proposing firm. Valid funding support commitments must provide that a specific, substantial amount will be made available to the firm to pursue the stated Phase-II and/or Phase-III objectives. They must indicate the source, date, and conditions or contingencies under which the funds will be made available. Alternatively, self-commitments of the same type and magnitude that are required from outside sources can be considered. If Phase-III will be funded internally, offerors should describe their financial position.

Evidence of funding support commitments from outside parties must be provided in writing to the proposing entity and should accompany the Phase-II proposal. Letters of commitment should specify available funding commitments, other resources to be provided, and any contingent conditions. Expressions of technical interest by such parties in the Phase-II research or of potential future financial support are insufficient and will not be accepted as support commitments by NASA.

Part 12: Related R/R&D. Describe R/R&D related to the proposed work and affirm that the proposed objectives have not already been achieved and that the same development is not presently being pursued elsewhere under contract to the Government.

Part 13: Proposal Pricing. Special instructions for pricing the Phase-II proposal will be provided in the Phase-I contract and may be provided by the contracting officer.

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