National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research & Technology Transfer 2001 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. Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements

3.1 Fundamental Considerations

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

STTR: All Phase I proposals must provide sufficient information to convince NASA that the proposed SBC/RI cooperative effort represents a sound approach for converting technical information resident at the RI into a product or service that meets a need described in a Solicitation research subtopic. It must also identify the eventual commercial application potential of the product or service and discuss how the SBC would bring it to market.

End Deliverables. The deliverable item at the end of a Phase I contract shall be a comprehensive report that justifies, validates, and defends the experimental and theoretical work accomplished. 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.

Note: As part of the Phase I and Phase II deliverables, a nonproprietary technical abstract of findings shall be submitted by the offeror via the SBIR/STTR homepage.

3.2 Phase I Proposal Requirements

3.2.1 General Requirements

Page Limitation. A Phase I proposal shall not exceed a total of 25 standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.6 x 27.9 cm) pages. A page is defined as a single side of a piece of paper. All four proposal items required in Section 3.2.2 will be included within this total. Each page shall be numbered consecutively at the bottom. Margins should be 1.0 inch (2.5 cm). Proposals exceeding the 25 page limitation will be rejected during administrative screening.

Web site references, product samples, videotapes, slides, or other ancillary items will not be accepted. Offerors are requested not to use the entire 25-page allowance unless necessary.

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.

Classified Information. NASA does not accept proposals that contain classified information.

3.2.2 Format Requirements. All required items of information must be covered in the proposal. 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.

Proposal Summary (Form 9B), as page 2.

Technical Proposal (11 Parts in order as specified in Section 3.2.4), including all graphics, and starting at page 3 with a table of contents.

Summary Budget (Form 9C)

STTR: Each STTR proposal must also contain a Cooperative R/R&D Agreement between the SBC and RI following the four items listed above. This must be included as part of the 25-page limit.

3.2.3 Proposal Cover and Proposal Summary

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

Page 2: Proposal Summary (Form 9B). A sample copy of the Proposal Summary is provided in Section 9. The offeror shall provide complete information for each item and submit Form 9B as required in Section 6. The technical abstract portion is limited to 200 words and 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. If the technical abstract is judged to be non-responsive to the subtopic, the proposal will be rejected without further evaluation.

Note: Forms 9A and 9B, the Proposal Cover and the Proposal Summary, including the Technical Abstract, are public information and may be disclosed. Do not include proprietary information.

3.2.4 Technical Proposal. This part of the submission shall not contain any budget data and must consist of all eleven parts listed below in the given order. All parts must be numbered and titled; parts that are not applicable must be noted as "Not Applicable."

Note: A proposal omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this Solicitation and may be rejected during administrative screening.

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 parts of the proposal. A sample table of contents is included in Appendix A.

Part 2: Identification and Significance of the Innovation. The first paragraph of Part 2 shall contain:

A clear and succinct statement of the specific innovation proposed, and why it is an innovation, and
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 explanation of the innovation. 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, where, 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.

STTR: The work plan will specifically address the percentage and type of work to be performed by the SBC and the RI. The plan will provide evidence that the SBC will exercise management direction and control of the performance of the STTR effort, including situations in which the PI may be an employee of the RI. Not less than 40 percent of the work (amount requested including cost sharing, less fee, if any) is to be performed by the SBC as the prime contractor, and not less than 30 percent of the work is to be performed by the RI.

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. 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 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 I proposal shall describe the nature of the PI's activities and the amount of time that the PI will personally apply on the project. The amount of time the PI proposes to spend on the project must be acceptable to the NASA 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 substitute 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 (Section 1.5.3), and indicate the extent to which other proposals recently submitted or planned for submission in 2001 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 nonprofit 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 offeror to carry out the proposed Phase I and projected Phase II and Phase III activities. The offeror should describe the relevant facilities and equipment, their availability, and those to be acquired, to support the proposed activities. NASA will not fund the purchase of equipment, instrumentation, or facilities under Phase I contracts as a direct cost. Special tooling may be allowed. (Section 5.17)

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 in marketing related products or services or in raising capital should be presented.

Note: If an offeror requires the use of any award funds for 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.

Part 9: Subcontracts and Consultants. The SBC may establish business arrangements with other entities or individuals to participate in performance of the proposed R/R&D effort. 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, and their extent of the effort. 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. Subcontractors' and consultants' work must be performed in the United States.

SBIR		STTR
The proposed business arrangements must not exceed one-third of the research and/or analytical work (amount requested including cost sharing if any, less fee, if any).		The proposed business arrangements with individuals or organizations other than the RI must not exceed 30 percent of the work (amount requested including cost sharing if any, less fee, if any).

Part 10: Commercial Applications Potential. The Phase I proposal shall forecast the commercial potential of the project assuming success through Phase II. The proposer will be required to address the commercial, non-NASA applications in detail in the Phase II proposal (Sections 3.3 and 4.2.2).

Part 11: Similar Proposals and Awards. A firm may elect to submit proposals for essentially equivalent work under other federal 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 clearly state whether the SBC has submitted currently active proposals for similar work under other Federal Government program solicitations or intends to submit proposals for such work to other agencies. For all such cases, the following information is required:

The name and address of the agencies to which proposals have been or will be submitted, or from which awards have been received;

Dates of such proposal submissions or awards;

Title, number, and date of solicitations under which proposals have been or will be submitted or awards received;

The specific applicable research topic for each such proposal submitted or award received;

Titles of research projects;

Name and title of the principal investigator/project manager for each proposal that has been or will be submitted, or from which awards have been received.

Note: All eleven (11) parts must be included. Parts that are not applicable must be included and marked "Not Applicable."

3.2.5 Proposed Budget

Summary Budget (Form 9C). The offeror 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.

Property. 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 a SBIR/STTR contract using NASA funds should be American-made to the extent possible. NASA will not fund facility acquisition under Phase I as a direct cost (Section 5.17).

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.

Profit. A profit or fee may be included in the proposed budget as noted in Section 5.12.

Cost Sharing. See Section 5.11

3.2.6 Cooperative Agreement (Applicable for STTR proposals only) The Cooperative Agreement (not to be confused with the Allocation of Rights Agreement) shall be a single page document (see example in Section 9) signed by the SBC and the RI. This agreement counts toward the 25-page limit.

3.2.7 Addendum (Applicable for SBIR awards only)

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:

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

3.3 Phase II Proposal Requirements

3.3.1 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. Phase II proposals are required to be submitted electronically by utilizing the electronic handbook system hosted on the NASA SBIR homepage (http://sbir.nasa.gov). Submission of a Phase II proposal is strictly voluntary and NASA assumes no responsibility for any proposal preparation expenses.

Note: The Cooperative Research established with a specific RI in STTR Phase I contracts shall continue with the same RI in Phase II.

Page Limitation. A Phase II proposal shall not exceed a total of 50 standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.6 x 27.9 cm) pages. A page is defined as a single side of a piece of paper. All parts required in Section 3.3.2 will be included within this total. Each page shall be numbered consecutively at the bottom. Margins should be 1.0 inch (2.5 cm). Proposals exceeding the 50-page limitation will be rejected during administrative screening.

Classified Information. NASA does not accept proposals that contain classified information.

3.3.2 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. Budget data should be strictly limited to Part 13. A proposal omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this Solicitation and may be rejected during administrative screening. The proposal must consist of all 13 parts numbered and in the following order:

Part 1: Proposal Cover.

Part 2: Proposal Summary.

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 Phase II contracts as a direct cost. Special tooling may be allowed. (Section 5.17).

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.

Note: If the proposal does not require the use of Government facilities or equipment, the offeror 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 relevant to the project.

Part 9: Subcontracts and Consultants. Describe in detail any subcontract, consultant, or other business arrangements involving participation in performance of the proposed R/R&D effort and provide written evidence of their availability for the project. The proposal must include a commitment from each subcontractor and/or consultant that they will be available at the times required for the purposes and extent of effort described in the proposal. Subcontractors' and consultants' work must be performed in the United States. Failure to provide subcontractor/consultant commitments may result in rejection of proposal.

SBIR Phase II Proposal		STTR Phase II Proposal
A minimum of one-half of the work (contract cost less profit) must be performed by the proposing SBC.		A minimum of 40 percent of the work must be performed by the proposing SBC and 30 percent by the RI.

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 offer from US 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/STTR sources or from internal SBC funds for pursuit of 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 and additional support of Phase II from parties other than the proposing firm. 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 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 stated objectives have not already been achieved and that the same development is not presently being pursued elsewhere under contract to the Federal Government.

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

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