America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF’s SBIR/STTR program) is soliciting proposals for the first time under a new space topic. More information is located at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/space/. Small businesses interested in participating must submit the required Project Pitch to get started. |
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Can my firm apply to both NASA and NSF's solicitations?
Yes! Proposers may submit overlapping proposals to different agencies, but NSF will not make awards that duplicate research funded by, or anticipated to be funded by, other agencies. It is very important to note potential overlap on the cover page of the NSF proposal. If a proposer fails to disclose that another Federal Agency has received this proposal (or an equivalent or overlapping proposal) on the proposal cover page, the proposer could be liable for administrative, civil, or criminal sanctions. If a proposal is selected for award by both NSF and NASA, the agencies will work together to determine which agency will fund the work. Sometimes, the project scope and/or budgets will be adjusted if both projects will be funded in order to ensure that no portion of the work is double-funded. However, NSF SBIR/STTR will not co-fund a single proposal with any other agency. |
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Potential follow-on funding from NASA A firm successful in an NSF SBIR/STTR may choose to later apply to NASA if they are seeking entry to the NASA market. There are also opportunities to receive sequential Phase II and Phase III awards from NASA after successful completion of an NSF Phase I award. |
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How do firms decide which solicitation is the best fit? Awards made through NASA’s SBIR/STTR program are fixed-price contracts, while NSF’s SBIR/STTR program issues its awards as fixed-price grants. The contract mechanism generally features clear agency-defined outcomes for the research, while grants are more flexible. For companies where the government is the primary end customer or user, the NASA program will give additional structure and guidance. For companies seeking to pursue their own commercial vision, which differs from a stated governmental need, the NSF grant-based mechanism may be preferable (though these companies may also view the government as one potential customer or user). |
PROGRAM PURPOSE |
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NASA solicits solutions for high priority research problems and technology needs aligned with NASA interests. (For STTR, they are aligned with NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps and the associated core competencies of the NASA centers.)
NASA is a primary customer for many SBIR/STTR technologies but the quantity is often limited (one way to say this is NASA will be a “market of 5”… “one to bake, one to break, one to shake, one to fly and one to put on the shelf”), or NASA is a secondary customer when SBIR/STTR firms become subcontractors/suppliers to aerospace primes. When NASA evaluates Phase I proposals, technical merit is more important than commercial merit. NASA evaluates primarily the “innovation” not the "innovator," based on the evaluation criteria NASA’s entire solicitation is focused on aerospace and aeronautics technologies. Some technologies are of interest to both NASA and other markets/ applications. https://sbir.nasa.gov/solicit-detail/61545 |
The NSF SBIR/STTR program seeks to support innovative, high-risk and high-impact R&D projects with a strong case made for commercialization. The portfolio is divided into broad technology areas, which now includes a space topic; a full list is here: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/portfolio/. This list is NOT exhaustive. A small business has the freedom to pursue any technology and market area (with the exception of drug development). Phase I proposals are evaluated based on the merit review criteria listed here: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/resources/review/peer-review/. NSF's goals are to foster innovation and help create businesses and jobs in the United States, and companies seed funded by the NSF’s program have since gone on to tremendous success. NSF is not interested in buying the technology created by the companies it has funded.
Here’s what NSF looks for when determining which companies to fund:
NSF’s Space Topic includes 10 subtopics. An exact fit into one of subtopics is not required. |
SUBMISSIONS CALENDAR |
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NASA has one annual solicitation for Phase I proposals.
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NSF has two open submission windows per year for Phase I proposals. Companies must first submit a Project Pitch and receive an official request to submit a full proposal. Project Pitches are accepted at any time. Proposals are accepted any time within a submission window and reviewed as quickly as possible after submission.
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APPLICATION PROCESS |
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AWARDS |
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Where can my firm find more information?
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