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Winter 2022 Newsletter
 
Volume 16, Number 1 | Winter 2022
 
THE CONCEPT
Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program
 
In this Issue
 
Hello, Innovators • Key Program Milestones • MSI Exchange • Post Phase II • NASA iTech • Events • IP Resources • Success Stories • Other Opportunities
 
Hello, Innovators
 
 
We are already in the second half of the 2022 Phase I SBIR and STTR solicitations period! Last month I was thrilled to interact with and see more than 500 participants at our first-ever Dissecting the Solicitations webinar, where we navigated the solicitations and answered questions live from the audience. This was our first time offering the opportunity to engage with our program experts during the open Phase I solicitation period; our audience was active in asking great questions, and we hope the information we shared helps strengthen your understanding of the open solicitations and our program in general.
 
If you weren’t able to attend, you can visit the event page or our resource library to find a recording of the webinar, a copy of the presentation slides, and our responses to key questions that we weren’t able to answer during the event. The resource library also includes other information in our Phase 0 section that can help you prepare for your Phase I submission.
As a reminder, your Phase I SBIR and STTR proposals are due no later than 5 pm ET on March 9, 2022. We are looking forward to reading about your proposed technology innovations!
 
Scott Dockum, Phase I/II Workstream Lead
NASA SBIR/STTR Program
 
Key Program Milestones
 
  • 2022 Phase I SBIR and STTR Solicitations: Open January 6 – March 9, 2022
  • 2021 Phase II SBIR Selections: February 17, 2022
  • 2022 Phase I SBIR and STTR Announcement: May 26, 2022
  • 2022 Phase I SBIR and STTR I-Corps: Open May 2022
 
*All dates subject to change
 
Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Exchange
 
The Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Exchange is a tool that supports your search for innovative and diverse academic collaborators by curating STEM offerings and capability statements of MSIs nationwide. The MSI Exchange can inform partnerships for teaming opportunities and competitive federal awards such as contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants. STTR and even SBIR proposers may find this tool useful for identifying partners to help them propel their next idea.
Learn more
 
Phase II Extended (II-E) Opportunity
 
The Phase II-E Option encourages the advancement of innovations developed under Phase II. Under Phase II-E, the NASA SBIR/STTR program will match investor funds up to $375,000 with SBIR/STTR funds, on a 1-for-1 basis, to extend an existing Phase II project to perform additional R/R&D.
 
The deadline to submit a Phase II-E proposal to be considered for the next award selection meeting is March 14, 2022; if you submit after this deadline, your proposal will be reviewed at the following selection meeting, held approximately every other month. The eligibility window for SBIR/STTR Phase II-E proposal submission starts after the 12th month of Phase II performance and ends 60 days before the Phase II contract end date.
 
Potential Post Phase II Investor: NASA Flight Opportunities
NASA’s Flight Opportunities program is a potential Post Phase II investor, specifically in support of suborbital flight testing to advance development or commercialization of technologies. Upcoming opportunities to take advantage of matching funds from Flight Opportunities include Phase II-E proposals and the next round of CCRPP applications.
 
Learn more about Flight Opportunities Phase II-E funding: https://go.nasa.gov/2Kdkw1e.
 
Call for Small Business Ideas: NASA iTech Focus Event
 
NASA iTech is seeking small businesses to present their innovative ideas to NASA chief technologists and industry experts at a virtual event that focuses on solutions in two challenge focus areas that are relevant to NASA and have broad applicability in commercial markets: “Low-Cost Photovoltaic Arrays for Space” and “Recycling for Optimum Space-Age Logistics.” The window for applications to present at the 2022 NASA iTech Focus event is open now through Feb. 25.
 
NASA iTech now falls under the NASA SBIR/STTR program. The program is planning funded opportunities for entrepreneurs in 2022.
Read more
 
Events
 
National Entrepreneurship Week: February 12-19, 2022
NatlEshipWeek brings together a network of partners from Maui to Miami to educate, engage, and build equitable access to America's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. NASA SBIR/STTR Deputy Program Executive Gynelle Steele will be part of the “How To Get Money for Your Biz from the Federal Government” panel taking place on February 16 at 9 am ET.
 
Opportunities for Underrepresented Communities at NASA: February 16, 2022; 1 – 2:30 pm ET
Learn more about opportunities from the NASA Mentor-Protégé Program, NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program, and other Broad Agency Announcements/NASA Research Announcements.
 
NASA HBCU/MSI Engagement Workshop at the CIAA: February 23, 2022; 2 – 5 pm ET
Join NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), and NASA SBIR/STTR as we share information about best practices when seeking NASA funding. A networking session will follow the program. Topics include:
  • Developing relationships with small and large businesses
  • Understanding federal contracts
  • Importance of capability statements
 
IP Resources for SBIR/STTR
 
SBIR and STTR proposers and participants can benefit from learning about intellectual property (IP). Watch a recording and view the presentation from the webinar hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Topics covered included:
  • IP basics
  • USPTO resources available to small business
  • Basics of the SBIR/STTR program
Learn more
 
Success Stories
 
Read about news and successes from some of our SBIR/STTR firms. If you are an SBIR/STTR firm with a success story to share, email us at ARC-SBIR-Outreach@mail.nasa.gov.
 
 
Nature’s Fynd (formerly Sustainable Biproducts, LLC), a food company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, partnered with Montana State University on NASA STTR contracts to further develop a micro-gravity biofilm-biomat reactor, which cultivates a unique fungus to form a dense protein material. The resulting “biomat” could serve as a nutritious food source for life away from Earth. Nature’s Fynd has received external investments totaling more than $500 million for developing its technologies, and the company recently launched its meatless and dairy-free foods in specific retailers.
Read story
 
 
For some small businesses, the NASA SBIR/STTR program is not just seed funding; Dr. Milan Mashanovitch of Freedom Photonics LLC in Santa Barbara, California, shares how his company used SBIR funding to further improve the applications of technology already in development. He shared with us how Freedom Photonics has achieved commercial success with technology advanced through the program.
Read blog article
 
Other NASA Opportunities and News
 
 
2022 Spinoff 
The 2022 Spinoff publication by NASA’s Technology Transfer Program is out now! Spinoff highlights NASA technologies that benefit life on Earth in the form of commercial products. In this issue, you can find several SBIR/STTR-derived technologies:
  • Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (page 6) 
  • Plasma jet 3D electronics printer (page 9) 
  • Outdoor gear with aerogel (page 17) 
  • Surface finishing for 3D printed superalloys (page 23) 
  • Private lunar landers (page 30) 
Read Spinoff 2022
 
Open Innovation: Boosting NASA Higher, Faster, and Farther
NASA engaged the public with 56 public prize competitions and challenges and 14 citizen science and crowdsourcing activities over fiscal years 2019 and 2020. NASA awarded $2.2 million in prize money, and members of the public submitted over 11,000 solutions during that period. Open Innovation highlights some of those breakthroughs, which accelerate space technology development and discovery while giving the public a gateway to work with NASA. 
Read Open Innovation
 
Thank You for Reading!
 
NASA SBIR/STTR PROGRAM | sbir.nasa.gov