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

Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the property of the applicant. The Federal Government may, however, retain copies of all proposals. Public release of information in any proposal submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements. If proprietary information is provided by an applicant in a proposal, which constitutes a trade secret, commercial or financial information, it will be treated in confidence, to the extent permitted by law, provided that the proposal is clearly marked by the applicant as follows:

(A)  The following “italicized” legend must appear on the title page of the proposal:

This proposal contains information that shall not be disclosed outside the Federal Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than evaluation of this proposal, unless authorized by law. The Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract if award is made as a result of the submission of this proposal. The information subject to these restrictions is contained on all pages of the proposal except for pages [insert page numbers or other identification of pages that contain no restricted information]. (End of Legend); and

(B)  The following legend must appear on each page of the proposal that contains information the applicant wishes to protect:

Use or disclosure of information contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.

Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the property of the applicant. However, the Government will retain copies of all proposals in accordance with its records retention schedule.

3.5.1 General Requirements

NASA will be using Box for submission of these proposal packages. This solicitation guides firms through the steps for submitting a complete proposal package. All submissions are through a secure connection and most communication between NASA and the firm is through email. To access Box go to https://nasagov.app.box.com/f/32ef3edd858549c08756e3640c3f1fc2. Additional details are available in section 6. The Complete Phase I proposal contains a slide deck, white paper, and all required forms as described in section 3.5.3 below.

3.5.2 Format Requirements 

Note: The Government administratively screens all elements of a proposal package and will reject any proposal that does not conform to the following formatting requirements:

Page Limitations and Margins

A Phase I technical proposal shall contain 2 elements:

• The Slide Deck:
  • Shall not exceed 15 slides. 
• The White Paper:
• Shall not exceed 7 standard 8.5- by 11-inch (21.6- by 27.9-cm) pages.
• Margins must be 1.0 inch (2.5 cm). Offerors must ensure that the margins comply before uploading.

Technical proposal uploads with any page(s) going over the required page limits will not be accepted. The additional forms required in section 3.5.3 for a complete proposal package do not count against the page limits.

Type Size 
No type size smaller than 10 point shall be used for text or tables, except for legends on reduced drawings in either the slide deck or white paper. Proposal packages prepared with smaller font sizes will be rejected during the administrative review and will not be considered.

Header/Footer Requirements  
Slide deck title bars and white paper headers must include firm name and project title. Footers must include the page number and proprietary markings if applicable. Margins can be used for header/footer information.

Classified Information 
NASA will reject any proposal package that contains 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.

3.5.3 Complete Proposal Package

To be considered complete, each proposal package submitted shall contain the following items:

1. Proposal Cover Page to include Contact Information
2. Proposal Certifications
3. Proposal Abstract (must not contain proprietary data)
4. Proposal Budget (including letters of commitment for government resources and subcontractors/consultants, other direct costs, and the foreign vendor form, if applicable)
5. Slide Deck
6. White Paper
7. NASA Evaluation License Application, only if TAV is being proposed
8. Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) request (optional)
9. Letters indicating financial support/funding commitments
10. I-Corps Interest Form
11. Firm-Level Forms (completed once for all proposals submitted by a firm to a single solicitation)
1. Firm Information
2. Firm Certifications
3. Audit Information
4. Prior Awards Addendum (for firms iwth more than 15 Phase II awards in the past 5 years)

Note: The program will not consider additional items such as relevant technical papers, product samples, videotapes, slides, or other ancillary item during the review process.

3.5.3.1 Proposal Cover Page

The Offeror shall provide complete information for each contact person and submit the form as required. Note: Contact Information is public information and may be disclosed.

3.5.3.2 Proposal Certifications Form

The Offeror shall provide complete information for each question in the form and certify as to its accuracy as required.

3.5.3.3 Proposal Abstract

The Offeror shall provide complete information for each section of the form as required. Note: The Proposal Abstract is public information and may be disclosed. Do not include proprietary information in this form. 

3.5.3.4 Proposal Budget Form 

Note: The Government is not responsible for any monies expended by the firm before award of any contract. The offeror must complete the Proposal Budget form following the instructions provided. The total requested funding for the Phase I effort shall not exceed $150,000 or $156,500 (if requesting $6,500 for TABA, see section 1.9 and 3.5.3.8). In addition, the following information must be submitted in the Proposal Budget form, as applicable:

Proposal Budget Requirements for Use of Government Resources

In cases where an offeror seeks to use Government resources as described in Part 3 of section 3.5.3.5 Slide Deck instructions, the offeror shall provide the following:

1. Statement, signed by the appropriate Government official at the affected Federal department or agency, verifying that the resources should be available during proposed period of performance.
2. Signed letter on company letterhead from the SBC’s designated small business representative explaining why the SBIR research project requires the use of Government resources (such as, but not limited to, Federal services, equipment, or facilities, etc.) 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. 

Note: Use of Federal laboratories/facilities for Phase I contracts is highly discouraged as these arrangements will in most cases cause significant delays in making the final award. Approval for use of Federal facilities and laboratories for a Phase I technical proposal requires a strong justification at time of submission and will require approval by the Contracting Officer during negotiations if selected for award. 

Use of Subcontractors and Consultants

Subject to the restrictions set forth in section 1.6 and below, the SBC may establish business arrangements with other entities or individuals to participate in performance of the proposed R/R&D effort. Subcontractors' and consultants' work have the same place-of-performance restrictions as stated in section 1.6.4. See Part 6 of section 3.5.3.6 White Paper for additional information on the use of subcontractors and consultants.

Offerors that propose using subcontractors or consultants must submit the following:

1. List of consultants by name with the number of hours and hourly costs identified for each consultant.
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, and 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.

For Phase I contracts, the proposed subcontracted business arrangements, including consultants, must not exceed 33 percent of the research and/or analytical work [as determined by the total cost of the proposed subcontracting effort (to include the appropriate overhead (OH) and general and administrative expenses (G&A) in comparison to the total effort funded by the government (total contract price including cost sharing or less profit, if any)]. Occasionally, deviations from this SBIR requirement may occur, and must be approved in writing by the Contracting Officer after consultation with the NASA SBIR PMO.

Travel in Phase I

Due to the intent and short period of performance of the Phase I contracts, along with their limited budget, travel during the Phase I contract is discouraged unless it is required to successfully complete the proposed effort. If the purpose of the meeting cannot be accomplished via videoconference or teleconference, the offeror must provide a rationale for the trip in the proposal budget form. All travel must be approved by the Contracting Officer and concurred by the Technical Monitor.

3.5.3.5 Slide Deck

The slide deck must address the three parts below:

Part 1: The Market Opportunity:

Description of the market opportunity should address the following key elements:

Commercial Potential—Quantitative Market Analysis

1. Describe the market segment and potential commercial total addressable market (TAM) that is appropriate to the proposed innovation.
2. Describe the proposed innovation in terms of target customers (e.g., NASA, other Federal agency, or commercial enterprise).
3. Describe the competitive landscape by identifying potential competitors.

Commercial Intent—Value Proposition

1. Describe the commercial development.
2. Describe the risks to the commercial development plan and what mitigations, if any, can be taken over a reasonable period to lessen the risks.

Commercial Capability—How Will the Innovation Enter into a Market?

1. Describe the current and future company capitalization efforts.
2. As applicable, describe the approach, path to market, and revenues. (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.)

Intellectual Property (IP)

1. Describe how you will protect the IP that results from your innovation.

Assistance and Mentoring

1. Describe the existing and future business relationships in terms of any formal partnerships, joint ventures, or licensing agreements with other companies/organizations.
2. Describe the plans for securing needed technical or business assistance through mentoring, partnering, or through arrangements with state assistance programs, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Federally funded research laboratories, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, Federal programs, or other assistance providers.

Evidence of follow-on funding commitments: 

1. A letter of commitment* for follow-on funding and/or product sales.
2. A letter of commitment* for matching funding to be provided for a future Phase II-E application.
3. A letter of capital commitment, signed by the proper authority (CEO, CFO, etc.), that indicates a commitment to provide funding and/or product sales, should the Phase II project be successful, and the market need still exists.
4. Letter of intent to provide funding should the Phase II project be successful, and the market need still exists.
5. A specific plan to secure Phase III funding.

Note: The slide deck should only include a list of these letters/commitments. The actual letters should be uploaded separately.

Part 2: Key Personnel/Team

Identify key individuals involved and their directly related education, experience, and bibliographic information. Where vitae are extensive, summaries should focus on the most relevant experience/publications to meet proposal size limitation. Note: The PI is considered key to the success of the effort and must make a substantial commitment to the project.

Part 3: Facilities and Equipment

Provide a detailed description, availability and location of instrumentation and physical facilities proposed. Items of equipment to be purchased must be fully justified under this section. When purchasing equipment or a product under the SBIR funding agreement, the small business should purchase only American-made items whenever possible.

Government-furnished laboratory equipment, facilities, or services (collectively, “Government resources”) the offeror shall describe in this part why the use of such Government resources is necessary and not reasonably available from the private sector. See sections 3.5.3.4 and 5.13 for additional requirements when proposing use of such Government resources. The narrative description of resources should support the proposed approach and documentation in the Proposal Budget form. Note: Use of Federal laboratories/facilities for Phase I contracts is highly discouraged. Approval for use of Federal facilities and laboratories for a Phase I completed proposal package requires the Contracting Officer approval during negotiations if selected for award.

3.5.3.6 White Paper

This part of the submission should not contain any budget data and must consist of all 7 parts listed below in the given order. All 7 parts of the white paper must be numbered and titled. A proposal package omitting any part will be considered non-responsive to this solicitation and rejected without further consideration. Parts that are not applicable must be included and marked “Not applicable.”

The white paper shall provide all information described in the seven parts below. Evaluators will not seek additional information. Any pertinent references or publications should be noted in part 5 or 6 of the white paper.

Part 1: Table of Contents

The white paper must begin with a brief table of contents indicating the page numbers of each of the parts.

Part 2: Identification and Significance of the Opportunity

Succinctly describe:

• The proposed innovation.
• The relevance and significance of the proposed innovation to an interest, need, or needs, within a topic described in section 9.
• The proposed innovation relative to the current state of the art.

Part 3: Technical Objectives  

State the specific objectives of the Phase I R/R&D effort as it relates to the problem statement(s) posed in the topic description and the types of innovations being requested. Indicate the proposed deliverables at the end of the Phase I effort and how these align with the proposed topic deliverables described within a topic found in section 9. Note: All offerors submitting proposals who are planning to use NASA TAV including Intellectual Property (IP) must describe their planned developments with the IP. The NASA Evaluation License Application should be added as an attachment in the Proposal Certifications form (see section 1.7).

Part 4: Work Plan     

Include a detailed description of the Phase I R/R&D plan to meet the technical objectives. The plan shall 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. The plan shall also include task descriptions, schedules, resource allocations, estimated task hours for each key personnel, and planned accomplishments (including project milestones). Offerors shall 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 must be included here. 

Part 5: Related R/R&D  

Describe significant current and/or previous R/R&D that is directly related to the technical 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: Subcontractors/Consultants  

Provide a detailed description, availability, and work to be done by subcontractors/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, and number of hours. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all organizations and individuals proposed to be utilized are 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 subcontractors and consultants in the technical proposal should support the proposed approach and documentation in the Proposal Budget form.  

Part 7: Related, Essentially Equivalent, and Duplicate Proposals and Awards  

NOTE: While it is permissible with proper 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 offeror 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 proposal indicating the following:

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 or 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).

3.5.3.7 NASA Evaluation License Application, only if TAV is being proposed

If you have applied for TAV by following the instructions found at https://technology.nasa.gov/, upload the application of the TAV request with your complete proposal package.See section 1.7 for additional details.

3.5.3.8 Request for Use of Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) Funds at Phase I

Offerors may request TABA and can choose their own TABA vendor. NASA does not have a TABA preferred vendor. All requests for TABA must be submitted with the complete proposal package. However, offerors are not required to request TABA at Phase I, and there is no prerequisite that an offeror must use Phase I TABA funding to obtain a Phase II award or to request TABA funding at Phase II.

Requests for TABA funding are not reviewed during the commercial or technical evaluation of the proposal, and the request for TABA funds will not be part of the decision to make an award. All TABA requests will be reviewed after a proposal is selected for award and during the contract negotiation process. Offerors selected for Phase I contract negotiations can receive up to $6,500 as a TABA supplement to the Phase I award.

If requesting Phase I TABA funding, offerors are required to provide the following TABA information by following the directions found in the Budget form. The following information must be provided for each TABA vendor:

• Name of vendor
• Contact information of the vendor
• Vendor DUNS number
• Vendor website address
• Description of vendor(s) expertise and knowledge of providing technical and business assistance services to develop and complete a TABA Needs Assessment for a future Phase II submission, to develop a commercialization plan for a future Phase II submission, or other TABA services. If requesting TABA for other services, the offeror must describe the vendor(s) expertise in providing the requested services
• Itemized list of services and costs the TABA vendor will provide. This applies to all vendors.  
• Describe the deliverables the TABA vendor will provide and a plan to submit a deliverable summarizing the outcome of the TABA services with expected supporting information.
• TABA costs reflected in the budget forms.

Note: All TABA vendors must be a legal business in the United States and NASA will review the U.S. Government-wide System for Award Management (SAM) excluded parties list to ensure the proposed TABA vendor can receive Federal funds. NASA will consider TABA requests that are missing any requested TABA information (e.g., DUNS number, etc.) as incomplete and will not review the TABA request or provide TABA approval under the award.

NASA reserves the right to withhold funds requested for TABA until a formal review and approval of the requested vendor is completed. In addition, reviewing the TABA request in the proposal package, NASA may also consider additional information, such as a review of the vendor’s website, Dun and Bradstreet reports, and SAM.gov, to verify the existence of the vendor(s) and to assess the capability of the vendor(s). NASA will only approve TABA funding if the proposal is selected for a Phase I award and the offeror adequately demonstrates the existence and capability of the selected vendor(s) as determined at the sole discretion of NASA.  Notification of the approval or denial of TABA funding will be provided to the offeror prior to award.

Any TABA funding will be in addition to the Phase I contract award value, is not subject to any profit or fee by the requesting firm and cannot be used in the calculation of indirect cost rates or general and administrative expenses (G&A). The TABA cost(s) and service(s) to be provided by each vendor will be based on the original Phase I period of performance. Requests for TABA funding outside of the Phase I period of performance or after a complete proposal package has been submitted will not be considered.

Schedule of Deliverables and Payments for TABA—offerors that are approved to receive TABA under a Phase I award will be reimbursed for TABA expenses. Reimbursement for TABA will be based on the awardee providing a TABA end-of-contract report at the end of the contract period of performance.  Reimbursement will not be provided for any amounts incurred over the TABA funding amount approved by the Government prior to award.  

3.5.3.9 Firm Level Forms

Form submissions shall be completed electronically and do not count toward the page limits for the slide deck or white paper. For many of these forms, offerors can view sample forms located in the NASA SBIR/STTR Resources section: https://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html.

A. Firm Information
Firm information must be completed once for each firm and are applicable across all proposal package submissions by the firm to this solicitation. The offeror shall provide identifying information for the firm.

B. Firm Certifications
Firm certifications must be completed once for each firm and are applicable across all proposal package submissions by the firm to this solicitation. The offeror shall answer “Yes” or “No” as applicable. An example of the certifications can be found in the NASA SBIR/STTR Resources section: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/firm_library/index.html.  

C. 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, if applicable.  

D. Prior Awards Addendum (for firms with more than 15 Phase II awards in the past 5 years)
If the SBC has received more than 15 Phase II awards in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit the name of the awarding agency, solicitation year, phase, date of award, Funding Agreement/contract number, and subtopic title for each Phase II.

3.5.3.10 I-Corps Interest Form  

A complete proposal package will require Offerors to complete a short I-Corps interest form (see section 1.8 for additional information on the I-Corps program) as part of their submission. NASA uses this form to determine the level of interest from Phase I Offerors to participate in the NASA I-Corps program. Offerors are encouraged to complete the form in its entirety.

Based on the initial level of interest in the I-Corps program, NASA plans to open the opportunity to all Phase I awardees to ensure a successful cohort of teams participate in the program. Phase I awardees will receive information from the SBIR/STTR PMO during contract negotiations describing the process to provide a 5-page proposal to participate in the I-Corps program. Directions for completing the proposal including due dates, training dates, and available grant funding will be provided via email.

Additional details on the program can be found at https://sbir.nasa.gov/content/I-Corps.

The Government reserves the right to limit the number of Offerors to participate in the I-Corps program based on the assessment of the I-Corps proposals and funding availability.