NASA SBIR/STTR Program Solicitation Details | 1. Program Description

The SBIR program was established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-219) with the purpose of strengthening the role of innovative small business concerns in federally funded research and development (R&D). The SBIR program has been reauthorized and extended multiple times since its creation, the most recent being the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114–328, §1834(a) which extended it through September 30, 2022. This authorization is codified in the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) and policy is provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive.

The SBIR program is intended to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds to build a strong national economy by stimulating technological innovation in the private sector; strengthening the role of small business in meeting federal research and development needs; increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results; and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.

There is no commitment by NASA to fund any proposal or to make a specific number of awards and NASA may elect to make several or no awards in any specific research topic. Number of awards will be based on the level of appropriated funding provided to the program. Currently, it is anticipated that the SBIR Ignite Phase I proposals will be selected in November 2022 for negotiation of firm-fixed-price contracts. Awarded contracts will have a period of performance not to exceed six (6) months.

This solicitation will be released prior to the passage of an appropriations act for FY 2023. Enactment of continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program and may delay the award and start dates of Phase I contracts or impact the number of awards or maximum contract value levels.

For additional information on eligibility requirements, please visit: https://www.sbir.gov/about.

1.6.1 Small Business Concern (SBC) Certification 

Each Phase I and Phase II awardee must submit a certification stating that it meets the size, ownership and other requirements of the SBIR program at the time of award, and at any other time set forth in the regulations at 13 CFR §§ 121.701-121.705. Socially and economically disadvantaged, and women-owned SBCs are particularly encouraged to propose. 

1.6.2 Performance of Work Requirements 

For SBIR Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee. For SBIR Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee. Occasionally, deviations from these SBIR requirements may occur. Any deviations must be approved in writing by the Contracting Officer after consultation with the agency SBIR Program Manager.

1.6.3 Employment of the Principal Investigator

For both Phase I and Phase II, the primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the SBC at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed project. Primary employment means that more than one-half of the PI’s employment time is spent in the employ of the SBC and precludes full-time employment with another organization. An SBC may replace the PI on an SBIR/STTR Phase I or Phase II award, subject to approval in writing by the Contracting Officer. Occasionally, deviations from these SBIR requirements may occur. Any deviations must be approved in writing by the Contracting Officer after consultation with the agency SBIR Program Manager.

1.6.4 Location of Work and American-made Products and Equipment  

For both Phase I and Phase II, the R/R&D work must be performed in the United States. In addition, when purchasing equipment or products under the SBIR funding agreement, purchase only American-made items whenever possible. However, based on a rare and unique circumstance, agencies may approve a particular portion of the R/R&D work to be performed or obtained in a country outside of the United States, for example, if a supply or material or other item or project requirement is not available in the United States. The Contracting Officer must approve each such specific condition in writing.

Proposal packages must clearly indicate if any work will be performed outside the United States, including subcontractor performance, and justification must be provided by completing the “Request to Use a Foreign Vendor/Purchase of Items from a Foreign Vendor” form found in Chapter 8 at https://sbir.nasa.gov/solicit/80089/detail?data=ch8 and uploaded in the budget form. Note: NASA will not approve purchases from or work with countries that appear on the list of Designated Countries. For reference, please see https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/export-control. 

1.6.5 Novated/Successor in Interested/Revised Funding Agreements

An SBIR awardee may include, and SBIR work may be performed by, those identified via a “novated” or “successor in interest” or similarly revised funding agreement. In addition, an SBIR awardee may include those that have merely reorganized with the same key staff, regardless of whether they have been assigned a different tax identification number. In cases where there is a novation or similarly revised funding agreement, agencies may require the original awardee to relinquish its rights and interests in an SBIR project in favor of another applicant as a condition for that applicant's eligibility to participate in the programs for that project.

1.6.6 Majority-Owned by Multiple VCOCs, Hedge Funds or Private Equity Firms 

While agencies may choose to make a small percentage of its awards to small businesses owned in majority part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms, NASA chooses not to utilize this funding option. Thus, these types of firms are not eligible to submit a proposal under this NASA SBIR Ignite solicitation. In addition, a firm owned in majority part by a single venture capital operating company, hedge fund, or private equity firm does not qualify as a small business.

1.6.7 Required Benchmark Transition Rate

The Phase I to Phase II transition rate requirement applies to SBIR Phase I offerors that have received more than 20 (21 or more) Phase I awards over the past 5 fiscal years, excluding the most recent year. These companies must meet the required benchmark rate of transition from Phase I to Phase II. The current transition rate requirement, agreed upon and established by all 11 agencies that have SBIR/STTR programs and published for public comment at 77 FR 63410 in October 2012 and amended at 78 FR 30951 in May 2013, is that an awardee must have received an average of one Phase II for every four Phase I awards received during the most recent 5-year time period (which excludes the most recently completed fiscal year) to be eligible to submit a proposal for a new Phase I (or Direct-to-Phase II) award. That is, the ratio of Phase II to Phase I awards must be at least 0.25.

On June 1 of each year, the SBA assesses SBIR awardees using SBIR award information across all Federal agencies reported on https://www.sbir.gov/ to determine if they meet the benchmark requirements. Companies that failed to meet the transition rate benchmark on June 1, 2022, are not eligible to submit a Phase I proposal during the period June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. Companies were notified by the SBA if they failed to meet the benchmark and can find their status at any time on https://www.sbir.gov/. More information on the transition rate requirements is available at https://www.sbir.gov/faqs/performance-benchmarks.

NASA has partnered with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to allow Phase I awardees the opportunity to participate in the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program. Phase I awardees are encouraged to participate in this training which is designed to lower the market risk inherent in bringing a product or innovation to market, thereby improving the chances for a viable business. The NASA I-Corps program enables small businesses, including startup firms, to increase the odds of accelerating the process of developing their SBIR technologies into a repeatable and scalable business model. The program accomplishes this by putting the firms through a version of the Lean Launchpad/I-Corps process, which includes:

• Developing their business model hypotheses using the Business Model Canvas.
• Testing those hypotheses through the Customer Development Interview process.

The intended results of I-Corps are to enable firms to conduct customer discovery to learn their customers' needs, to obtain a better understanding of their company's value proposition as it relates to those customer needs, and to develop an outline of a business plan for moving forward. For more information on the NASA I-Corps program, see https://sbir.nasa.gov/content/I-Corps. 

Offerors who are selected for Phase I contract negotiations will be provided the opportunity to participate in the NASA SBIR/STTR I-Corps program as indicated in Section 3.5.3.10. I-Corps awards will be made separately from the Phase I contract as a training grant. NASA will conduct an abbreviated competition for I-Corps after Phase I Offerors are selected for Phase I SBIR contracts. The amount of funding is up to $10,000 for the shortened I-Corps version for SBIR firms. 

The SBA oversees the Federal SBIR and STTR programs. The SBA has resources that small businesses can take advantage of in learning about each of the programs and obtaining help in developing a complete proposal package to submit to a Federal SBIR/STTR program. Offerors are encouraged to review the information that is provided at the following links: https://www.sbir.gov/, https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance, and at https://www.sbir.gov/resources.

Fraud is described as “any false representation about a material fact or any intentional deception designed to deprive the United States unlawfully of something of value or to secure from the United States a benefit, privilege, allowance, or consideration to which an individual or business is not entitled.” 

Knowingly and willfully making any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations may be a felony under the Federal Criminal False Statement Act (18 U.S.C., section 1001), punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 5 years in prison. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has full access to all proposal packages submitted to NASA.

The Federal Government reserves the right to decline any proposal packages that include plagiarism and false claims.

Pursuant to NASA policy, any company representative who observes crime, fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement or receives an allegation of crime, fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement from a Federal employee, contractor, grantee, grantee employee, or any other source will report such observation or allegation to the OIG. NASA contractor employees and other individuals are also encouraged to report crime, fraud, waste, and mismanagement in NASA's programs to the OIG. The OIG offers several ways to report a complaint:

NASA OIG Hotline: 1-800-424-9183 (TDD: 1-800-535-8134)

NASA OIG Cyber Hotline: https://oig.nasa.gov/cyberhotline.html

Or by mail: 
NASA Office of Inspector General
P.O. Box 23089
L'Enfant Plaza Station
Washington, DC 20026

To ensure fairness, questions relating to the intent and/or content of research topics in this solicitation cannot be addressed during the open solicitation period. Only questions requesting clarification of proposal package instructions and administrative matters will be addressed. The cutoff date and time for receipt of procurement-related questions for this SBIR Ignite solicitation is Thursday, August 25, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. ET.  

Offerors that have questions requesting clarification of proposal package instructions and administrative matters should refer to the NASA SBIR/STTR website or contact the NASA SBIR/STTR helpdesk.

1. NASA SBIR/STTR website: https://sbir.nasa.gov/
2. Help Desk: The NASA SBIR/STTR Help Desk can answer any questions regarding clarification of proposal package instructions and any administrative matters. The Help Desk may be contacted by:

• Email: sbir@reisystems.com
• The requestor must provide the name and telephone number of the person to contact, the organization name and address, and the specific questions or requests.