Unfamiliar with the SBIR program and don’t know where to start? Here are some tips from The Isis Group on how to prepare your company for your first SBIR/STTR submission.

1. www.isis-editing.com
Getting
Started
Getting Started with SBIRs
Here are some tips on how to prepare your company for your first SBIR/STTR submission.
1. Get Your Company Registered. You must remember that this is the government. Do you realize you need no less than
SEVEN logins to apply for a grant to NIH? It is an alphabet soup of sorts – EIN/TID, DUNS, SAM (E-Biz POC), MPIN,
CAGE, AOR (grants.gov), eRA Commons (PI, SO, AO), and an SBC control ID. The entire process is free and only
needs to be done once, but it can take 2-6 weeks to complete if everything goes smoothly . (www.grants.gov ->
Applicants). Note that other agencies require their own specific website logins as well (e.g. NSF - Fastlane).
2. Choose your Team and Environment. Choose your PI wisely. The NIH now multiple PIs so choose the PI(s) that
have the specific expertise that is most relevant for the work outlined in the proposal, even if they don’t have a Ph.D.
Then, add Senior/Key people (biosketches must be included for all). Tip: reviewers will see this list in the order they
are entered on the application, so enter the best-known names first. Supplement your team with the collaborators and
consultants you need in order to convince the reviewers that you have all the expertise that is necessary to complete
the work you propose. You get bonus points if you select an academic/government partner or collaborator with a track
record, particularly if they have already received SBIR funding. Next, figure out where the work will be done. At the time
of award, the company must have a physical location that is not your living room. Incubator-style labs and shared
space arrangements are acceptable. Be sure that the scientific environment in which the work will be done will
contribute to the probability of success. Ensure that the equipment and other physical resources available to you are
sufficient for the project proposed (no equipment requests; you must have everything you need to complete the
project). Define how the project will benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or collaborative
arrangement.
3. Gather Letters of Support. This doesn’t mean a letter that says “Joe’s a great guy”, or one from your Ph.D. advisor
saying what a top-notch scientist you are. Letters of commitment must be included in your application from all
collaborators, consultants, academic labs and anyone else you are paying with grant funding that is not an employee of
the company. The letters need to be specific, defining exactly how that person or organization will be contributing and
why, as well as what they will receive in return, if applicable. Letters of support from any current or potential customers,
investors or acquirers, as well as commercial partners, key opinion leaders, MDs (non-board members), patients, and
any other organizations involved in helping patients, or users of your product. These types of letters (3-5) are a definite
plus (and required for Phase II applications) to attest to the innovation and market need. Make them all sound different!
4. See What Gets Funded. By law, abstracts and award amounts of funded proposals are public information, and this
information can be found at NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) website (www.report.nih.gov).
Search the RePORTER database for funded proposals that are similar to yours. What was the scope of work? What were
their aims? And importantly, how much money were they awarded? This will give you an idea of what constitutes a
fundable project. You can also check out the competition. All other government agencies will publish this information, but
it might take some digging to find it.
5. Talk to the Program Managers. A good way to make the initial contact is to first send an email introducing yourself
and your company, then follow up with a phone call (contact info is in the soliciatation). The important thing to
remember here is to be persistent. PMs are busy, just like we all are. Most have other duties and are not devoted
solely to the SBIR program. Once you have their attention, your goal is to SELL your science. Pretend they are a
potential investor (because, indeed, they are). See what they’re interested in and ask about the goals of the agency.
Getting a “green light” from a PM for your idea is a major step in the road to SBIR success. Ask if they would review a
draft of your Aims. Some other agencies have strict rules about who you can talk to and when, so be sure to figure this
out early on.
Visit The Isis Group’s blog at www.isis-editing.com/blog for many more helpful tips!
© 2019 The Isis Group