Links for SBIR/STTR Phase I & II Grants


A Ten-Week Plan for Preparing Your NIH Phase I Application

Updates to NSF Book


As we alluded to in the Authors’ Note of the book, the NSF SBIR/STTR program is updated frequently. The most recent update has led to some inconsistencies between the information in the book and the program solicitation, as indicated below:

  • For your project pitch, the required sections now have character limits rather than word limits (pages 16-18).
  • You should submit your full application within 2 application due dates of your pitch acceptance (page vi).
  • The NSF’s conversion to research.gov is complete (pages vii, 14, 84-88, 108-112). The process described in the book for entering the information in FastLane is roughly equivalent to the process for entering information in research.gov.
  • If you’re applying for an STTR, you are now required to have a co-PI from the partnering research institute for STTR (page 12).
  • You are no longer required to have supplementary documents for vertebrate animals and/or human subjects – some of the information is still required, but will be included in your project narrative instead (pages 24-30, 80).
  • The budget amount has increased to $305,000 rather than $275,000 (page 34).
  • The NSF is no longer offering the “Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp”, so you don’t need to allocate $10,000 of the budget for it. Instead, you can allocate up to $25,000 to participate in NSF I-CorpsTM (page 36, 90).
  • The Biosketch and Current and Pending Support documents are now generated on the SciENcv website. You’ll need to generate a separate 1-page “Other Synergistic Activities” PDF document. The same content is needed, but the manner of filling out the templates is different (pages 37-39, 76).
  • The NSF no longer allows Letters of Support (pages 40-42, 102, 104). You should still include Letters of Commitment from your subaward(s) and consultant(s).
  • The Project Description sections have been re-ordered. The correct order is now Intellectual Merits, Company/Team, Broader Impacts, and Commercialization Potential (pages 46-47). The Elevator Pitch section is no longer included (pages 46-47, 65, 69-71). We recommend that you include the content for the Elevator Pitch in other sections (pages 69-71). Your Intellectual Property should be described under Commercialization Potential rather than Intellectual Merits (pages 61-63). You do not need to describe NSF lineage (page 63).
  • You should upload the Project Summary as a 1-page PDF rather than copying the text into fillable boxes online (pages 101, 103).