OpportunityTitle: Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2014 (Release 2)
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: *Organization Limit: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:   - Only firms qualifying as a &lt;a href=&quot;http://sbir.gov/sites/default/files/elig_size_compliance_guide.pdf&quot;&gt;small business concern&lt;/a&gt;are eligible to participate in the STTR program. The firm must be in compliance with the SBIR /STTR Policy Directive(s) and 13 CFR 121. Please note that NSF has elected not to use the authority given under 15 U.S.C. &amp;sect; 638(dd)(1) (also &amp;sect;5107 of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act). Hence, small businesses that are majority-owned by one or more venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds or private equity firms are not eligible to submit proposals or receive awards from the NSF SBIR/STTR program. Socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns are particularly encouraged to participate. For an STTR Phase I Proposal, a minimum of 40% of the research, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the small business concern and a minimum of 30% of the research, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the collaborating research institution.  Proposals from joint ventures and partnerships are permitted, provided the entity created qualifies as a &lt;a href=&quot;http://sbir.gov/sites/default/files/elig_size_compliance_guide.pdf&quot;&gt;small business concern&lt;/a&gt;in accordance with this solicitation.   Proposing firms are also encouraged to take advantage of research expertise and facilities that may be available to them at colleges, universities, national laboratories, and from other research providers. Such collaborations may include research subcontracts, consulting agreements, or the employment of faculty as senior personnel and of graduate or undergraduate students as assistants by the small business.   *PI Limit: The primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the small business concern at the time of the award. A PI must spend a minimum of two calendar months on an STTR Phase I project. Employment releases and certifications of intent shall be required prior to award.     Primary employment is defined as 51% employed by the small business. NSF considers a fulltime work week to be normally 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19.6 hours to be in conflict with this requirement.
Description: The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns 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.The STTR Program requires researchers at universities and other non-profit research institutions to play a significant intellectual role in the conduct of each STTR project. These researchers, by joining forces with a small company, can spin-off their commercially promising ideas while they remain primarily employed at the research institution. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011).This STTR Phase I solicitation aims at encouraging the commercialization of previously NSF-funded fundamental research (NSF funding lineage). It is highly desirable that the core innovation described in the submitted proposals can in some manner be linked to fundamental research funded by the NSF. This lineage must be documented in the Project Description section of the proposal. (See Proposal Preparation Instructions for more information.)Please note: It is NOT required that investigators of the original NSF-funded fundamental research be directly affiliated with the proposed STTR project or personnel. The proposals submitted should fall into one the nine broad topic areas, which are detailed on the SBIR/STTR topics homepage:Educational Technologies and Applications (EA)Information and Communication Technologies (IC)Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and MaterialsElectronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW)Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN)Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI)Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT)Biological Technologies (BT)Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) TechnologiesCertain innovative technologies with high commercial potential may not appear to fit under any of the nine current solicitation topics or their associated subtopics. In this case, you may seek advice from the relevant Program Director (as detailed on the topic pages), or you may submit the proposal under the topic and subtopic that is the closest match. The SBIR/STTR Program Directors ensure that proposals are appropriately grouped into panels for review by experts in the field, and the review process is facilitated by a Program Director. The topics and subtopics guide the merit review process but are not used as a consideration in making award decisions. Please Note: The submission of the same project idea to both this STTR Phase I solicitation and the concurrent SBIR Phase I solicitation is strongly discouraged. More information about the NSF STTR Program can be found on the Program Homepage.
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CloseDateExplanation: Proposals submitted outside the window of Nov. 4, 2013 - Dec. 4, 2013 will be returned without review. Proposer&apos;s time is defined as the time zone associated with the company&apos;s address as registered with NSF at the time of proposal submission.