Summer is coming to a close, the kids are going back to school, and its time for us all to "get serious" again about growing our businesses.  If you see the SBIR/STTR programs as being important parts of your growth plans, then we encourage you to join us for one of our upcoming SBIR/STTR training events.       

But first, let us remind you of the Federal agencies with due dates in the next several months.  Those agencies with an asterisk (*) next to their name will be accepting both SBIR and STTR proposals on the dates shown.

 

Agency                                                 Solicitation             Proposals                   Website
                                                             Available                   Due

Nat'l Aero & Space Admin (NASA)*           Now                Sept 4, 2008      http://sbir.nasa.gov/  

Dept of Defense FY08.3                            Now                Sept 24, 2008     http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir   

National Institutes of Health: Contracts     Now                Nov 3, 2008       http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm          

National Institutes of Health*, CDC, FDA  Now                  Dec 5, 2008       http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

 

Dept of Commerce: NIST                            Nov                 Jan                    http://nist.gov/sbir       

 

Dept of Commerce: NOAA                          Nov                 Jan                     http://www.oar.noaa.gov/ORTA/SBIR 

Dept of Education: OSERS/NIDRR            Aug                Oct                      http://www.ed.gov/programs/sbir/applicant.html  

 

Dept of Education: IES                               Fall               Winter                 http://www.ed.gov/programs/sbir/applicant.html  

 

Dept of Energy                                          Sept               Nov                     http://www.science.doe.gov/sbir

 

Dept of Transportation                               Now              Sept 5, 2008        http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir      

 

NSF                                                          Now               Dec.4, 2008          http://www.nsf.gov/eng/oii/about.jsp
 

Now, let's talk about some of those upcoming training events:

1.  Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop, Boise, Idaho, Sept 5, 2008. What better way to develop your knowledge of SBIR/STTR than by attending our most popular workshop on preparing a Phase 1 proposal for SBIR/STTR funding? We start with the basics of SBIR/STTR, then cover a four-step process for developing a competitive Phase 1 proposal.  For more information or to register for the Phase I workshop, contact rwinston@bvep.org.  

2. Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop, Memphis, Idaho, Sept 9, 2008.  Interested in the Phase I workshop but prefer a more Eastern location?  Consider attending this repeat of our most popular workshop on preparing a Phase I proposal for SBIR/STTR funding.  We start with the basics of SBIR/STTR, then cover a four-step process for developing a competitive Phase I proposal. Attendees, as a group, will review a sample Phase I proposal and comment on its strengths and weaknesses before learning the history of that proposal.  Contact kpboggs@memphis.edu with your questions or to sign up for this information-packed workshop. Your brain's gonna hurt, but it will be "positive pain."

3.  SBIR Road Trip!  Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sept 10, 2008.  Okay, Okay, you're interested in SBIR/STTR training, but you want to attend not only our Phase I workshop but also our SBIR/STTR Cost Proposal/Accounting workshop?  Then consider joining us for the East Tennessee SBIR Road Trip!  We start on the 10th with our Phase 1 workshop in Chattanooga; see the descriptions for Boise and Memphis above to see what's covered in this information packed workshop.  To register, contact kim.arms@tennessee.edu or go to www.cis.tennessee.edu.  What about that 2nd day cost proposal workshop?  Read on....

 

4.  SBIR Road Trip!  Cost Proposal Preparation Workshop, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, September 11, 2008.  The East Tennessee road trip continues in lovely Oak Ridge on September 11th, where we will engulf you in the strange world of SBIR/STTR cost proposals and government accounting and audits.  If you do not know this stuff, YOU WILL LOSE MONEY on your SBIR/STTR award!  But we're required to warn you:  folks who attend the Cost Proposal workshop will never see the world the same way afterwards, so come prepared for a life-changing experience.  And you thought accounting was boring?  Not the way we teach it!  Come see for yourself by registering with kim.arms@tennessee.edu or www.cis.tennessee.edu.

 

5.  Phase I & Phase II Proposal Preparation Workshops, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 8-9, 2008.  Day one of this event will be our most popular workshop on preparing a Phase 1 proposal for SBIR/STTR funding.  Whether you're an SBIR/STTR novice or a hardened veteran who wants to hone your skills, this comprehensive day covers everything from the basics of SBIR/STTR to a logical four-step process for preparing a competitive Phase 1 proposal.  On the second day, we will move on to Phase II of the SBIR/STTR programs.  Your first goal has to be to get a Phase 1 grant or contract in which you prove the feasibility of your innovation.  Then you want to go after Phase II, where you get a lot more money and time to do some serious R&D on that innovation, pushing it ever closer to commercialization.  Day 2 of the Indianapolis event will cover the basics of Phase II, how it differs among the various agencies, how to prepare the Phase II proposal, and what should be covered in the commercialization discussion in the Phase II proposal.  For more information or to register for one or both days, contact dreinhart@iedc.in.gov.

 

6. Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop, Orlando, Florida, October 23, 2008.  Interested in the Phase I workshop, but think you'll learn better in a more humid, hot environment near a theme park?  Consider joining us in Orlando in October for our most popular workshop.  We cover the basics of SBIR/STTR, including an update on the reauthorization of the SBIR program by Congress.  We help you understand the kinds of projects that SBIR/STTR funds, and then how to prepare a competitive proposal to get your share of that money.  We'll share some sample SBIR proposals, then suggest how they can be helpful (and also how their helpfulness is limited).  Sign up today with kchadwick@bus.ucf.edu.

 

7.  Cost Proposal Preparation Workshop, Melbourne, Florida, October 24, 2008.  When we say "IR&D is allowed as part of G&A, except at NSF and NIH, provided it is 'reasonable,'" if your eyes glaze over, then that's a sign that you need to attend this workshop.  Government accounting, and SBIR/STTR cost proposals are challenging stuff, and very important to making sure that you don't go broke trying to complete an SBIR/STTR project.  Learn the basics in this intensive, day-long workshop.  You will learn how to estimate your company's indirect/F&A rate, and how to justify your fee/profit request.  Not sure you are going to ask for indirect/F&A reimbursement, or for fee/profit on your SBIR/STTR projects?  You MUST attend this workshop so we can 'splain the importance of these parts of your project and cost proposal.  Contact boregan@trda.org for more information or to register.  

  

OTHER UPCOMING SBIR/STTR WORKSHOPS & EVENTS:

National SBIR Conference, Hartford, Connecticut, November 12-14, 2008

SBIR Phase I, Cost, & Phase II Workshops, Newark, New Jersey area, November 19-21, 2008

 

Phase II Proposal Preparation workshop, Orlando, Florida, February 23, 2009

Remember that if you attend one of our full day workshops (except those held as part of a national or regional conference), you are eligible for a free critique of your SBIR or STTR proposal. The idea is to give you the training to write a good draft and then the feedback to allow you to refine the draft into a more competitive proposal.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.  Or consider checking out our website at www.g-jgreenwood.com, where we list our training events and also have copies of our SBIR/STTR proposal preparation tips that are published monthly by the SBIR Alerting Service.