|
| About WSSI | About SBIR/STTR | Getting Started | Wyoming Award Winners | News & Events |
| 1.0 WSSI Conference Overview
Forty-five entrepreneur's from across the state who were looking to learn details about or to hone their SBIR/STTR participation skills found the WSSI State Conference a "huge benefit." This year's agenda included a pre-conference networking reception at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center; presentations from DOD, DOT, NASA, & NSF federal agencies representatives; sessions on: available resources; the importance of teaming and the proposal abstract; proposal budget information; success stories; and a full day phase I proposal preparation session with "The SBIR Guys" Mark Henry and Randy Dipner from Personal Business Consultants (PBC, Inc.) from Denver. Participants were entertained and educated at the Awards Banquet by former Governor Jim Geringer with his presentation titled: The Power of Place. Geringer demonstrated how the use of Geographic Informtion Systems (GIS) can improve our world and the use of our resources through better information management. Geringer is currently employed by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a leading GIS software company. Geringer also presented this year's WSSI Champion's with their awards: Robert Corcoran of CC Technology, Laramie; Charlotte Gruner of Pronghorn Scientific, Casper; and Kim Vincent of Elk Mountain Herbs, Laramie. Congratulations and thank you to this year's winners! Conference presentations will be posted on the WSSI web site (www.uwyo.edu/sbir/postconfinfo) by Monday, June 7. return to CONTENTS |
| 2.0 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARMY ADDS TOPIC/CHANGES TOPIC NUMBERS The Army added the topic A04-053 Controllable Direct Electrical Conversion of Isotopic Radiation to their offering the DoD 2004.3 SBIR solicitation which was released May 3. If you downloaded the Army solicitation on the first day (May 3) you are not only missing the new topic, but are also subject to wrong topic numbers from A04-054 to A04-259. Take a second look to verify you have what you need! |
| 3.0 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES ISSUES SBIR/STTR RFA Letter of Intent Due July 26, 2004 On May 12, 2004, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Issues (NIEHS) issued a Request for Application (RFA) seeking proposals under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant programs. The purpose of this RFA is to further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT) Products for the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers, emergency responders, and skilled support personnel. A letter of intent is due July 26, 2004 and the closing date for this announcement is August 19, 2004. For more information and a complete copy of the announcement, visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-04-004.html. return to CONTENTS |
| 4.0 SCIENCE.GOV - ONE RESOURCE TO HELP YOU DO YOUR "HOMEWORK" One resource available through the SBIR Help Desk, a service offered by PBC, Inc., is a link to resources useful to the SBIR participant. One resource that stands out is the Science.gov web site. Science.gov contains reliable information resources selected by the respective agencies as their best science information. Two major types of information are included: selected authoritative science Web sites and databases of technical reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, and other published materials. (The specific content varies by database.) The selected Web sites can be explored from the science.gov homepage. The Web pages and the databases can be searched individually or simultaneously from the search page. This is one source of information for those researching their innovation as they prepare for SBIR competition. For complete details, visit the Science.gov web site! |
5.0 UPCOMING CONFERENCES/TRAININGS/SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS
This two day meeting, organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will focus on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding opportunities available explicitly to small businesses that have innovative biomedical or behavioral research ideas with commercial potential. A particularly unique and valuable aspect of this conference is the opportunity for you to interact one-on-one with NIH Program Directors, Grants Management Specialists, and Scientific Review Administrators. This conference will benefit those who are new to SBIR/STTR as well as those who are more experienced. We have some great sessions planned this year! Phase II awardees: This year we're offering a great opportunity to showcase through a poster session some of your successful results derived from NIH-supported projects. I hope some of you will take advantage of this opportunity. See below for more information.
ATTENTION PHASE II AWARDEES!!!
Monday, November 1 through Thursday, November 4! Description: The National Science Foundation, in association with the Department of Defense and the Small Business Administration, and all 11 SBIR agencies is sponsoring this 2004 National Fall SBIR/STTR Conference. Program Managers and representatives from all participating agencies will provide insight into how to work with their respective agencies and answer your own special questions during the one-on- one opportunities. Who Should Attend: Sales and Marketing Professionals, Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, University Researchers with a business/entrepreneurial streak, Scientist seeking commercialization strategies, all small businesses in need of securing federal funding resources. Extra Bonus: Conference participationguarantees enty into the co-located Small Business Tech Expo (SBTE) sponsored in part by NASA. The expo will showcase new technologies, support services avialable to small business and technology development, and commercialization opportunities. |
| 6.0 COMPETITION TIP: PROPOSE REALISTIC COSTS!!! The total amount of proposed costs is not an evaluation factor in the SBIR award selection process in any of the 11 agencies SBIR solicitations. Consequently, most awards are right at or very near the ceiling value prescribed by specific agency SBIR solicitations. Perhaps surprisingly, only four of the 11 agencies SBIR solicitations explicitly include the "appropriateness" or "realism" of the proposed costs (or budget) as evaluation criteria. The NIH, USDA, DOD and ED SBIR solicitations mention the proposed cost (or budget) in their evaluation criteria. The NIH solicitation cites the "appropriateness of the proposed budget…"; the USDA solicitation asks "Is the budget appropriate?"; and DOD states "Where technical evaluations are essentially equal in merit, cost to the Government will be considered in determining the successful offeror." The ED solicitation lists "Adequacy and appropriateness of the budget" as an evaluation criterion. Based on our review, the other agency solicitations do not mention explicitly proposed cost (or budget) as an evaluation criterion. Nonetheless, small businesses should take care to prepare cost proposals that are realistic and consistent with the tasks to be performed during the project. Reviewers are likely to be negatively influenced by budgets that propose too little work for too much money, or too much work for too little money. Direct costs should reflect realistic personnel assignments to the project, and material and other direct costs required to perform the proposed work. Special items (e.g., equipment) should be carefully justified, and generally should be kept at a small fraction of the total budget, especially in Phase 1 proposals. Proposed indirect costs must be appropriate, too, and consistent with the actual costs associated with operating and growing a business. Our experience is that small businesses (especially those newly formed) tend to propose unrealistically low indirect costs. This is likely to lead reviewers to conclude that the small business is naive on business matters, or not serious about building a successful business. So, prepare a realistic cost proposal consistent with work to be performed, and with the real costs of operating and growing the business. This competition tip first appeared in the April 14, 2000 issue of the Wyoming SBIR Newsletter. Follow this link to a complete set of Competition Tips. |
|
7.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND PUBLICATION INFORMATION
TO BE ADDED TO OR REMOVED FROM THE DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR THIS NEWSLETTER, SEND NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO jillkline@vcn.com. Prepared by: Jill Kline, WSSI Outreach Coordinator, 307.682.2660 or toll free in Wyoming, 866.703.3280, jillkline@vcn.com, and Gene Watson, WSSI Program Manager, 307.742.7162, ewatson@wyoming.com. This newsletter is published every other week as part of the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI). The mission of the Initiative is to increase the number of federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program awards to Wyoming. The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) funds the initiative which is administered by the University of Wyoming Research Office. Please contact Jill Kline (see contact information above) with your comments. |