Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation
Type of Fund: Accelerator, Incubation, Mentorship and/or Training
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 04/30/2021
Size of the Fund: Not Available
Do you have a transformative technology or innovative idea with commercial potential? If yes, then apply for the Arrowhead Center SBIR Accelerator (ACSA).
Timing matters. Run concurrently with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SBIR/STTR open submission window, Arrowhead Center’s SBIR Accelerator (ACSA) provides the structure and support you need to put together a strong proposal package.
The ACSA Model
Putting together a strong SBIR proposal takes time. Drawing on the resources and expertise of NM FAST, ACSA provides a guided, structured track of support, from registration to submission. Throughout the 12-week program, participants will receive guidance on areas such as preparing and submitting a Project Pitch, creating actionable Letters of Support, and creating a complete proposal package that adheres to NSF requirements. Each week focuses on an aspect of proposal package development and culminates with a submission to NSF.
Weekly, participants can expect to:
• Attend a virtual meeting
• Complete a portion of their proposal package
• Receive feedback, guidance, and support from NM FAST
This ACSA agency-specific program focuses on the NSF’s SBIR/STTR programs. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit. NSF funds deep technologies – those that are based on discoveries in fundamental science and engineering – in a variety of functional technology topic areas. The only scientific discovery areas that NSF will typically not fund are related to drug discovery and clinical trials.
NSF utilizes the Project Pitch as a “first-pass” to see if you meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. If your Project Pitch is a good fit for the program, you will receive an official invitation from NSF to submit a full proposal, and you will continue on with cohort activities. If you Project Pitch is rejected, NM FAST staff will work with you on refining your Project Pitch and developing one that more closely aligns with NSF’s needs for their SBIR/STTR programs.
Through the ACSA program, you’ll receive targeted support on the following areas of proposal development:
• Registrations
• Project Pitch
• Topic matching
• Letter(s) of support
• Forms
• Grant writing
• Budget creation
The NM FAST program will help you facilitate a meeting or phone call with an appropriate NSF program director, conduct a professional review of your completed proposal package, and be on-call during the submission process.
Tailored Benefits
• Targeted Support: team will walk you through the NSF SBIR proposal development process, from start to finish.
• Funding: They want you to submit the strongest proposal possible. You will be matched with a service provider to assist in the development of your SBIR proposal package. These service providers will be paid directly by NM FAST through a micro-grant.
• Professional Review: Having a third party review your proposal is critical. The ACSA program has SBIR experts on-hand to review and provide constructive feedback before you submit.
• Connect: Putting together a quality SBIR proposal package can be overwhelming. They use a cohort-style approach to build a community of innovators working towards a shared goal (Don’t worry: your technology will be covered by a non-disclosure agreement). They will also connect you to experts – those who live and breathe SBIR – throughout the program. Expect to talk to NSF program managers, DCAA compliance experts, past reviewers, and more.
Criteria
They are looking for small businesses working on innovative ideas with commercial potential, that align with NSF SBIR/STTR guidelines.
SBIR Program Eligibility:
• Having 500 or fewer employees;
• Being independently owned and operated and organized for profit;
• Having your principal place of business in the U.S.;
• Being at least 51% owned by U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens;
• Performing all work within the U.S.;
• Having the Principal Investigator (PI) spend more than one-half of their time employed by the proposing firm; and,
• Having a minimum of two-thirds of the research work performed by the proposing firm in Phase I and one-half in Phase II.
To participate in ACSA, additional requirements must be met:
• Business must be based in New Mexico; and
• Business cannot have won a SBIR/STTR from NSF in the past two years.
More information at: https://arrowheadcenter.nmsu.edu/program/nm-fast/acsa/acsa-nsf/
