Phase I Proposal
Cost Proposal
Proposal Writing
Proposal Preparation
Agencies requirement differ for SBIR and STTR proposal preparation guidelines. Agency specific proposal preparation guidelines can be found in each agency's solicitation.
The U.S. Small Buisness Administration's SBIR Handbook for Proposal Preparation is a wonderful guide for more generalized proposal preparation information. If the agency's proposal directions are different from the U.S. SBA's SBIR Handbook for Proposal Preparation, then follow the agency's proposal directions.
Overview of the SBIR program
In general, following the receipt of proposals, agencies award SBIRs or STTRs based on:
- Small business qualifications
- Degree of innovation
- Technical merit of the innovation
- Commercialization potential
- Relevance of the proposal objective(s) to the solicitation topic
Small businesses that receive awards then begin a three-phase program. Phase I is the start-up phase. During this phase, small businesses are awarded up to $100,000 to demonstrate their innovation’s technical feasibility.
During Phase II, small businesses are awarded up to $750,000, for as long as 2 years, to develop a prototype. During this time, the grant or contract recipients perform the research and development work. You must receive a Phase I award before being eligible to apply for a Phase II award.
During Phase III, the Phase II prototype moves from the laboratory into the marketplace. SBIR and STTR programs do not fund Phase III. The small business must find funding in the private sector, or through other federal, non-SBIR/STTR assistance. Federal agencies consider Phase III planning to be essential to SBIR and STTR programs because a primary goal of these programs is to move agency-supported research into commercial applications.
>>Learn more about planning your Phase I proposal
Sample proposals
Two federal agencies have sample proposals posted on their web sites. These proposals may not use the current proposal format, but they do provide good examples of proposal content and presentation.
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense
Home || Local Resources For Entrepreneurs || Federal Grants/Contracts Policies and Procedures || Agencies || Eligibility || Potential Program Benefits || How to Participate || One-to-One Assistance || FDA || Proposal Writing || Grant topics || State Partners || Award Winners || Useful websites || Accessibility ||
Page Published: 03/15/2002 · Page Last Modified: 10/18/2004
©2007 The Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin