SBIR/STTR Submission Process (for Applicants)

SBIR Satisfaction Survey for Proposal Submission - Applicants

Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0215.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated 10-12 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:  Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Office of the General Counsel, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA  22314.

Survey Overview

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal submission process was recently changed. We would like to hear from you about this pilot process, which was intended to get quick feedback to submitters on whether their projects are a good fit for the NSF SBIR/STTR program. Your responses will help us to learn more about you and your company, to gauge the effectiveness of the pilot process, and to reach out to more eligible entrepreneurs that can benefit from our program.

Please note:

1. Your participation is voluntary.

2. Your individual responses will remain confidential and will be compiled with those from other respondents to improve the NSF’s program.

3. Your answers will NOT affect the outcome of any current, pending, or future NSF funding requests.

Section 1. Company Characteristics

This section collects some general information about your company.

1. Please provide the company information below.

Company Location (State):

2. What is the business structure of your company?

• C-corporation

• S-corporation

• Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)

• Sole Proprietorship

• Other (specify)

3. In what year was your company founded?

Year (YYYY):

4. Has your company completed at least one fiscal year of business?

• Yes

• No

5. Which of the following best describes your company’s research/technology area? (Select one)

• Advanced Manufacturing

• Advanced Materials

• Artificial Intelligence

• Biological Technologies

• Biomedical Technologies

• Chemical Technologies

• Digital Health

• Distributed Ledger

• Educational Technologies and Applications

• Energy and Power Systems

• Environmental Technologies

• Information Technologies

• Instrumentation and Hardware Systems

• Internet of Things

• Medical Devices

• Nanotechnology

• Other Topics

• Photonics

• Quantum Information Technologies

• Robotics

• Semiconductors

• Sensors

• Space

• Wireless Technologies

Section 2. External Funding

This section asks about funding your company received prior to applying to the NSF SBIR/STTR program.

2-1. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, has your company applied for funding from another SBIR/STTR program(s)?

• Yes

• No

2. If ‘Yes’ [to Question 2-1], did your company receive funding from another SBIR/STTR program(s)?

• Yes

• No

2. [If ‘Yes’ to Question 2-2] From which of the following SBIR/STTR program(s) has your company received funding in the past? [Select all that apply]

• Department of Defense

• Department of Energy

• Department of Education

• U.S. Department of Agriculture

• National Institute of Health

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• Other Federal Agency SBIR/STTR Program(s)

2. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, had your company received any funding from state or local government?

• Yes

• No

2. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, had your company received any funding from Venture Capital investors?

• Yes

• No

2. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, had your company received any funding from Angel investors?

• Yes

• No

2. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, had your company received any funding from Business Plan Competitions, Accelerators, and/or Incubators?

• Yes

• No

2. Prior to submitting to NSF for SBIR/STTR funding, had your company received any non-SBIR/STTR funding from Federal agencies (other than NSF)?

• Yes

• No

Section 3. Familiarity with the NSF SBIR/STTR program

This section asks about your familiarity with the program and your experience in applying to the program.

1. Has your small business submitted a full proposal to the NSF SBIR/STTR Program in the past?

• Yes

• No

2. [If answered ‘Yes’ to Question 3-1] How many full proposals have been submitted by your small business to the NSF SBIR/STTR Program in the past?

• 1

• 2

• 3 or more

3. How did you first hear about the NSF SBIR/STTR Program? (Mark all that apply)

• Conference or trade shows

• Professional or personal network

• Consultant or service provider

• Angel investor(s)

• Venture capitalist(s)

• University business incubator or accelerator

• State economic development office

• Small Business Administration

• United States Patent and Trademark Office

• Grants.gov

• NSF.gov

• Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

• Others – please specify

Section 4. NSF Lineage

This section asks about your company’s previous involvement and/or participation in any NSF programs.

1. Have any company founders participated in the NSF I-Corps Program(s)?

• Yes

• No

2. If ‘Yes’ (to Question 4-1), which NSF I-Corps program?

To be eligible to pursue funding under an I-Corps (National) Teams award, applicants must have received an award from NSF (in a scientific or engineering field relevant to the I-Corps Team's proposed innovation) that is currently active or that has been active within five years from the date of the I-Corps Teams proposal submission.

A team could also participate in a (local or) regional NSF-supported I-Corps training run by a current I-Corps Site or Node. In that case, the NSF grant that establishes the team's I-Corps Teams Program eligibility will be the NSF I-Corps Site or Node Grant.

• I-Corps (National)

• I-Corps (Regional)

• Both

3. Have any company founders participated in any of the following NSF programs? [Mark all that apply]

• Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)

• Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC)

• NSF Basic Research Programs (in Engineering or other Directorates)

• Not applicable

Section 5. Project Pitch

This section asks about your satisfaction with the Project Pitch.

The NSF SBIR/STTR proposal submission process was revised in March, 2019. The newly added Project Pitch requires a small business to outline the technical innovation, commercialization potential, and broader impact of their project before submitting a full proposal to NSF. Only projects that are determined to be a good fit for the program’s objectives of supporting innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk (outlined on our website: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/) will be invited to submit a full proposal, therefore reducing the time and effort spent by small businesses in order to receive initial feedback on their potential fit with the program requirements.

5-1. Approximately how long did you spend in preparing and submitting the Project Pitch?

Time (minutes):

5-2. How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the time it took to get feedback from your Project Pitch submission?

• Very dissatisfied

• Dissatisfied

• Neutral

• Satisfied

• Very satisfied

5-3. In general, how helpful or unhelpful did you find the feedback you received from the Project Pitch submission?

• Very unhelpful

• Unhelpful

• Neither helpful nor unhelpful

• Helpful

• Very helpful

5-4. How much did the feedback that you received in response to your Project Pitch impact the process of preparing your full NSF SBIR/STTR proposal?

• None

• A little

• A considerable amount

• A great deal of

• All

Section 6. Submission Process

This section asks about your satisfaction with the overall submission process.

6-1. Overall, how easy or difficult was it to prepare and submit your full SBIR/STTR proposal?

• Very Difficult

• Somewhat difficult

• Neither difficult nor easy

• Somewhat easy

• Very easy

6-2. Approximately how long did you spend in preparing and submitting a full NSF SBIR/STTR proposal on FastLane?

Time (hours):

6-3. (Only for companies that registered at SAM.gov in the past 24 months) Approximately how many days did it take for your company to receive the government registrations (such as DUNS, and SAM.gov) required to apply for Federal funding?

Time (days):

Section 7. Respondent Demographics

This section collects data on the role that the survey respondent plays in the company, as well as some demographic information.

1. What is your role in the company? [Select all that apply]

• Principal Investigator

• Co-Principal Investigator

• Founder/Co-Founder

• Company Business/Commercial Officer

• Company Technical/Scientific Officer

• Others – please specify

2. What is your race? [Select all that apply] (Optional)

• American Indian

• Alaska Native

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

• Asian

• Black or African American

• White

• Prefer not to answer

3. Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin? (Optional)

• No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

• Yes, Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano

• Yes, Puerto Rican

• Yes, Cuban

• Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

• Prefer not to answer

4. What is your sex? (Optional)

• Male

• Female

• Prefer not to answer

Section 8. Reporting

This section collects logistical data and any feedback you would like to provide us pertaining to the survey and our program.

8-1. Which NSF SBIR/STTR Program Director sent the email inviting a full proposal submission?

• Henry Ahn

• Peter Atherton

• Anna Brady-Estevez

• Rajesh Mehta

• Linda Molnar

• Murali Nair

• Ben Schrag

• Rick Schwerdtfeger

• Ruth Shuman

8-2. How long did it take you to complete this survey?

Time (minutes):

8-3. How can NSF better meet your needs? Please tells us other concerns that were not addressed in this survey.