The next round of SBIR proposals for the National Institutes of Health are due on August 5, 2011, exactly 8 weeks from today. Are you thinking about creating proposal for this solicitation? Right now is a perfect time to start preparing. I recommend about 4-6 weeks of calendar time to my clients for preparing an SBIR proposal, but before you commit to preparing a proposal, there’s a few things you should do first to make sure the NIH SBIR program is right for you and your technology.
1.Evaluate your technology. Is your idea truly innovative? Does it fit the requirements for a Phase I research effort? If you’re at the point of clinical trials, then you’re beyond the scope of a Phase I program.
2. Evaluate your team. Do you have personnel on staff or as consultants to help you accomplish everything you want to propose? Your team is arguably the second most important thing in your proposal after your concept, since you have to prove that you have the expertise to do what you propose.
3. Email the point of contact at the NIH institute that is relevant to your technology. In the Omnibus SBIR solicitation, technical contacts for each institute within NIH are listed. Identify the institute(s) that is most relevant to you, and send them an email introducing you and your technology. Ask for their feedback about how your ideas mesh with the institute’s priorities. They’ll let you know what they think, and you’ll get valuable feedback to improve your proposal.