SBIR Proposal Writing Basics: No Such Thing as an Unsolicited SBIR/STTR Proposal

Gail & Jim Greenwood, Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.  

Copyright © 2011 by Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.

 

We often hear someone claiming that the SBIR and STTR programs request “unsolicited proposals.” This is not correct: all 11 awarding agencies only award solicited proposals. Let us explain.  

The term “unsolicited proposal” suggests that someone can shoot in a proposal on any topic at any time to any agency and it will be considered. This does not occur in the SBIR/STTR programs because:  

a.       The awarding agencies are required to annually solicit SBIR/STTR proposals and spend all of their annual SBIR/STTR budgets on awards.

b.      Each agency releases a “request for proposals,” which is usually called a “solicitation” or “funding opportunity announcement (FOA)” each year to request those proposals. That solicitation or FOA states the topics on which the agency will entertain proposals. In some agencies, such as Department of Defense, the topics may be very focused or specific. In others, such as National Institutes of Health, they will be very broad (e.g., anything within the mission of the agency).

c.      This solicitation or FOA also stipulates the deadline for SBIR/STTR proposals, and the format and submission process that must be followed in those proposals.   

The term “unsolicited proposal” suggests a freedom to let your creative juices flow and propose all sorts of innovative ideas that will help solve pressing problems. That spirit should be captured in your SBIR/STTR proposal, but you should be clear that you are responding to an agency’s call for proposals, and you are expected to respond to its requirements and deadlines and adhere to any limitations place on the topic or subject of your proposal. Let your creativity come through in the ideas you are proposing, not in taking liberties with the agencies’ proposal submission requirements.