SBIR Proposal Writing Basics: Reminder Re: Letter of Intent Required to Submit Phase 1 Proposal to DOE
Gail
& Jim Greenwood,
Copyright © 2013 by
Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc.
We addressed this topic
late last year, but because the Department of Energy (DOE) is the only SBIR/STTR
agency that requires a letter of intent (LOI) from proposal submitters, we
thought we’d do a quick refresher.
If you plan to submit a
Phase 1 SBIR or STTR proposal for DOE’s October 15, 2013 deadline, you MUST
submit a letter of intent. That letter must be received by September 3rd,
which is only a couple of weeks away. If you don’t submit the LOI by that
deadline, you cannot submit a Phase 1 proposal in October.
Sure, you think you can
throw together a quick LOI and fax it to DOE at the last minute. Unfortunately,
you are a danger to yourself and those around you: DOE requires a specific
format and content, including an abstract that “must provide sufficient
technical depth to allow DOE to assign technical reviewers for your
application.” This abstract can be
a very important 500 words: it helps ensure that your proposal will get a
competent and fair review. Take advantage of this opportunity to improve your
proposal’s chances of success by submitting a well prepared abstract.
There’s another reason
why it is imperative that you begin working ASAP on your LOI if you plan to
submit for DOE’s October deadline. The LOI must be submitted electronically
through DOE’s Portfolio Analysis & Management System, or PAMS. You must
register your company and the Principal Investigator for your proposed project
on PAMS before you can upload the LOI.
We offered additional
advice about the LOI and DOE Phase 1 in our earlier Alerting Service article.
Rather than repeat it here, we invite you to revisit that article at
http://www.g-jgreenwood.com/sbir_proposal_writing_basics140.htm
. And you definitely need to study
the DOE Funding Opportunities Announcement (aka solicitation) at http://science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities/
.