Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

• Firms qualifying as a small business concern are eligible to participate in the NSF SBIR/STTR program (see Eligibility Guide for more information). Please note that the size limit of 500 employees includes affiliates. The firm must be in compliance with the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive(s) and the Code of Federal Regulations (13 CFR Part 121). For STTR proposals, the applicant small business must also include a partner research institution in the project, see additional details below. AND
• Proposers that have received an official invitation to submit a proposal from the cognizant NSF SBIR/STTR Program Director within the past twelve months. To receive the invitation, potential proposers must submit a Project Pitch document and receive an official response (via email) from the cognizant Program Director. Please see section V.A for details.

NSF does not fund proposals from companies that are majority-owned by one or more venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity firms. Proposals from joint ventures and partnerships are permitted, provided the proposing entity qualifies as a small business concern (see Eligibility Guide for more information).

In compliance with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, Section 10636 (Person or entity of concern prohibition) (42 U.S.C. 19235): No person published on the list under section 1237(b) of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (Public Law 105 261; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) or entity identified under section 1260h of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note; Public Law 116 283) may receive or participate in any grant, award, program, support, or other activity under the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.

"Collaborative Proposal from Multiple Organizations" (a special proposal type in Research.gov) are not allowed. Collaborations with research institutions are encouraged; however, only one proposal, submitted by the company and with subawards to the research institution(s), is allowed.

The primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the small business at the time of award and for the duration of the award, unless a new PI is named. Primary employment is defined as at least 51 percent employed by the small business. NSF normally considers a full-time work week to be 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19.6 hours per week to be in conflict with this requirement. The PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the United States, as evidenced by citizenship, permanent residency, or an appropriate visa. The PI does not need to be associated with an academic institution. There are no PI degree requirements (i.e., the PI is not required to hold a Ph.D. or any other degree). A PI may be primarily employed at another organization at the time of submission, if he or she is primarily employed at the proposing small business at the time of award. A PI must devote a minimum of one calendar month of effort per six months of performance to an NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I project.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1

An organization may submit only one NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I proposal per submission window (e.g., November 02, 2022 - March 01, 2023). An organization must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Decline, or Returned Without Review) on the pending NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I proposal before submitting a new proposal in the next or any subsequent window. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. If an organization exceeds this limit, the first proposal received will be accepted and any additional proposals submitted will be Returned Without Review. Similar limitations will be applied to the submission of Project Pitches. Please refer to Section V.A. of the solicitation for details. Declined proposals require a new invitation to submit (via the Project Pitch process) and significant revision, while proposals Returned Without Review may be submitted using the same invited Project Pitch (assuming that the proposal is received within one year of original the Project Pitch invitation).

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1

For NSF SBIR – 1 PI, co-PIs are not allowed.

For NSF STTR - 1 PI, 1 co-PI required (must be part of the partner research institution).

An individual may be listed as the PI for only one proposal submitted at a time to this NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I solicitation. A PI must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Decline, or Returned Without Review) on any NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I pending proposal before submitting a new proposal.

For NSF STTR proposals, a person may act as the co-PI on an unlimited number of proposals.

Faculty can make a Project Pitch for a Phase 1 proposal as long as they meet PI eligibility criteria, which includes “The primary employment of the PI must be with the small business at the time of award and for the duration of the award, unless a new PI is named. Primary employment is defined as at least 51 percent employed by the small business. NSF normally considers a full-time work week to be 40 hours and considers employment elsewhere of greater than 19.6 hours per week to be in conflict with this requirement. The PI must have a legal right to work for the proposing company in the United States, as evidenced by citizenship, permanent residency, or an appropriate visa.”

For faculty who get invited to submit a Phase I proposal, this opportunity is first come, first served. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact fundopps@duke.edu as early as possible.