Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GSA launches pilot for small business research program

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The General Services Administration (GSA) has announced that it would be moving forward with a new pilot program to manage and grant awards under the third phase of the Small Business Innovation Research program, which encourages small businesses to explore research and development with federal partners.

Phases one and two of the program focus on the actual research and development, while the third phase is designed to help small businesses pursue the commercialization of the products they developed in the first two phases.

“Helping small businesses commercialize new solutions developed with assistance from the SBIR program increases the return on investment from federal research and development funding and supports private sector job growth,” said Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon in a news release.

“The SBA looks forward to working with GSA to encourage the entrepreneurship and innovation associated with the SBIR program and continuing SBA’s efforts to impact the growth of our nation’s small businesses.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2018/07/30/gsa-launches-pilot-for-small-business-research-program/

DoD’s R&D fund sponsors free online training

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The Department of Defense’s SBIR/STTR Program Office has put together an on-line training program catalogue for small businesses for the year.

Small businesses — who are pursuing projects with potential for commercialization and which match-up with specific U.S. Government research and development (R&D) needs — should look into the SBIR/STTR program.

Upcoming SBIR/STTR webinar topics are listed below, along with dates and training registration links.  All are offered free of charge.

  1. How to Use the DOD SBIR/STTR Submission Site / Important Proposal Considerations / Using SITIS – May 24, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site
  2. Managing Intellectual Property – Important Business Considerations for Commercialization – June 5, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site
  3. Understanding the Evaluation Process / What to Do with a Debrief – June 26, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site 
  4. Working with Prime Contractors – July 17, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site 
  5. The DOD Acquisition Process / Contracting – August 1, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site
  6. Commercialization Assistance Programs and Beyond Phase II Considerations – September 4, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site
  7. Manufacturing / Working with MIBP – September 18, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site
  8. Testing and Evaluation – October 9, 2018 – http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4302495/Registration-Site 
  9. Phase III Process – How to Identify Non-SBIR – October 30, 2018 – http://bit.ly/PIIIprocess 

For more information about the SBIR/STTR programs, visit https://www.sbir.gov/about/about-sttr.

Company and officers to pay $1.9 million to settle False Claims Act SBIR allegations

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Maryland-based MassTech, Inc., its former Chief Executive Officer, Arnold Lee, and its former Chief Financial Officer, Richard Lee, have agreed to pay the United States $1.9 million to resolve allegations that MassTech falsely certified it was a small business concern in order to obtain Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards.

The settlement agreement was announced on May 3, 2018.

 

The SBIR program is a set-aside program for small businesses.  The purpose of the SBIR program is to strengthen the role of small business concerns in federally funded research and development and to increase private sector commercialization.  To receive SBIR funds, each awardee of an SBIR Phase I or II award must qualify as a small business at the time of the award as well as throughout the duration of the award.  To be eligible, the small business and its affiliates collectively must have fewer than 500 employees.  According to the settlement agreement, the government alleged that MassTech, Arnold Lee, and Richard Lee falsely represented to the National Science Foundation (NSF), to NASA, and to the Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) that MassTech was an eligible small business concern at the time of the SBIR application as well as throughout the lifecycle of the award.  As a result, NSF, NASA, and HHS approved and funded SBIR awards to MassTech that MassTech otherwise would not have received.  MassTech, Arnold Lee, and Richard Lee denied the United States’ allegations.

NSF’s Office of Inspector General, the NASA Office of Inspector General, and the HHS Office of Inspector General worked in the investigation.  The settlement agreement was announced by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/masstech-richard-lee-and-arnold-lee-pay-us-19-million-settle-false-claims-act-allegations

Here’s a summary of the changes in government contracting provisions of the NDAA

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Steve Koprince is the author of the book entitled "The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts."
Steve Koprince is the author of the book entitled “The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts.”

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law on Dec. 23, 2016, contains at least 16 changes to federal procurement policy, many directly affecting the interests of small businesses.

Ever since the NDAA was finalized, attorney Steve Koprince and his team at Koprince Law LLC have been analyzing and summarizing each of the changes.  Here’s s list of their blog posts, each one hyperlinked to the article:

 

For more information, visit: http://smallgovcon.com 

 

SBA offers tutorials for seeking federal R&D funding

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PrintThe U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has released Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) online tutorials to help small businesses navigate the SBIR program.

Mobile-compatible, the tutorial site represents an opportunity to learn about the federal government’s SBIR program through a combination of videos and text.

There is no registration or fee required and the courses are open to all.

The SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, also called “America’s Seed Fund,” inject $2.5 billion every year into small, innovative and nimble firms across the nation. The mission of each program is to support research and development (R&D) in technical areas that align with the federal government’s priorities.  Currently, there are 11 federal agencies that support SBIR/STTR programs.

With 52 modules housed within 10 courses, the SBA’s new tutorial platform addresses topics relevant to small businesses that are new to the SBIR/STTR programs as well as companies that have previously received SBIR funding.  Topics include:

  • Agency differences
  • Registration requirements
  • SBIR proposal preparation
  • SBIR data rights
  • Accounting requirements
  • Finding partners

Tools, resources, links and quizzes accompany each tutorial to help users navigate the process of applying for and winning federal awards.

To find out more about SBA’s Online Tutorials, or to begin your learning experience, visit www.sbir.gov/tutorials.

9 service branches and agencies invite small businesses to propose innovative solutions

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PrintThe Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) are inviting small businesses to propose innovative solutions as a part of the latest Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) solicitations.

The SBIR/STTR solicitations are now open for a pre-release time period.  During the pre-release period proposing firms have an opportunity to contact topic authors by telephone or e-mail to ask technical questions about specific topics.

For the STTR offering, the Navy and the DMEA are inviting small businesses and research institutions to jointly propose cooperative research and development efforts.

The SBIR program was established by Congress in 1982 to fund research and development (R&D) by U.S. owned and operated businesses of less than 500 employees.  SBIR, the nation’s largest source of early-stage technology financing, is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through 11 federal agencies and is funded at more than $2 billion annually. The DoD accounts for more than half of the federal government’s total SBIR/STTR program.  The STTR program enacted by Congress in 1992, similar in structure to SBIR, provides early-stage R&D funding directly to small companies working cooperatively with researchers at universities and other research institutions.

Use this link below to access the current open solicitations and search the available topics:  https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/topics.  Topic descriptions and instructions are available in HTML, PDF, and WORD formats.

IMPORTANT DATES and DEADLINES:

  • April 22, 2016:  Pre-Release solicitation opens
  • May 23, 2016:   Solicitation opens for submission of SBIR and STTR proposals.
  • June 22. 2016:  Solicitation closes to receipt of proposals at 6:00 AM ET-plan ahead and submit early.

Once DoD begins accepting proposals on May 23, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed, but proposers may submit written questions through the SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the  questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing.

Quick Links:

MDA SBIR/STTR

DoD SBIR/STTR

SBA SBIR/STTR

Can small, innovative companies break into D.C. contracting scene?

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Sharath Mekala’s two-person tech startup isn’t a textbook government contractor.

Village Defense, spawned through a startup incubator called 1776, develops a free app that lets neighbors send real-time alerts to one another if they notice suspicious activity. A premium version, which costs $125 a month, is designed for homeowners associations.

technologyA Washington area native, Mekala recently uprooted from Atlanta and returned to D.C., in part to market Village Defense to behemoth potential customers: the Defense Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Education Department. He says President Obama’s public safety initiative, which includes a blueprint for improved community policing, creates an opportunity for apps like Village Defense.

“I think the government is trying to keep up with [technology]… earlier on you’d have to push your way in,” Mekala says.

Federal procurement, once largely unapproachable by startups, could be transforming to let small, creative tech companies in.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2015/07/startup-shakeup-can-small-innovative-companies-break-dc-contracting-scene/117640/

This story appears in the July-August issue of Government Executive magazine. 

Agencies gave SBA the wrong data for small business research contract spending

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Most agencies submitted incorrect data about Small Business Innovation Research programs for fiscal 2013, so the Small Business Administration can’t fully determine compliance with spending requirements for the programs, says an April 15 Government Accountability Office report.

Agencies are required to submit the actual amount obligated for research and development, which is generally conducted by nonfederal employees outside of federal facilities. Those obligations are the basis for calculating the agencies’ spending requirements for small business programs, the report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/agencies-gave-sba-wrong-data-small-business-research-contract-spending/2015-04-16

DHS seeks help of small businesses to develop security-related solutions

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The Homeland Security Department’s research and development arm recently released a pre-solicitation notice to small businesses regarding the potential development of innovative technologies from forensics to cybersecurity to wearable communications.

DHS logoThe Science and Technology Directorate released the joint pre-solicitation with the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, or DNDO, which is also part of DHS, through its Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, program. It focuses on nine areas, including seven for S&T and two for DNDO.

The program began accepting proposals starting Dec. 18, according to FedBizOpps.

“While we want to stimulate innovation to meet the needs of the homeland security enterprise by having offerers submit proposals that concentrate on proving the scientific and technical feasibility of their ideas, they must consider the commercialization potential of their proposed effort,” Lisa Sobolewski, S&T’s SBIR program director, said in a statement.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/dhs-seeks-help-small-businesses-develop-security-related-solutions/2014-12-11

Agencies awarding SBIR contracts to businesses owned by venture capital firms

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Two of the agencies participating in a Small Business Administration innovation program opted to open the program to small businesses that are majority-owned by venture capital firms, says a Nov. 20 Government Accountability Office report.

The Health and Human Services Department and the Energy Department opted to open part of their Small Business Innovation Research programs to small businesses that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital or similar firms, allowing such companies to apply for and receive SBIR awards, the report says.

Specifically, HHS’s National Institutes of Health and the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency allowed such companies to participate.

For fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014, NIH and ARPA together received 20 applications from majority-owned portfolio companies and made 12 SBIR awards to them, totaling about $7.9 million, the report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/gao-2-agencies-awarding-sba-contracts-businesses-owned-venture-capital-firm/2014-11-25

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