Developing Competitive SBIR/STTR Applications – Registration Template
This SBIR/STTR series consists of five tools: Part 1; Get Prepared; Part 2 Prepare and Submit Your Proposal; Registration Tool; Budget Tool, and Biosketch Tool.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer—(STTR) funding is the primary source of publicly funded research and development (R&D) and commercialization available to U.S. startups.
The single most important step in building a proposal is to explicitly follow an agency’s guidelines and timeline. There is no flexibility.
Every agency program requires at least three registrations. Depending on the agency, more registrations that could be required. Read Tutorial 1 – Required Registrations.
- Dun and Brad Street (D&B):
- DUNS number;
- System for Award Management (SAM), and
- Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Company Registration.
Once you make the decision to apply for SBIR/STTR, do not attempt the registration process alone. Get help to avoid potential discrepancies during the registration which can significantly slow progress and may even cause your company to have to start over.
Review these requirements online. Assemble the information required before you initiate registration. Here’s a tool to help.
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- Before you can complete SBIR/STTR registration, registrations with SAM.gov, DUNS and EIN/TIN are required.
- SAM.gov: A company cannot work with the federal government or get paid without registering with SAM.gov. It is a multi-step process. Watch this tutorial on SAM Registering to understand what is required.
- The Marketing Partner ID Number (MPIN) is mandatory for SAM registrants. It is the personal code registrants create which allows access to other government sites, such as grants.gov. Safeguard your company’s MPIN, but if you do, the Entity Administrator can contact the Federal Service Desk (FSD) for web site support assistance.
- Grants.gov registration requires two registrations, EBiz-POC, which is the company’s account with signing authority, and Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), which is a personal account and is the only account that can submit the application. Click for an explanation of the various roles and privileges of grants.gov.
- EIN/TIN Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Employer Identification Number (EIN) are used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws.
Registrations take a lot of time to complete and more time to be approved. Some registrations are annual; some are one-time. Keep records of your submissions, approvals, of everything. Seek guidance from your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
The entire registration process should be no cost to you. Businesses will be phishing for applicants to pay their services in helping you register. Don’t take the bait!
Resources
*Links to SBIR information for Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (DOA).
Online Tutorials – An excellent resource by topic. Easy to follow and absorb.
Online Tutorial 1 – Required Registrations
SAM – Registering new entities. This video is a must-see for any company contemplating the registration process.
NIAID Sample SBIR/STTR Applications – Collection of winning applications and summary statements.
Grant Agencies and Contracting Agencies – Search agency solicitations
