FY 2019 NIST Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I

Notice of Funding Opportunity

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FY 2019

Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR) Program Phase I

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

ANNOUNCEMENT

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: 2019-NIST-SBIR-01

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 

11.620, Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Opening Date of NOFO: February 19, 2019

Closing Date: April 19, 2019

http://www.nist.gov/sbir
FY 2019 NIST Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I

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1.0 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION............................................ 5

1.01 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5

1.02 Three-Phase Program ............................................................................................................. 6

1.03 SBIR Applicant Eligibility and Limitations................................................................................ 8

1.04 Contact with NIST ................................................................................................................. 11

1.05 Definitions............................................................................................................................. 12

1.06 Fraud, Waste and Abuse....................................................................................................... 14

1.07 Other Information................................................................................................................. 15

2.0 CERTIFICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 16

2.01 Funding Agreement Certification ......................................................................................... 16

2.02 Research Activities Involving Human Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or Recordings Involving 

Human Subjects Including Software Testing ................................................................................ 16

2.03 Research Applications Involving Live Vertebrate Animals or Pre-Existing Cell Lines/Tissues 

from Vertebrate Animals.............................................................................................................. 22

2.04 Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, Unpaid 

Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent Federal Tax Returns................................................... 26

3.0 APPLICATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS ...................................... 26

3.01 Phase I Application Requirements........................................................................................ 26

3.02 Phase I Application................................................................................................................ 27

4.0 METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA............................................................ 32

4.01 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 32

4.02 Phase I Screening Criteria...............................................................................................................32

4.03 Phase I Evaluation Criteria ................................................................................................... 34
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4.04 Phase I Award Selections...................................................................................................... 35

5.0 CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................... 36

5.01 Awards .................................................................................................................................. 36

5.02 Reporting Requirements....................................................................................................... 37

5.03 Payment Schedule ................................................................................................................ 38

5.04 Innovations, Inventions and Patents.................................................................................... 38

5.05 Cost Sharing .......................................................................................................................... 44

5.06 Profit or Fee .......................................................................................................................... 44

5.07 Joint Ventures or Limited Partnerships................................................................................ 44

5.08 Research and Analytical Work .............................................................................................. 45

5.09 Awardee Commitments........................................................................................................ 45

5.10 Summary Statements............................................................................................................ 45

5.11 Additional Information ......................................................................................................... 46

5.12 Technical Assistance for Application Preparation and Project Conduct .............................. 47

6.0 SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.............................................................................................. 48

6.01 Deadline for Applications...................................................................................................... 48

6.02 Address to Request Application Package.............................................................................. 49

6.03 Application Submission......................................................................................................... 49

7.0 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION SOURCES........................................................... 51

8.0 SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS ........................................................................... 51

8.01 Required Forms and Documents.......................................................................................... 51
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8.02 Verifying the Submission and Tracking the Application ....................................................... 56

8.03 Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM).................................. 56

9.0 RESEARCH AREAS .................................................................................................................... 57

Appendix A. COVER SHEET........................................................................................................... 59

Appendix B. CERTIFICATIONS........................................................................................................ 62
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US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

FY 2019 SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM 

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

1.0 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1.01 Introduction

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites small businesses to 

submit Phase I research applications under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). 

Science and technology-based firms with strong research capabilities in any of the areas 

listed in Section 9 of this NOFO are encouraged to participate. Applications must 

sufficiently identify and clearly address a specific NIST technical program area that falls 

within one of the research areas described in Section 9 (see Section 3.02.02(1)) or a NISTpatented technology available for licensing. 

Only FY 2019 Phase I applications may be submitted in response to this NOFO. Phase II 

applications are not being accepted at this time. NIST publishes a Phase II NOFO

approximately 30 days prior to the end of the previous year’s Phase I period of 

performance to request Phase II applications. That NOFO provides instructions for Phase I 

awardees to prepare a Phase II application and the closing date for submission of 

applications; only the previous year’s Phase I awardees are eligible to submit a Phase II 

application. 

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was originally established in 1982 

by the Small Business Innovation Development Act (P.L. 97-219), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 638.

It was then expanded and extended by the Small Business Research and Development 

(R&D) Enhancement Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-564), and received subsequent reauthorization 

and extensions, the most recent of which extends the SBIR program through 2022. (P.L. 

114-328). 

Eleven Federal agencies implement SBIR by setting aside a portion of their extramural 

research and development budget each year to fund research applications from small 

science and technology-based firms. The statutory purpose of the SBIR Program is to 

strengthen the role of innovative small business concerns (SBCs) in Federally-funded 

research or research and development (R/R&D). Specific program goals are to: 

(1) stimulate technological innovation; (2) use small business to meet Federal R/R&D needs; 

(3) foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged small 

businesses and by women-owned small businesses in technological innovation; and (4) 
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increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal R/R&D, 

thereby increasing competition, productivity, and economic growth. 

The NIST FY 2019 SBIR program identifies and solicits applications in topics that fall within 

NIST’s mission and allow collaboration between NIST scientists and the SBIR awardees

whenever possible. 

When reviewing applications, NIST gives high priority to small business concerns that 

participate in or conduct energy efficiency or renewable energy system R&D projects, 

consistent with Executive Order (EO) 13329 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2004-02-

26/pdf/04-4436.pdf) “Encouraging Innovation in Manufacturing,” the Energy Independence 

and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140 § 1203(e), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 638(z)), and the

Small Business Administration (SBA) SBIR Policy Directive, § 9, found at 

http://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/sbir_pd_with_1-8-14_amendments_2-24-14.pdf.

For any SBIR award that requires a license to use a NIST-owned invention covered by a 

patent or patent application, the SBIR awardee will need to contact NIST’s Technology 

Partnerships Office for a license to use the NIST-owned invention. Such awardees will be 

granted a non-exclusive research license and will be given the opportunity to negotiate a 

non-exclusive or an exclusive commercialization license to the NIST-owned invention, in 

accordance with the Federal patent licensing regulations, set forth in 37 C.F.R. Part 404, and 

to the extent that such NIST-owned invention is available for licensing and has not 

otherwise been exclusively licensed to another party. It is the goal of this program to 

position the SBIR awardee to use and build upon such licensed NIST-owned invention with 

the awardee’s own innovation to develop a commercially viable product based on the NISTowned invention.

1.02 Three-Phase Program 

The SBIR statute (15 U.S.C. § 638) requires the Department of Commerce to establish a 

three-phase SBIR program by reserving a percentage of its extramural R&D budget to be 

awarded to small business concerns for innovation research. SBIR policy is provided by the 

SBA through the SBIR Policy Directive found at 

http://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/sbir_pd_with_1-8-14_amendments_2-24-14.pdf.

The funding vehicles for NIST’s SBIR program in both Phase I and Phase II are cooperative

agreements. NIST’s authority to implement its SBIR program through cooperative 

agreements is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4). NIST programmatic authorities for the research areas 

listed in this NOFO are found at 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c). The nature of NIST’s “substantial 

involvement” will generally be collaboration with the awardees in carrying out the scope of 
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work. Grants and agreements administrative requirements set forth at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 will 

apply to NIST SBIR awards.

1.02.01 Phase I - Feasibility Research 

The purpose of Phase I is for NIST to determine the technical feasibility of the research,

preliminary commercialization merit of the proposed effort, and the quality of the 

awardee’s performance. The application should concentrate on describing research that 

will significantly contribute to proving the feasibility of the proposed Phase II research

and commercialization potential, prerequisites to receiving further support in Phase II.

Each Phase I award is for up to $100,000 and up to a six (6) month period of 

performance. Up to an additional $6,500 may be requested for Technical and Business 

Assistance (TABA); see Section 5.11 for more information about TABA.

1.02.02 Phase II - Research and Development 

All Phase I awardees under this NOFO will be given the opportunity to submit a Phase II

application following completion of Phase I. Instructions for Phase II application preparation 

and submission requirements will be published in an NOFO approximately 30 days prior to 

the end of the FY 2019 Phase I performance period to request FY 2020 Phase II applications.

In Phase II, work from Phase I that exhibits potential for commercial application is further 

developed. Phase II is the R&D or prototype development phase. To apply for a Phase II 

award, each Phase I awardee will be required to submit a comprehensive application

outlining the proposed research and a detailed plan to commercialize the final product. 

Each NIST Phase II award is for up to $400,000 and up to a 24-month period of 

performance. One year after completing the Phase II R&D activity, the awardee shall be 

required to report on its commercialization activities.

1.02.03 Phase III - Commercialization 

Phase III refers to work that derives from, extends, or completes an effort made under prior 

SBIR funding agreements, but is funded by sources other than the SBIR Program. Phase III 

work is typically oriented towards commercialization of SBIR research or technology and 

may be for products, production, services, R/R&D or a combination thereof.

1.02.04 Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program

As allowed in Section 5123 of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, Division E of Pub. 

L. 112-81, codified in 15 U.S.C. § 638(gg), NIST has received authorization to establish a 

Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CRPP). NIST may provide follow-on funding (up 
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to an additional $100,000) to selected awardees after completion of Phase II. The funding 

would be used to further develop Phase II technologies, to support advancement toward 

Phase III, and to increase the likelihood of commercialization. NIST is under no obligation to 

make any CRPP awards.

1.03 SBIR Applicant Eligibility and Limitations

1.03.01 Applicant Qualifications

Each applicant must qualify as a small business concern for R/R&D purposes, as defined in 

Section 1.05 of this NOFO, at the time of award. In addition, the primary employment of the 

principal investigator must be with the small business at the time of the award and during 

the conduct of the proposed research. Primary employment means that more than one-half 

of the principal investigator's time is spent working with the small business. Primary 

employment with a small business precludes full-time employment with another 

organization. Occasionally, deviations from this requirement may occur, which must be 

approved in writing by the NIST Grants Officer after consultation with the SBIR Program 

Manager. Further, a small business may only replace the principal investigator on an SBIR 

Phase I award if the NIST Grants Officer provides prior written approval. Personnel obtained 

through a Professional Employer Organization or other similar personnel leasing company 

may be considered employees of the awardee.

The R/R&D work must be performed in the United States. Requests for an exemption must 

be submitted in writing at the time of application submission. Only rare and unique 

circumstances will be considered for an exemption. The NIST Grants Officer must approve 

each exemption and its terms in writing.

NIST has elected to not use the authority that would allow venture capital operating 

companies (VCOCs), hedge funds or private equity firms to participate in the SBIR Program. 

Therefore, applications in which work would be performed by VCOCs will not be 

considered for award.

For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort must be 

performed by the awardee. The total cost for all consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, 

and other subcontract/subaward or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the 

total award. For Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research and/or analytical effort 

must be performed by the awardee. The total cost for all consultant fees, facility leases, 

usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or purchase agreements may not exceed onehalf of the total award. 

Each applicant will be required to provide certain information via www.sbir.gov as well 
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as other information required by the SBIR Policy Directive (see Appendices V-VI), found 

at https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/sbir_pd_with_1-8-14_amendments_2-24-

14.pdf. Each SBC applying for an award is required to update the appropriate 

information in the SBA Tech-Net database on SBIR.gov for any of its existing and prior 

Phase II awards.

Applicants may not participate in the review of applications. 

The statement of work of an SBIR award awarded under this NOFO cannot overlap with the 

statement of work of an existing NIST Cooperative Research and Development Agreement 

(CRADA) with the awardee. NIST will consider the issue of any potential overlap on a caseby-case basis.

1.03.02 Company Registry Requirements

SBA maintains and manages a Company Registry at http://www.sbir.gov/registration to 

track ownership and affiliation requirements for all companies applying to the SBIR 

Program. Each Phase I applicant must register in the Company Registry prior to submitting 

an application. The applicant must save its information from the registration in a .pdf 

document and append this document to the SF-424 form as described at the end of 

Section 8.01. of this NOFO. All applicants are required to report and/or update their 

registration information in the SBA Company Registry prior to each SBIR application 

submission or if any information changes prior to an award.

1.03.03 Performance Benchmark Ratings Requirements

All Phase I applicants with a current SBA assessment of their Phase I to Phase II Transition 

Rate must at the time of the award have satisfied the requirements of that Performance 

Benchmark to be eligible for a new Phase I award. NIST will not consider proposals from 

firms that are currently ineligible for Phase I awards as a result of failing to meet the 

benchmark rate at the last assessment. 

The Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate requirement applies only to SBIR Phase I applicants 

that have received more than 20 (21 or more) Phase I awards over the past 5 fiscal years 

(excluding the most recent year). For these applicants, the ratio of the number of Phase II 

awards (awarded during the past 5 fiscal years) to the number of Phase I awards (awarded 

during the past 5 years excluding the most recent year) must be at least 0.25. For the 

purposes of this NOFO, the applicable five fiscal year period is fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 

2017 On June 1st of each year, the SBA assesses the Performance Benchmark rates for all 

applicable SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awardees in the Company 

Registry. STTR is another program that expands funding opportunities in the federal 
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innovation research and development arena. See https://www.sbir.gov/about/about-sttr. 

Performance Benchmark rates are based on a company’s total SBIR/STTR awards, across all 

the participating agencies. Companies that fail to meet the Performance Benchmark 

requirements are not eligible to receive a Phase I award for a period of one year from the 

assessment: from June 1st through May 31st. Note that this does not affect a company’s 

eligibility for Phase II or Phase III awards.

The Commercialization Rate is not applicable for FY 2019. When in effect, the 

Commercialization Rate requirement applies to SBIR and STTR Phase I applicants that have 

received more than 15 (16 or more) Phase II awards over the past 10 fiscal years, excluding 

the last two years. These companies must have realized, to date, an average of at least 

$100,000 of sales and/or investments per Phase II award (awarded during this period) or 

have received a number of patents resulting from the SBIR work equal to or greater than 

15% of the number of Phase II awards.

SBA sends three notifications each year to companies affected by the benchmark 

performance requirements: 

• February 1st – SBA identifies and notifies via email all companies that, on that date, 

have won enough past awards to be subject to the benchmark requirements.

• April 1st – SBA runs a preliminary assessment to determine which companies appear 

to be failing a benchmark given the data in the system on that date. SBA sends a 

Warning Notice to these companies so that they can review the award in the 

Company Registry (SBIR.gov) and update as needed. 

• June 1st – SBA identifies companies that fail a benchmark and notifies them that they 

may not be eligible to receive a new Phase I award for a period of one year.

NOTE: Before responding to this NOFO, all applicants should verify their Transition Rate 

eligibility for Phase I awards. When logged in to the Company Registry at 

https://www.sbir.gov/registration, awardees can view their last assessed Transition Rate by 

clicking on the “Performance Benchmark” side-bar. These company-specific rates appear 

under the heading “At Last Assessment.” A thumbs-up/thumbs-down indicator shows 

whether or not the company passed the benchmark rates at the last assessment. If at any 

time, a company believes the award information on SBIR.gov is not correct, it should notify 

SBA using the dispute link provided. If a company’s dispute of the data used for the rates is 

under review, it will see “TBD” under the “At Last Assessment” heading. Companies with less 

than the threshold number of awards (21 Phase I awards for the Transition Rate) will see 

“N/A” displayed because the requirement did not apply to them. 

Under the heading “Current (On-Going)”, the page displays a running calculation of the 

benchmark rates using the next years’ time periods (each period moved up by one year) 

and current data in the system. Companies should monitor these rates to anticipate their 
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standing for each upcoming June 1 Assessment. Prior to proposal preparation, all applicants 

to this NOFO that have received more than 20 Phase I awards across all federal SBIR/STTR 

agencies over the past five (5) years should verify that their company will not have a failing 

status on the Transition Rate Benchmark at the time of award. 

Performance Benchmarks: (General information on the Performance Benchmark 

requirements is available at https://www.sbir.gov/performance-benchmarks.)

1.04 Contact with NIST 

Administrative questions may be submitted at the public Question and Answer site 

(https://tsapps.nist.gov/sbir/default.aspx).). 

Applicants may also contact the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

(MEP) for technical assistance with application preparation. More information on 

obtaining technical assistance from MEP Centers for application preparation can be 

found in Section 5.12 of this NOFO.

For general programmatic, electronic submission, or grants questions, please contact the 

appropriate individual:

Subject Area Point of Contact

Programmatic Questions Mary Clague

Phone: (301) 975-4188

Fax: (301) 975-3482

E-mail: mary.clague@nist.gov

or

J’aime Maynard

Phone: (301) 975-8408

E-mail: jmaynard@nist.gov

Electronic Application Submission 

through Grants.gov 

Leon Sampson

Phone: (301) 975-3086

Fax: (301) 975-6368

E-mail: grants@nist.gov

or

Grants.gov
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Subject Area Point of Contact

Phone: 800-518-4726

E-mail: support@grants.gov

Grant Rules and Regulations Nuria Martinez

Phone: (301) 975-6215

Fax: (301) 975-6368

E-mail: nuria.martinez@nist.gov

1.05 Definitions

Except as specifically noted by citation or reference, all definitions below are excerpted 

from the SBA SBIR Policy Directive, available at 

http://sbir.gov/sites/default/files/sbir_pd_with_1-8-14_amendments_2-24-14.pdf. 

Applicant – The organizational entity that qualifies as a Small Business Concern (SBC) at all 

pertinent times and that submits a contract proposal or a grant application for a funding 

agreement under the SBIR Program.

Awardee – The organizational entity that receives an SBIR Phase I, Phase II or Phase III 

award.

Commercialization - The process of developing products, processes, technologies, or 

services and the production and delivery (whether by the originating party or others) of the 

products, processes, technologies, or services for sale to or use by the Federal government 

or commercial markets.

Cooperative Agreement - A financial assistance mechanism used when substantial Federal 

programmatic involvement with the awardee during performance is anticipated by the 

issuing agency. The Cooperative Agreement contains the responsibilities and respective 

obligations of the parties.

Contract – A mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish equipment, 

goods or services and the buyer to pay for them.

Essentially Equivalent Work - Work that is substantially the same research, which is 

proposed for funding in more than one contract proposal or grant application submitted to 

the same Federal agency or submitted to two or more different Federal agencies for review 

and funding consideration; or work where a specific research objective and the research 

design for accomplishing the objective are the same or closely related to another proposal 
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or award, regardless of the funding source.

Feasibility - The practical extent to which a project can be performed successfully. 

Funding Agreement - Any contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into between 

any Federal agency and any SBC for the performance of experimental, developmental, or 

research work, including products or services, funded in whole or in part by the Federal 

Government. 

Joint Venture – See 13 C.F.R. § 121.103(h).

Research or Research and Development (R/R&D) - Any activity that is:

(1) a systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of 

the subject studied;

(2) a systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a 

recognized need; or

(3) a systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, 

devices, services, or methods, and includes design, development, and improvement of 

prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements. 

SBIR Technical Data - All data generated during the performance of an SBIR award. 

SBIR Technical Data Rights - The rights an SBIR awardee obtains in data generated during 

the performance of any SBIR Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III award that an awardee delivers to 

the Government during or upon completion of a Federally-funded project, and to which the 

Government receives a license. 

Small Business Concern (SBC) – A concern that meets the requirements set forth in 13 C.F.R.

§ 121.702 (available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title13-vol1.CFR-2011-

title13-vol1-sec121-702).

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged SBC (SDB) - See 13 C.F.R. Part 124, Subpart B.

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual - See 13 C.F.R. §§ 124.103 and 124.104.

Subaward – See 2 C.F.R. § 200.92.

Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) - An SBC that is at least 51% owned by one or more 

women, or in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51% of the stock is owned by 

women, and women control the management and daily business operations.
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1.06 Fraud, Waste and Abuse

As defined in the SBIR Policy Directive section 9(f), fraud includes any false representation 

about a material fact or any intentional deception designed to deprive the United States 

unlawfully of something of value or to secure from the United States a benefit, privilege, 

allowance, or consideration to which an individual or business is not entitled. Waste 

includes extravagant, careless, or needless expenditure of Government funds, or the 

consumption of Government property, that results from deficient practices, systems, 

controls, or decisions. Abuse includes any intentional or improper use of Government 

resources, such as misuse of rank, position, or authority or resources. Examples of fraud, 

waste, and abuse relating to the SBIR Program include, but are not limited to:

(i) misrepresentations or material, factual omissions to obtain, or otherwise receive funding 

under, an SBIR award;

(ii) misrepresentations of the use of funds expended, work done, results achieved, or 

compliance with program requirements under an SBIR award; 

(iii) misuse or conversion of SBIR award funds, including any use of award funds while not in 

full compliance with SBIR Program requirements, or failure to pay taxes due on misused or 

converted SBIR award funds;

(iv) fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in applying for, carrying out, or reporting results 

from an SBIR award;

(v) failure to comply with applicable federal costs principles governing an award;

(vi) extravagant, careless, or needless spending;

(vii) self-dealing, such as making a sub-award to an entity in which the Principal Investigator 

(PI) has a financial interest;

(viii) acceptance by agency personnel of bribes or gifts in exchange for grant or contract 

awards or other conflicts of interest that prevents the Government from getting the best 

value; and

(ix) lack of monitoring, or follow-up if questions arise, by agency personnel to ensure that 

awardee meets all required eligibility requirements, provides all required certifications, 

performs in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, and performs all work 

proposed in the application.
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Report any allegations of fraud, waste and abuse using the online Department of Commerce 

Office of Inspector General Complaint Form, available at 

https://www.oig.doc.gov/Pages/online-hotline-complaint-form.aspx send an e-mail to: 

Hotline@oig.doc.gov. Note: Because the Internet is not secure, it is possible, though 

unlikely, that e-mail complaints may be read by persons other than your intended source. If 

you are concerned about this, you may choose to call or mail. Contact information for the 

Office of Inspector General is available at: https://www.oig.doc.gov/pages/ContactUs.aspx. Please do not include Personally Identifiable Information (PII) through the website 

or via e-mail. PII is considered to be items containing Social Security numbers, dates of 

birth, credit card and passport numbers, or other personally identifying information that 

could adversely affect an individual. Web submissions and e-mails containing such 

information will be blocked by our system administrator and will not be processed by our 

Complaint Department. Should you desire to provide this information, please contact the 

Hotline by telephone at the numbers listed below. 

Phone:

Toll Free 800-424-5197

In the DC metro area 202-482-2495

TTD Toll Free 855-860-6950

TTD in the DC metro area 202-482-5923

Mail:

Office of Inspector General

Complaint Intake Unit, Mail Stop 7886

1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20230

Fax:

855-569-9235

1.07 Other Information

1.07.01 Personal and Business Information

The applicant acknowledges and understands that information and data contained in 

applications for financial assistance, as well as information and data contained in financial, 

performance and other reports submitted by applicants, may be used by the Department of 

Commerce in conducting reviews and evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For 

this purpose, applicant information and data may be accessed, reviewed and evaluated by 

Department of Commerce employees, other Federal employees, and also by Federal agents 

and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate 
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conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering the use of such information. As 

may be provided in the terms and conditions of a specific financial assistance award, 

applicants are expected to support program reviews and evaluations by submitting required 

financial and performance information and data in an accurate and timely manner, and by 

cooperating with Department of Commerce and external program evaluators. In accordance 

with 2 C.F.R. § 200.303(e), applicants are reminded that they must take reasonable 

measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other confidential 

or sensitive personal or business information created or obtained in connection with a 

Department of Commerce financial assistance award.

In addition, Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. §552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public Information. 

These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, 

information, and records publicly available under the FOIA. Applications submitted in 

response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity may be subject to requests for release 

under the Act. In the event that an application contains information or data that the 

applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and marked as 

Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. In accordance with 15 CFR § 

4.9, the Department of Commerce will protect from disclosure confidential business 

information contained in financial assistance applications and other documentation 

provided by applicants to the extent permitted by law.

2.0 CERTIFICATIONS

2.01 Funding Agreement Certification

Awardees will be required to certify size, ownership and other SBIR Program requirements 

at the time of award and during the funding agreement life cycle using the SBIR Funding 

Agreement Certification and the SBIR Funding Agreement Certification – Life-Cycle 

Certification, which are provided in Appendix B of this NOFO.

2.02 Research Activities Involving Human Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or Recordings 

Involving Human Subjects Including Software Testing

Any application that includes research activities involving human subjects, human 

tissue/cells, or data or recordings from or about human subjects, must satisfy the 

requirements of the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects (“Common Rule”), 

codified for the Department of Commerce at 15 C.F.R. Part 27. Research activities involving 

human subjects that fall within one or more of the classes of vulnerable subjects found in 
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45 C.F.R. Part 46, Subparts B, C and D must satisfy the requirements of the applicable 

subpart(s). In addition, any such application that includes research activities on these 

subjects must be in compliance with all applicable statutory requirements imposed upon 

the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and other Federal agencies, all 

regulations, policies and guidance adopted by DHHS, the Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA), and other Federal agencies on these topics, and all Executive Orders and Presidential 

statements of policy on applicable topics. (Regulatory Resources: 

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/index.html which includes links to FDA 

regulations, but may not include all applicable regulations and policies).

On January 19, 2017, a final rule was published in the Federal Register that made significant 

amendments to the Common Rule: 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/19/2017-01058/federal-policy-forthe-protection-of-human-subjects. These amendments, known as the “2018 

Requirements,” took effect on January 21, 2019. Any new award made by NIST after 

January 21, 2019 will be subject to the 2018 Requirements.

NIST uses the following Common Rule definitions for research and human subjects research:

Research: A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and 

evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities which 

meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are 

conducted or supported under a program which is considered research for other purposes. 

For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities.

Human Subject: A living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or 

student) conducting research: (i) Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention 

or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or 

biospecimens; or (ii) Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private 

information or identifiable biospecimens. 

(1) Intervention includes both physical procedures by which information or 

biospecimens are gathered and manipulations of the subject or the subject's 

environment that are performed for research purposes. 

(2) Interaction includes communication or interpersonal contact between investigator 

and subject. 

(3) Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in 

which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking 

place, and information which has been provided for specific purposes by an 

individual and that the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public (for 
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example, a medical record). Private information must be individually identifiable 

(i.e., the identity of the subject is or may readily be ascertained by the investigator 

associated with the information) in order for obtaining the information to constitute 

research involving human subjects. 

(4) Identifiable biospecimen includes a biospecimen for which the identity of the subject 

is or may readily be ascertained by the investigator or associated with the 

biospecimen.

See 15 C.F.R. § 27.102 (Definitions). 

1) Requirement for Federalwide Assurance. If the application is accepted for [or 

awarded] funding, organizations that have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) are 

required to follow the procedures of their organization for approval of exempt and 

non-exempt research activities that involve human subjects. Both domestic and 

foreign organizations performing non-exempt research activities involving human 

subjects will be required to have protocols approved by a cognizant, active IRB 

currently registered with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) within 

the DHHS that is linked to the engaged organizations. All engaged organizations 

must possess a currently valid Federalwide Assurance (FWA) on file from OHRP. 

Information regarding how to apply for an FWA and register an IRB with OHRP can 

be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/assurances/index.html. See 15 C.F.R. § 

27.103. NIST relies only on OHRP-issued FWAs and IRB Registrations for both 

domestic and foreign organizations for NIST supported research involving human 

subjects. NIST will not issue its own FWAs or IRB Registrations for domestic or 

foreign organizations. 

2) Administrative Review. The NIST Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO) reserves 

the right to conduct an administrative review1 of all applications that potentially 

include research involving human subjects and were approved by an authorized nonNIST institutional entity (an IRB or entity analogous to the NIST HSPO) under 15 

C.F.R. § 27.112 (Review by Institution). If the NIST HSPO determines that an 

 

1 Conducting an “administrative review” means that the NIST HSPO will review and verify the performing 

institution’s determination for research not involving human subjects or exempt human subjects research. 

In addition, for non-exempt human subjects research, the NIST HSPO will review and confirm that the 

research and performing institution(s) are in compliance with 15 C.F.R. Part 27, which means HSPO will 

1) confirm the engaged institution(s) possess, or are covered under a Federalwide Assurance, 2) review 

the research study documentation submitted to the IRB and verify the IRB’s determination of level of risk 

and approval of the study for compliance with 15 C.F.R. Part 27, 3) review and verify IRB-approved 

substantive changes to an approved research study before the changes are implemented, and 4) review 

and verify that the IRB conducts a continuing review at least annually, as appropriate.
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application includes research activities that potentially involve human subjects, the 

applicant will be required to provide additional information to NIST for review and 

approval. The documents required for funded proposals are listed in each section 

below. Most documents will need to be produced during the proposal review 

process; however, the Grants Officer may allow final versions of certain required 

documents to be produced at an appropriate designated time post-award. Research 

involving human subjects may not start until the NIST Grants Officer issues an award 

explicitly authorizing such research. In addition, all amendments, modifications, or 

changes to approved research and requests for continuing review and closure will be 

reviewed by the NIST HSPO.

3) Required documents for proposal review. All applications involving human 

subjects research must clearly indicate, by separable task, all research activities 

believed to be exempt or non-exempt research involving human subjects, the 

expected institution(s) where the research activities involving human subjects may 

be conducted, and the institution(s) expected to be engaged in the research 

activities.

a. Not research determination. If an activity/task involves human subjects as defined in the 

Common Rule, but the applicant participant(s) indicates to NIST that the activity/task is not 

research as defined in the Common Rule, the following information may be requested for 

that activity/task:

(1) Justification, including the rationale for the determination and such additional 

documentation as may be deemed necessary by NIST to review and/or support a 

determination that the activity/task in the application is not research as defined in the 

Common Rule. 

(2) If the applicant participant(s) used a cognizant IRB that provided a determination that 

the activity/task is not research, a copy of that determination documentation must be 

provided to NIST. The applicant participant(s) is not required to establish a relationship 

with a cognizant IRB if they do not have one.

NIST will review the information submitted and may coordinate further with the applicant 

before determining whether the activity/task will be defined as research under the 

Common Rule in the applicable NIST financial assistance program or project.

b. Research not involving human subjects. If an activity/task is determined to be research and 

involves human subjects, but is determined to be not human subjects research (or research 

not involving human subjects) under the Common Rule, the following information may be 

requested for that activity/task:
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(1) Justification, including the rationale for the determination and such additional 

documentation as may be deemed necessary by NIST to review and/or support a 

determination that the activity/task in the application is not research as defined in the 

Common Rule. 

(2) If the applicant participant(s) used a cognizant IRB that provided a determination that 

the activity/task is research not involving human subjects, a copy of that determination 

documentation must be provided to NIST. The applicant participant(s) is not required to 

establish a relationship with a cognizant IRB if they do not have one.

c. Exempt research determination with no IRB. If the application appears to NIST to include 

exempt research activities, and the performer of the activity or the supplier and/or the 

receiver of the information or biospecimens from human subjects does not have a 

cognizant IRB to provide an exemption determination, the following information may be 

requested during the review process so that NIST can evaluate whether an exemption 

under the Common Rule applies (see 15 C.F.R. § 27.104(b) and (d)):

(1) The name(s) of the institution(s) where the exempt research will be conducted.

(2) The name(s) of the institution(s) providing the biospecimens or information from human 

subjects.

(3) A copy of the protocol for the research to be conducted; and/or the biospecimens or 

information from human subjects to be collected/provided, not pre-existing samples 

(i.e., will proposed research collect only information without personal identifiable 

information, will biospecimens or information be de-identified and when and by whom 

was the de-identification performed, how were the materials or data originally 

collected).

(4) For pre-existing biospecimens or information from human subjects, provide copies of 

the consent forms used for collection and a description of how the biospecimens or 

information were originally collected and stripped of personal identifiers. If copies of 

consent forms are not available, explain.

(5) Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may deem necessary in order to make 

a determination whether the activity/task or use of biospecimens or information from 

human subjects is exempt under the Common Rule.

d. Research review with an IRB. If the application appears to NIST to include research 

activities (exempt or non-exempt) involving human subjects, and the proposed performer of 

the activity has a cognizant IRB registered with OHRP, and linked to their Federalwide 

Assurance, the following information may be requested during the review process:

(1) The name(s) of the institution(s) where the research will be conducted.

(2) The name(s) and institution(s) of the cognizant IRB(s), and the IRB registration 

number(s).
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(3) The FWA number of the applicant linked to the cognizant IRB(s).

(4) The FWAs associated with all organizations engaged in the planned research 

activity/task, linked to the cognizant IRB.

(5) If the IRB review(s) is pending, the estimated start date for research involving human 

subjects.

(6) The IRB approval date (if currently approved for exempt or non-exempt research).

(7) If any of the engaged organizations has applied for or will apply for an FWA or IRB 

registration, those details should be clearly provided for each engaged organization.

If the application includes research activities involving human subjects to be performed in 

the first year of an award, additional documentation may be requested by NIST during preaward review for those performers, and may include the following for those research 

activities: 

(1) A signed (by the study principal investigator) copy of each applicable final IRB-approved 

protocol.

(2) A signed and dated approval letter from the cognizant IRB(s) that includes the name of 

the institution housing each applicable IRB, provides the start and end dates for the 

approval of the research activities, and any IRB-required interim reporting or continuing 

review requirements.

(3) A copy of any IRB-required application information, such as documentation of approval 

of special clearances (i.e., biohazard, HIPAA, etc.) conflict-of-interest letters, or special 

training requirements.

(4) A brief description of which portions of the IRB submitted protocol are specifically 

included in the application submitted to NIST, if the protocol includes tasks not included 

in the application, or if the protocol is supported by multiple funding sources. For 

protocols with multiple funding sources, NIST will not approve the study without a nonduplication-of-funding letter indicating that no other federal funds will be used to 

support the tasks proposed under the proposed research or ongoing project.

(5) If a new protocol will only be submitted to an IRB if an award from NIST is issued, a draft 

of the proposed protocol.

(6) Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may request during the review 

process to perform the NIST administrative review of research involving human 

subjects. (See 15 C.F.R. § 27.112 (Review by Institution)).

This clause reflects the existing NIST policy and requirements for Research Involving Human 

Subjects. Should the policy be revised prior to award, a clause reflecting the policy current at 

time of award may be incorporated into the award.

If the policy is revised after award, a clause reflecting the updated policy may be incorporated 

into the award.
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For more information regarding research projects involving human subjects, contact Anne 

Andrews, Director, NIST Human Subjects Protection Office (e-mail: anne.andrews@nist.gov; 

phone: (301) 975-5445).

2.03 Research Applications Involving Live Vertebrate Animals or Pre-Existing Cell 

Lines/Tissues from Vertebrate Animals

Any application that proposes research activities involving live vertebrate animals that are to be 

cared for, euthanized, or used by award recipients to accomplish research goals, teaching, or 

testing must meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq.), 

and the AWA final rules (9 C.F.R. Parts 1, 2, and 3), and if appropriate, the Good Laboratory 

Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies (21 C.F.R. Part 58). In addition, such research 

activities should be in compliance with the “U.S. Government Principles for Utilization and Care 

of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training” (Principles). The Principles and

guidance on these Principles are available in the National Research Council's “Guide for the 

Care and Use of Laboratory Animals,”,” which can be obtained from National Academy Press, 

500 5th Street, N.W., Department 285, Washington, DC 20055, or as a free PDF online at 

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12910/guide-for-the-care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals-eighth. 

1) Administrative Review. NIST reserves the right to conduct an administrative review2 of 

all applications that potentially include research activities that involve live vertebrate 

animals, or custom samples from, or field studies with live vertebrate animals. If the 

application includes research activities, field studies, or custom samples involving live 

vertebrate animals, the applicant will be required to provide additional information for 

review and approval. In addition, NIST will verify the applicant’s determination(s) of 

excluded samples from vertebrate animals. The documents required for funded 

proposals are listed in each section below. Some may be requested for a pre-review 

during the proposal review process; however, the Grants Officer may allow final 

versions of certain required documents to be produced at an appropriate designated 

time post-award. If an award is issued, no research activities involving live vertebrate 

animals shall be initiated or costs incurred for those activities under the award until the 

 

2 Conducting an “administrative review” means that the NIST HSPO will review and verify the performing 

institution’s IACUC’s approval of research with live vertebrate animals, and confirm that the research and 

performing institution(s) have an appropriate assurance and are in compliance with applicable regulations. HSPO 

will 1) confirm the engaged institution(s) possess, or are covered under an applicable assurance, 2) review the 

research study documentation submitted to the IACUC and verify the IACUC’s determination of level of risk and 

approval of the study for compliance with applicable regulations, 3) review and verify IACUC-approved substantive 

changes to an approved research study before the changes are implemented, and 4) review and verify that the 

IACUC receives an annual report for the study and conducts an appropriate continuing review at least every three 

years.
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NIST Grants Officer issues written approval. In addition, all re-approvals, amendments, 

modifications, changes, annual reports and closure will be reviewed by NIST. 

2) Required documents for NIST proposal review. The applicant should clearly indicate in 

the application, by separable task, all research activities believed to include research 

involving live vertebrate animals and the institution(s) where the research activities 

involving live vertebrate animals may be conducted. In addition, the applicant should 

indicate any activity/task that involves an excluded or custom collection from 

vertebrate animals, or a field study with animals.

a) Excluded Collections from Vertebrate Animals: The requirements for review and 

approval by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) do not apply to 

proposed research using preexisting images of animals or to research plans that do 

not include live animals. These regulations also do not apply to obtaining stock or 

pre-existing items from animal material suppliers (e.g., tissue banks), such as preexisting cell lines and tissue samples, or from commercial food processors, where the 

vertebrate animal was euthanized for food purposes and not for the purpose of 

sample collection.

For pre-existing cell lines and tissue samples originating from vertebrate animals, 

NIST requires that the proposer provide documentation or the rationale for the 

determination that the cell line or tissue is pre-existing and not a custom collection 

from live vertebrate animals for an activity/task within the proposal. NIST may 

require additional documentation to review and/or support the determination that 

the cells and/or tissues from vertebrate animals are excluded from IACUC review.

b) Custom Collections Harvested from Live Vertebrate Animals: NIST requires 

documentation for obtaining custom samples from live vertebrate animals from 

animal material suppliers and other organizations (i.e., universities, companies, and 

government laboratories, etc.). A custom sample includes samples from animal 

material suppliers, such as when a catalog item indicates that the researcher is to 

specify the characteristics of the live vertebrate animal to be used, or how a sample is 

to be collected from the live vertebrate animal. 

c) Field Studies of Animals: Some field studies of animals may be exempt under the 

Animal Welfare Act from full review and approval by an animal care and use 

committee, as determined by each institution. Field study is defined as “... a study 

conducted on free-living wild animals in their natural habitat...”. 9 C.F.R. § 1.1. 

However, this term excludes any study that involves an invasive procedure or that 

harms or materially alters the behavior of an animal under study. Field studies, with 

or without invasive procedures, may also require obtaining appropriate federal or 
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local government permits (marine mammals, endangered species, etc.). If the 

applicant’s institution requires review and approval by an animal care and use 

committee, NIST will require that documentation to be provided as described below.

d) For custom collections or studies with live vertebrate animals that require review 

and approval by an animal care and use committee the following documentation is 

required:

(1) Requirement for Assurance. An applicable assurance for the care and use of the 

live vertebrate animal(s) to be used in the proposed research is required. NIST 

may request documentation to confirm an assurance, if adequate confirmation is 

not available through an assuring organization’s website. The cognizant IACUC 

where the research activity is located may hold one or more assurances 

applicable to the research activity that are acceptable to NIST. These four

assurances are:

i. Animal Welfare Assurance from the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare 

(OLAW) indicated by the OLAW assurance number, i.e., A-1234; 

ii. USDA Animal Welfare Act certification indicated by the certification 

number, i.e., 12-R-3456; 

iii. Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal 

Care (AAALAC) indicated by providing the organization name accredited 

by AAALAC as listed in the AAALAC Directory of Accredited Organizations; 

and

iv. Letter of Assurance of compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, the U.S. 

Government Principles, and National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) 

IACUC policy that is valid for five years and provided by a NMFS Regional 

IACUC for activities with marine mammals or sea turtles (NMFS Policy 

Directive 04-112).

(2) Documentation of Research Review by an IACUC: If the applicant’s application 

appears to include research activities, field studies, or custom sample collections 

involving live vertebrate animals the following information regarding review by 

an applicable IACUC may be requested during the application review process:

1. The name(s) of the institution(s) where the research involving live vertebrate 

animals will be conducted and/or custom samples collected.

2. The assurance type and number, as applicable, for the cognizant Institutional 

Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) where the research activity is 

located. [For example: Animal Welfare Assurance from the Office of 

Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) should be indicated by the OLAW 
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assurance number, i.e. A-1234; an USDA Animal Welfare Act certification 

should be indicated by the certification number i.e. 12-R-3456; and an 

Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care 

(AAALAC) should be indicated by AAALAC.]

3. The IACUC approval date for the Animal Study Protocol (ASP) (if currently 

approved).

4. If the review by the cognizant IACUC is pending, the estimated start date for 

research involving vertebrate animals.

5. If any assurances or IACUCs need to be obtained or established, that should 

be clearly stated.

6. If any special permits are required for field studies, those details should be 

clearly provided for each instance, or indicated as pending.

If the application includes research activities involving vertebrate animals to be 

performed in the first year of an award, additional documentation may be requested by 

NIST during pre-award review for those performers, and may include the following for 

those research activities, which may also include field studies, custom sample 

collections involving live vertebrate animals:

1. A signed (by the Principal Investigator) copy of the IACUC approved ASP.

2. Documentation of the IACUC approval indicating the approval and expiration 

dates of the ASP.

3. If applicable, a non-duplication-of-funding letter if the ASP is funded from 

several sources.

4. If a new ASP will only be submitted to an IACUC if an award from NIST is 

issued, a draft of the proposed ASP may be requested.

5. Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may request during review 

of applications to perform the NIST administrative review of research 

involving live vertebrate animals.

This clause reflects the existing NIST policy for Research Involving Live Vertebrate Animals. 

Should the policy be revised prior to award, a clause reflecting the policy current at time of 

award may be incorporated into the award.

If the policy is revised after award, a clause reflecting the updated policy may be 

incorporated into the award.

For more information regarding research projects involving live vertebrate animals, contact 

Linda Beth Schilling, Senior Analyst (e-mail: linda.schilling@nist.gov; phone: 301-975-2887).
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2.04 Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax Convictions, Unpaid 

Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent Federal Tax Returns

In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the selected 

applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal 

felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and delinquent 

federal tax returns.

3.0 APPLICATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

3.01 Phase I Application Requirements 

Only FY 2019 Phase I applications may be submitted in response to this NOFO. Phase II 

applications are not being accepted at this time. NIST publishes a Phase II NOFO

approximately 30 days prior to the end of the previous year’s Phase I period of 

performance to request Phase II applications. That NOFO provides instructions for Phase I 

awardees to prepare a Phase II application and the closing date for submission of 

applications. To reiterate, only the previous year’s Phase I awardees are eligible to submit 

a Phase II application.

The application must provide sufficient information to demonstrate that the proposed 

work represents a sound approach to the investigation of an important scientific or 

engineering innovation worthy of support. The application must sufficiently identify and 

address a specific NIST technical program area that falls within one of the research areas 

described in Section 9 or a NIST-patented technology available for licensing. The research 

must be directed towards development of a commercial product or service in the NIST 

program area. The application must be self-contained and written with all the care and 

thoroughness of a scientific paper submitted for publication. It should indicate a 

thorough knowledge of the current status of research area addressed by the application. 

Each application should be checked carefully by the applicant to ensure inclusion of all 

essential material needed for a complete evaluation (see Sections 4.02 and 8.01). 

The application must serve as the basis for technological innovation and lead to a new 

commercial product, process, or service that benefits the public. 

NIST reserves the right to not submit an application for merit review if NIST determines the 

application has insufficient scientific and technical information, fails to comply with the 

administrative procedures as outlined in the applicable Screening Criteria in Section 4.02, or 

is missing any of the required forms and documents listed in Section 8.01. 
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All applicants are required to provide information for SBA’s database (www.sbir.gov). The 

following are examples of the data to be entered by applicants into the database:

• Any business concern or subsidiary established for the commercial application of a 

product or service for which an SBIR award is made. 

• Revenue from the sale of new products or services resulting from the research 

conducted under each Phase II award. 

• Additional investment from any source, other than Phase I or Phase II awards, to 

further the research and development conducted under each Phase II award. 

• Updated information in the SBA Tech-Net database on sbir.gov for any prior award 

received by the SBC. The SBC may apportion sales or additional investment 

information relating to more than one Phase II award among those awards, if it 

notes the apportionment for each award. 

Each Phase II awardee is required to update appropriate information on the award in the 

database upon completion of the last program objective under the funding agreement and 

is requested to voluntarily update the information in the database annually thereafter for a 

minimum period of 5 years. 

3.02 Phase I Application

A complete application must include a Technical Proposal (described below) and all other

forms and documents listed in Section 8.01. An applicant may submit multiple applications 

but each application must be clearly differentiated.

The Technical Proposal, both the Cover Sheet and Technical Content, is limited to 25 pages.

The only exception to the 25-page limit is for applicants covered by the provision for Prior 

SBIR Phase II Awards (Section 3.02.02 (14)). Additional pages beyond the 25-page limit will

not be considered in the evaluation process. Pages should be of standard size (8 1/2” x 11”; 

21.6 cm x 27.9 cm) with margins of 2.5 cm and type at least 10-point font. All units of 

measurement should be presented in metric units. 

The Technical Proposal portion of the application requires the following:

(a) Cover Sheet (3.02.01) pages 1 and 2, and

(b) Technical Content (3.02.02) pages 3 through 25.

The listing of all forms and documents needed to complete the application is given in 

Section 8.01 of this NOFO. The additional required forms and documents in Section 8.01 

are not included in the 25-page count.

See Section 6.0 for information on the submission of applications in response to this NOFO.
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3.02.01 Cover Sheet

A completed Cover Sheet (see Appendix A of this NOFO) is a required part of the Technical 

Proposal. The Cover Sheet is counted as pages 1 and 2 of the Technical Proposal. 

If an applicant checks ‘Yes’ on #11, the applicant’s contact information will be provided to

the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Such applicants may be 

contacted by your local MEP Center to explore a wide range of services and initiatives to 

help identify potential opportunities to accelerate and strengthen growth and 

competitiveness in the global marketplace for small and medium-sized manufacturers, 

including business-related support services that could potentially benefit the applicant’s

proposed project.

The applicant must provide in the space available on the Cover Sheet an abstract (limited to 

200 words) and summary of potential commercial application of the research results

(limited to 100 words). Each applicant’s abstract and summary of potential commercial 

applications will be provided to the SBA and should not contain proprietary information. 

Each awardee’s abstract and summary of potential commercial applications will be 

published on the NIST SBIR website (www.nist.gov/tpo/small-business-innovation-researchprogram) and www.sbir.gov.

3.02.02 Technical Content

Beginning on page 3 of the Technical Proposal, include the following items with headings as 

shown: 

(1) NIST Program Area or NIST-Patented Technology Available for Licensing. The first 

paragraph of the proposal must describe a research project that addresses a current NIST 

technical program area falling within one of the research areas identified in Section 9.0 or 

utilizes a NIST-patented technology available for licensing; this paragraph must include the 

full URL of the NIST or Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) website that provides the 

source of the information for the program area or NIST-patented technology. A listing of 

NIST-patented technologies is available on the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s (FLC) 

website (https://www.federallabs.org/labs/national-institute-of-standards-and-technologynist-0). 

(2) Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity. Make a clear statement 

of the specific research problem or opportunity addressed, its innovativeness, commercial 

potential, and why the research is important. 

(3) Phase I Technical Objectives. State the specific objectives of the Phase I effort, including 
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the technical questions it will try to answer, to determine the feasibility of the proposed 

approach. 

(4) Phase I Work Plan. Include a detailed description of the Phase I feasibility research plan. 

The plan should indicate what will be done, where it will be done, and how the research will 

be carried out. The method(s) planned to achieve each objective or task should be 

discussed in detail. 

(5) Related R/R&D. Describe significant R/R&D that is directly related to the application, 

including any conducted by the principal investigator or by the proposing SBC. Describe how 

it relates to the proposed effort and describe any planned coordination with outside 

sources. The applicant must persuade evaluators of his or her awareness of key, recent 

R/R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area. 

(6) Key Individuals and Bibliography of Related Work. Identify key individuals involved in 

Phase I, including their related education, experience, and publications. Where vitae are 

extensive, summaries that focus on the most relevant experience and publications are 

desired and may be necessary to meet application size limitations. 

(7) Relationship with Future R/R&D. Discuss the significance of the Phase I effort in 

providing a foundation for the Phase II R/R&D effort. Also state the anticipated commercial 

results of the proposed approach. 

(8) Facilities and Equipment. A detailed description, availability, and location of 

instrumentation and physical facilities proposed for Phase I should be provided. 

(9) Consultants, Contracts, and Subawards. The purpose of this section is to show that any 

third-party research assistance would materially benefit the proposed effort and that

arrangements for such assistance are in place at time of application submission.

For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort must be 

performed by the awardee. Outside involvement in the project is encouraged where it 

strengthens the conduct of the research. Outside involvement is not a requirement of this 

program and is limited to no more than one-third of the research and/or analytical effort in 

Phase I. The total cost for all consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, and other 

subcontract/subaward or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total 

award.

No individual or entity may serve as consultant, contractor, or subrecipient if they have 

been the recipient of any NIST information related to the research area that is not generally 

available to the public.
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The following definitions apply to this NOFO:

1. Consultant - A person outside the firm, named in the application as contributing to the 

research, must provide a signed statement confirming his/her availability, role in the 

project, and agreed consulting rate for participation in the project. 

2. Contract - Similarly, where a contract is involved in the research, the contractor

institution must furnish a letter signed by an appropriate official describing the 

programmatic arrangements and confirming its agreed participation in the research, with its 

proposed budget for this participation. 

3. Subawards - As the funding instrument used in this program is financial assistance, an 

awardee might pass through funds to another organization to carry out part of the 

Federally-supported project. A “subaward” relationship fits the circumstances more 

appropriately than a contract when used to carry out part of the Federally-supported 

project. See 2 CFR §§ 200.92 (subaward), 200.93 (subrecipient), and 200.330 (Subrecipient 

and contractor determinations), respectively.

The subrecipient institution must furnish a letter signed by an appropriate official describing 

the programmatic arrangements and confirming its agreed participation in the research, 

with its proposed budget for this participation. 

(10) Potential Commercial Application. A primary program goal is to provide opportunities 

for small businesses to convert research into technological innovation in the private sector. 

All proposed research should have a commercial outcome. Describe in detail the 

commercial potential of the proposed research, how commercialization would be pursued 

and potentially used by the private sector and/or the Federal Government. Include any 

optional letters of support and relevant supporting material such as references to journal 

articles, literature, or government publications. Provide any indicators of commercial 

potential and address the following:

(a) Market opportunity – Describe the current and anticipated target market, the size of the 

market, and include a brief profile of the potential customer(s).

(b) Technology and competition – Describe the competitive landscape, the value 

proposition and competitive advantage of the product or service enabled by the proposed 

innovation. Also include the critical milestones and pathway for commercial deployment of 

the proposed product or service.

(c) Finances – Describe your strategy for financing the innovation beyond the SBIR award. 

Describe the existence of any outside, non-SBIR funding or partnering commitments 
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including any Phase II funding commitments from private sector or non-SBIR funding 

sources and/or the existence of Phase III follow-on commitments for the subject research.

(d) Benefits - Describe the anticipated commercial benefits of the resulting product or 

service.

(e) Experience -- Describe your record of commercializing SBIR or other research. Include 

any additional indicators of the commercial potential of the idea.

(11) Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA). State if the applicant is 

a former or current CRADA partner with NIST, or with any other Federal agency, naming the 

agency, title of the CRADA, and any relationship with the proposed work. The statement of 

work of an SBIR award awarded under this NOFO cannot overlap with the statement of 

work of an existing CRADA with any federal agency, including NIST, with the awardee. NIST 

will consider whether there is any overlap on a case by case basis.

(12) Guest Researcher. State if the applicant or any of its consultants, contractors, or 

subrecipients or their employees is a domestic or foreign guest researcher at NIST (see 

http://www.nist.gov/tpo/collaborations/guestresearchers.cfm), naming the sponsoring 

laboratory. 

(13) Cost Sharing. Cost sharing is not required and is not considered during the evaluation 

process for Phase I applications.

(14) Similar Applications or Awards. WARNING -- While it is permissible to submit identical 

applications or applications containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work 

for consideration under numerous Federal program funding announcements, it is unlawful 

to enter into a funding agreement requiring essentially equivalent work to an SBIR award

(see 15 U.S.C. § 638(bb)(3)). If there is any question concerning this, it must be disclosed to 

the soliciting agency or agencies before award. 

If an application submitted in response to this NOFO is substantially the same as another 

application that has been funded, is now being funded, or is pending with another Federal 

Agency, the applicant must provide the following information:

(a) Names and addresses of agencies to which an application was submitted or from which 

an award was received. 

(b) Date of application submission or date of award. 

(c) Title, number, and date of NOFO(s) under which an application was submitted or award 
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received. 

(d) Specific applicable research topic(s) for each application submitted or award received. 

(e) Title of research projects for each application submitted or award received.

(f) Name and title of principal investigator or project manager for each application

submitted or award received. 

If no equivalent application is under consideration or award for equivalent work received, a 

statement to that effect must be included in this section of the technical content area of the 

application. 

(15) Prior SBIR Phase II Awards. If the SBC has received more than 15 Phase II awards in the 

prior 5 fiscal years, the SBC must submit the following information in its Phase I application: 

name of the awarding agency; date of award; funding agreement number; amount of 

award; topic, subtopic, or research area title; follow-on agreement amount; source and 

date of commitment; and current commercialization status for each Phase II award. This 

required information will not be counted toward the 25-page Technical Proposal limitation.

4.0 METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

4.01 Introduction 

All applications will be evaluated and judged on a competitive basis. Applications will be 

initially screened to determine eligibility, and completeness, and responsiveness to this 

NOFO (see Sections 4.02 and 8.01). Applications passing the initial screening will be 

evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria (see Section 4.03). Each application will 

be judged on its own merit. 

NIST is under no obligation to fund any application or any specific number of applications in 

a given topic. NIST may elect to fund several or none of the applications for the same 

research area. If an application is submitted that requires a license to use a NIST-owned 

invention covered by a patent or patent application and such NIST-owned invention has 

become unavailable for licensing prior to the close of this NOFO in the field of use relevant 

to the application, NIST has the sole discretion to deem the application ineligible.

4.02 Phase I Screening Criteria 

Please carefully read the entire NOFO and review the following Phase I Screening Criteria to 
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assure that your application meets NIST requirements. Phase I applications that do not 

clearly satisfy all eight (8) of the screening criteria will be eliminated from the review and 

selection process and not receive further consideration. However, NIST, in its sole 

discretion, may continue the review process for an application that is missing minor nonsubstantive information, the absence of which may easily be rectified.

The screening criteria are: 

(1) The application must be received by NIST before the deadline specified in Section 6.01.

(2) The proposing firm must qualify as eligible according to the criteria provided in Section 

1.03. 

(3) The Phase I application must include all required forms and documents listed in Section 

8.01:

i) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

ii) SF424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs

iii) SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs

iv) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying

v) SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable)

vi) Technical Content – see Section 3.02

a. Cover Sheet – see Section 3.02.01

b. Technical Proposal – see Section 3.02.02

vii) Budget Narrative – see Section 8.01.7

viii) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement – see Section 8.01.8

ix) SBA Company Registry Form – see Section 8.01.9

x) Data Management Plan -see Section 8.01.10

xi) Research and Related Personal Data – see Section 8.01.11

xii) Compliance with SBIR Program Requirements, Applicant Fraud Awareness Training –

Certificate of Training Completion – see Section 8.01.12

(4) The Phase I total proposed project budget must not exceed $100,000. Up to an 

additional $6,500 may be requested for TABA. For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the 

research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the awardee. The total cost for all 

consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or purchase 

agreements may not exceed one-third of the total award (Section 1.03).

(5) The feasibility research duration for the Phase I project must not exceed 6 months. 

(6) If an application is submitted that requires a license to use a NIST-owned invention 
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covered by a patent or patent application, the relevant NIST-owned invention must be 

available for licensing prior to the close of this NOFO in the field of use relevant to the 

application.

(7) The Phase I application must be submitted only under one of the research areas in 

Section 9 and must clearly address NIST research priorities as shown by identification of a 

NIST or FLC website. (Section 3.02.02 (1))

(8) The Phase I application must include a commercialization plan. (Section 3.02.02.(10))

4.03 Phase I Evaluation Criteria

Phase I applications that satisfy the screening criteria in Section 4.02 will proceed to a 

scored merit review process. 

Merit Review. The applications will be evaluated by at least three (3) reviewers 

composed of NIST staff in accordance with the following weighted criteria for a 

maximum of 100 points. Reviewers will evaluate: 

(1) The degree to which the proposed technical approach is comprehensive, feasible, and 

demonstrates a clear understanding of the research area. (20 points)

(2) The appropriateness of the qualifications and extent of the experience of the proposed 

principal/key investigators, supporting staff, and consultants as they relate to accomplishing 

the proposed research effort. In addition, reviewers will evaluate, as applicable, the extent 

to which the applicant has access to the facilities and equipment necessary to complete the 

proposed research. (5 points) 

(3) The likelihood that the proposed research program will lead to a successful product or 

service with a viable pathway for commercial deployment as described in the 

commercialization plan. (30 points) 

(4) The magnitude of the anticipated commercial benefits of the resulting product or 

service. (20 points) 

(5) The extent to which the proposed commercial product or service relates to the goals of a 

NIST technical program and the NIST mission. (20 points) 

(6) SBIR Programmatic priorities (5 points):

a) The extent to which the proposed project includes SBIR high priority areas of 

 manufacturing-related and energy-efficiency research.

b) The extent of participation by women and socially and economically disadvantaged 
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SBCs, and SBCs from HUBZones or under-served states in the proposed project. 

4.04 Phase I Award Selections

Final selection decisions will be made by the Selecting Official, the Director of the NIST 

Technology Partnerships Office, or designee, considering the following selection factors:

(1) Scores and comments provided by the Merit reviewers;

(2) Diversity across participants and NIST program areas;

(3) Applicants that have received fewer than 20 SBIR awards in the past;

(4) Possible duplication of other federally-funded research; and 

(5) Availability of funding.

NIST may select some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any particular 

application. Prior to issuing an award, NIST may ask for supplemental information and may 

negotiate the scope and amount of the award. The final approval of selected applications 

and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST 

Grants Officer are final.

4.04.01 Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants

After applications are proposed for funding by the selecting official, the NIST Grants 

Management Division (GMD) performs administrative reviews, which may include a review 

of the financial stability of an applicant, the quality of the applicant’s management systems, 

the history of performance, and/or the applicant’s ability to effectively implement 

statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities. Upon review 

of these factors, if appropriate, specific conditions that correspond to the degree of risk 

may be applied to an award.

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is expected to exceed 

the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $150,000), NIST GMD will review and 

consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the Federal Awardee 

Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may, at its option, 

review and comment on information about itself previously entered into FAPIIS by a Federal 

awarding agency. As part of its review of risk posed by applicants, NIST GMD will consider 

any comments made by the applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the 

applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards.

Upon completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the Grants Officer will make a 

responsibility determination concerning whether the applicant is qualified to receive the 
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subject award and, if so, whether appropriate special conditions that correspond to the 

degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

4.04.02 Release of Proposal Review Information

After final award decisions have been announced, the merit evaluations of applications that 

passed the screening criteria will be provided to the applicant with written notification of 

award/non-award. The identity of the reviewers will not be disclosed.

5.0 CONSIDERATIONS

5.01 Awards 

Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal 

Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards in this program. Refer to 

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

The Department of Commerce will apply to all awards made under this NOFO the Financial 

Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions in effect on the date of award. The current 

version, dated October 9, 2018, is accessible at 

http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/default.htm.

The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and 

Cooperative Agreements, 79 FR 78390 (December 30, 2014), are applicable to this NOFO

and are available at http://go.usa.gov/hKkR.

Contingent upon availability of funds, NIST anticipates making a total number of

approximately twelve (12) Phase I awards with a project budget of no more than 

$100,000 each. Up to an additional $6,500 may be included in each award for TABA. The 

total performance period shall be no more than seven (7) months beginning on the

agreement start date. A period of one (1) month is allotted after the six (6) month R&D 

duration for the awardee to prepare and submit a final report.

Phase II awards shall be for no more than $400,000. The R&D activity period of performance 

in Phase II will depend upon the scope of the research, but should not exceed 24 months.

One year after completing the R&D activity, the awardee shall be required to report on its 

commercialization activities. The total period of performance for Phase II is 36 months. 

It is anticipated that approximately half of the Phase I awardees will receive Phase II awards, 
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depending upon the availability of funds. To provide for an in-depth review of the Phase I

final report and the Phase II application, Phase II awards will be made approximately 4 

months after the completion of Phase I, contingent upon availability of funds.

Funding for the program listed in this NOFO is contingent upon the availability of

appropriations. NIST issues this notice subject to the appropriations made available under 

the current continuing resolution funding the Department of Commerce: Section 101 of the 

Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, Public Law 116-5, January 25, 2019. 

NIST anticipates making awards for the program listed in this notice provided that funding 

for Fiscal Year 2019 is continued beyond February 15, 2019, the expiration of the current 

continuing resolution.

In no event will NIST or the Department of Commerce be responsible for application

preparation costs. This NOFO does not obligate NIST or the Department of Commerce to 

make any awards under either Phase I or Phase II. Furthermore, NIST will not fund any costs 

incurred by the applicants before awards are made. Publication of this NOFO does not 

oblige NIST or the Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any 

available funds.

5.02 Reporting Requirements

Phase I awardees will be required to submit a performance (technical) report covering the 

award’s first three months during the fourth month of the period of performance, and a 

final report seven months after the start of the award. 

Performance (technical) reports should include technical details regarding the research 

conducted up to that point in the project and provide detailed plans for the next stages of 

the project. Consideration will be given to changes from the solicited and proposed 

milestones if results from experimentation warrant a deviation from the plan. Inclusion of 

proprietary information within the performance (technical) reports and final report may be 

necessary in order to effectively communicate progress and gain appropriate consultation 

from NIST experts regarding next steps. All such proprietary information must be marked by 

the awardee according to instructions provided in Section 5.04.02.(d)(1).

Final reports shall include a single-page project summary as the first page. The remainder 

of the report should indicate the research objectives, research work carried out, results 

obtained, and estimates of technical feasibility. 

All final reports must carry an acknowledgment on the cover page such as: "This material is 

based upon work supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

under cooperative agreement _______________. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or 
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recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not 

necessarily reflect the views of NIST."

To help assess the effectiveness of our program in meeting programmatic and SBIR 

objectives, NIST may periodically request information from small businesses about progress 

taken towards commercialization of the technology after the completion of Phase I and II 

awards.

5.03 Payment Schedule

Cooperative agreements will include an award term with electronic payment system 

information. Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.305 awardees are to be paid in advance, provided 

they maintain or demonstrate the willingness to maintain: written procedures that 

minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds and disbursement by the 

recipient, and financial management systems that meet the standards for fund control and 

accountability as established in 2 C.F.R. § 200.302. Advances of funds to a recipient 

organization shall be limited to the minimum amounts needed and be timed to be in 

accordance with the actual, immediate cash requirements of the recipient organization in 

carrying out the purpose of the approved program or project. 

The Department of Commerce policy requires that in the usual case, non-Federal entities 

time advance payment requests so that Federal funds are on hand for a maximum of three 

calendar days before being disbursed by the non-Federal entity for eligible award costs. In 

no case should advances exceed the amount of cash required for a 30-day period.

5.04 Innovations, Inventions and Patents

5.04.01 Proprietary Information Proposals

Applicants are discouraged from submitting proprietary information unless the information 

is deemed essential for proper evaluation of the application. If proprietary information is 

provided by an applicant in a proposal, which constitutes a trade secret, proprietary 

commercial or financial information, confidential personal information or data affecting the 

national security, it will be treated in confidence, to the extent permitted by law. This 

information must be clearly marked by the applicant with the term “confidential proprietary 

information” and the following legend must appear on the title page of the proposal:

“These data shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be 

duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than 

evaluation of this proposal. If a funding agreement is awarded to this 

applicant as a result of or in connection with the submission of these data, 
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the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to 

the extent provided in the funding agreement and pursuant to applicable 

law. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information 

contained in the data if it is obtained from another source without 

restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained on 

pages______of this proposal.” 

Any other legend may be unacceptable to the Government and may constitute grounds for 

removing the proposal from further consideration, without assuming any liability for 

inadvertent disclosure. The Government will limit dissemination of such information to 

within official channels. Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the 

property of the applicant. The Government may, however, retain copies of all proposals. 

Public release of information in any proposal submitted will be subject to existing statutory 

and regulatory requirements. These provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, 

conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by 

existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications 

to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or 

regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a 

substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower 

protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities 

created by controlling Executive orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this 

agreement and are controlling.

5.04.02 Rights in Data Developed Under SBIR Funding Agreements

In lieu of the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, Section C.03, Intellectual Property Rights, the following terms and conditions

will apply to and be included in all SBIR awards issues under this NOFO:

(a) Definitions. As used in regards this NOFO and awards made pursuant to this NOFO:

“Computer database” or “database” means a collection of recorded information in a form 

capable of, and for the purpose of, being stored in, processed, and operated on by a 

computer. The term does not include computer software.

“Computer software” (1) means: (i) computer programs that comprise a series of 

instructions, rules routines, or statements, regardless of the media in which recorded, that 

allow or cause a computer to perform a specific operation or series of operations; and (ii) 

recorded information comprising source code listings, design details, algorithms, processes, 

flow charts, formulas, and related material that would enable the computer program to be 
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produced, created, or compiled; and (2) does not include computer databases or computer 

software documentation.

“Computer software documentation” means owner’s manuals, user’s manuals, installation 

instructions, operating instructions, and other similar items, regardless of storage medium, 

that explain the capabilities of the computer software or provide instructions for using the 

software.

“Data” means recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which it may be 

recorded. The term includes technical data and computer software. The term does not 

include information incidental to contract administration, such as financial, administrative, 

cost or pricing or management information.

“Form, fit, and function data” means data relating to items, components, or processes that 

are sufficient to enable physical and functional interchangeability as well as data identifying 

source, size, configuration, mating and attachment characteristics, functional 

characteristics, and performance requirements. For computer software it means data 

identifying source, functional characteristics, and performance requirements but specifically 

excludes the source code, algorithms, processes, formulas, and flow charts of the software.

“Limited rights data” means data (other than computer software) developed at private 

expense that embody trade secrets or are commercial or financial and confidential or 

privileged.

“Restricted computer software” means computer software developed at private expense 

and that is a trade secret; is commercial or financial and confidential or privileged; or is 

copyrighted computer software; including modifications of the computer software.

“SBIR data” means data first produced by an Awardee that is a small business concern in 

performance of a small business innovation research award issued under the authority of 15 

U.S.C. § 638, which data are not generally known, and which data without obligation as to 

its confidentiality have not been made available to others by the Awardee or are not 

already available to the Government.

“SBIR rights” means the rights in SBIR data set forth in the SBIR Rights Notice of paragraph 

(d) of this clause.

“Technical data” means recorded information (regardless of the form or method of the 

recording) of a scientific or technical nature (including computer databases and computer 

software documentation). This term does not include computer software or financial, 

administrative, cost or pricing, or management data or other information incidental to 

contract administration. (See 41 U.S.C. § 403(8)).
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“Unlimited rights” means the right of the Government to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare 

derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, 

in any manner and for any purpose whatsoever, and to have or permit others to do so.

(b) Allocation of rights.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (c) section regarding copyright, the Government shall 

have unlimited rights in—

(i) Data specifically identified in this award as data to be delivered without 

restriction;

(ii) Form, fit, and function data delivered under this award;

(iii) Data delivered under this award (except for restricted computer software) that 

constitute manuals or instructional and training material for installation, 

operation, or routine maintenance and repair of items, components, or processes 

delivered or furnished for use under this award; and

(iv) All other data delivered under this award unless provided otherwise for SBIR 

data in accordance with paragraph (d) of this clause or for limited rights data or 

restricted computer software in accordance with paragraph (f) of this clause.

(2) The Awardee shall have the right to—

(i) Assert copyright in data first produced in the performance of this award to the 

extent provided in paragraph (c)(1) of this clause;

(ii) Protect SBIR rights in SBIR data delivered under this award in the manner and 

to the extent provided in paragraph (d) of this clause;

(iii) Substantiate use of, add, or correct SBIR rights or copyright notices and to take 

other appropriate action, in accordance with paragraph (e) of this clause; and

(iv) Withhold from delivery those data which are limited rights data or restricted 

computer software to the extent provided in paragraph (f) of this clause.

(c) Copyright.

(1) Data first produced in the performance of this award.

(i) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this award, the Awardee may assert 

copyright subsisting in any data first produced in the performance of this award.

(ii) When asserting copyright, the Awardee shall affix the applicable copyright 

notice of 17 U.S.C. § 401 or § 402 and an acknowledgment of Government 

sponsorship (including award number).

(iii) For data other than computer software, the Awardee grants to the 

Government, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up nonexclusive, irrevocable, 

worldwide license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the 
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public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the 

Government. For computer software, the Awardee grants to the Government, and 

others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license 

in such copyrighted computer software to reproduce, prepare derivative works, 

and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

(2) Data not first produced in the performance of this award. The Awardee shall not, 

without prior written permission of the Grants Officer, incorporate in data delivered under 

this award any data that are not first produced in the performance of this award unless the 

Awardee: (i) identifies such data; and (ii) grants to the Government, or acquires on its 

behalf, a license of the same scope as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1) of this clause.

(3) Removal of copyright notices. The Government will not remove any copyright notices 

placed on data pursuant to this paragraph (c)) and will include such notices on all 

reproductions of the data.

(d) Rights to SBIR data.

(1) The Awardee is authorized to affix the following “SBIR Rights Notice” to SBIR data 

delivered under this award and the Government will treat the data, subject to the 

provisions of paragraphs (e) and (f) of this clause, in accordance with such Notice:

SBIR Rights Notice

These SBIR data are furnished with SBIR rights under Award No._____ (and 

contract or subaward _____, if appropriate). For a period of 4 years, unless 

extended, after acceptance of all items to be delivered under this award, the 

Government will use these data for Government purposes only, and they shall not 

be disclosed outside the Government (including disclosure for procurement 

purposes) during such period without permission of the Awardee, except that, 

subject to the foregoing use and disclosure prohibitions, these data may be 

disclosed for use by support contractors and/or subrecipients. After the protection 

period, the Government has a paid-up license to use, and to authorize others to 

use on its behalf, these data for Government purposes, but is relieved of all 

disclosure prohibitions and assumes no liability for unauthorized use of these data 

by third parties, except that any such data that is also protected and referenced 

under a subsequent SBIR award shall remain protected through the protection period 

of that subsequent SBIR award. This Notice shall be affixed to any reproductions of 

these data, in whole or in part.

(End of notice)

(2) The Government’s sole obligation with respect to any SBIR data shall be as set forth in 

this paragraph (d).
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(e) Omitted or incorrect markings.

(1) Data delivered to the Government without any notice authorized by paragraph (d) of 

this clause shall be deemed to have been furnished with unlimited rights. The Government 

assumes no liability for the disclosure, use, or reproduction of such data.

(2) If the unmarked data has not been disclosed without restriction outside the 

Government, the Awardee may request, within six months (or a longer time approved by 

the Grants Officer in writing for good cause shown) after delivery of the data, permission to 

have authorized notices placed on data at the Awardees expense, and the Grants Officer 

may agree to do so if the Awardee—

(i) Identifies the data to which the omitted notice is to be applied;

(ii) Demonstrates that the omission of the notice was inadvertent;

(iii) Establishes that the use of the proposed notice is authorized; and

(iv) Acknowledges that the Government has no liability with respect to the 

disclosure or use of any such data made prior to the addition of the notice or 

resulting from the omission of the notice.

(3) If the data has been marked with an incorrect notice the Grants Officer may—

(i) Permit correction, at the Awardee’s expense, if the Awardee identifies the data 

and demonstrates that the correct notice is authorized, or

(ii) Correct any incorrect notices.

(f) Protection of limited rights data and restricted computer software. The Awardee may 

withhold from delivery qualifying limited rights data and restricted computer software that 

are not identified in paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this clause. As a condition to this 

withholding the Awardee shall identify the data being withheld and furnish form, fit, and 

function data instead.

(g) Contracting and Subawards. The Awardee shall obtain from its contractors and 

subawardees all data and rights therein necessary to fulfill the Awardee’s obligations to the 

Government under this award. If a contractor or subawardee refuses to accept terms 

affording the Government those rights, the Awardee shall promptly notify the Grants 

Officer of the refusal and not proceed with the contract or subaward without further 

authorization in writing from the Grants Officer.

(h) Relationship to patents. Nothing contained in this subsection shall imply a license to the 

Government under any patent or be construed as affecting the scope of any license or other 

right otherwise granted to the Government.

5.04.03 NIST-Owned Inventions
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Awardees will not have any automatic rights to make, use or sell products or services 

incorporating NIST-owned inventions. For any SBIR award that requires a license to use a 

NIST-owned invention covered by a patent or patent application, the SBIR awardee will be 

required to contact NIST’s Technology Partnerships Office for a patent license for research 

or for commercial use. 

To the extent that such NIST-owned invention is available for licensing and has not 

otherwise been exclusively licensed to another party, the SBIR awardee will be granted a 

non-exclusive research license and will be given the opportunity to negotiate a nonexclusive or an exclusive commercialization license to the NIST-owned invention, in 

accordance with the Federal patent licensing regulations, set forth in 37 C.F.R. Part 404.

5.04.04 Patent Rights

Normally, small business concerns may retain worldwide patent rights to any invention 

developed with Federal support. The specific requirements governing the development, 

reporting, and disposition of rights to inventions and patents resulting from Federal awards 

are described in more detail in 37 C.F.R. Part 401, which implements 35 U.S.C. § 202 

through 204 and includes standard patent rights clauses in 37 C.F.R. § 401.14, which are

incorporated by reference into all awards. 

5.04.05 Invention Reporting

SBIR awardees must report inventions to the NIST SBIR Program Office within 2 months of 

the inventor’s report to the awardee. Inventions must also be reported through the iEdison 

Invention Reporting System at www.iedison.gov.

5.05 Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is permitted for applications under this program NOFO; however, cost sharing 

is not required and will not be considered in evaluation of applications. 

5.06 Profit or Fee

A reasonable profit or fee not to exceed 7% of the sum of the direct and indirect costs is 

allowed.

5.07 Joint Ventures or Limited Partnerships

See 13 C.F.R. § 121.103(h). Joint ventures and limited partnerships are eligible, provided the 

entity created qualifies as a small business as defined in this NOFO. The awardee may enter 
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into contracts, subawards, or other agreements with universities or other non-profit 

organizations. 

5.08 Research and Analytical Work

For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort, per Section 

1.03, must be performed by the proposing SBC. The total cost for all consultant fees, facility 

leases, usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or purchase agreements may not 

exceed one-third of the total award. For Phase II, a minimum of one-half of the research 

and/or analytical effort, per Section 1.03, must be performed by the applicant. The total 

cost for all consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or 

purchase agreements may not exceed one-half of the total award.

5.09 Awardee Commitments

Upon award of a funding agreement, the awardee will be required to make certain legal 

commitments through acceptance of numerous Specific Award Conditions (SAC) in the

funding agreement. Awards also will be governed by the Department of Commerce 

Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions (October 9, 2018), Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 

at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, adopted by the Commerce Department through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101; 

when applicable, 48 C.F.R. Subpart 31.2, Contracts with Commercial Organizations; and the 

Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative 

Agreements, 79 FR 78390 (December 30, 2014).

Section 5.10 describes the types of terms and conditions to which the awardee would 

commit. This list is not a complete list of terms and conditions to be included in Phase I and 

Phase II funding agreements and is not the specific wording of such terms and conditions.

5.10 Summary Statements

The following statements apply to Phase I and Phase II awards and are examples of some of 

the topic areas that will be addressed in the award terms and conditions.

(1) Access to Records. Government officials have the right of timely and unrestricted access 

to records of awardees, including access to personnel for discussion related to the records. 

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.336, available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2017-title2-vol1/pdf/CFR2017-title2-vol1-sec200-336.pdf.

(2) Termination. Awards may be terminated (a) by the NIST Grants Officer, if an awardee 

materially fails to comply with the terms and conditions of an award, or for cause; (b) by the 
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NIST Grants Officer with the consent of the awardee, in which case the two parties shall 

agree upon the termination conditions, including the effective date and, in the case of 

partial termination, the portion to be terminated; (c) by the awardee upon sending to the 

NIST Grants Officer written notification setting forth the reasons for such termination, the

effective date, and, in the case of partial termination, the portion to be terminated. See 2 

C.F.R. §§ 200.338-342 available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/CFR2014-title2-vol1-sec200-338.

(3) Non-Discrimination. The awardee will be required to comply with statutory and other 

non-discrimination requirements. No person in the United States shall, on the ground of 

race, color, national origin, handicap, age, religion, or sex, be excluded from participation 

in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity 

receiving Federal financial assistance. See Section G.02 of the Department of Commerce 

Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions.

(4) Audit Requirements. Government officials may conduct an audit of an award at any 

time. Unless otherwise specified in the award, for-profit organizations that expend 

$750,000 or more in Department of Commerce funds during their fiscal year must have an 

audit conducted for that year in accordance with the requirements of Subpart F of 2 C.F.R. 

Part 200. See Section D.01 of the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard 

Terms and Conditions. 

(5) Codes of Conduct. Codes of Conduct. Pursuant to the certification in Form SF-424B, 

paragraph 3, the awardee must maintain written standards of conduct to establish 

safeguards to prohibit employees from using their positions for a purpose that constitutes 

or presents the appearance of personal or organizational conflict of interest, or personal 

gain in the administration of the award. See Section F.01 of the Department of Commerce 

Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions. 

5.11 Additional Information

If there is any inconsistency between the information contained herein and the terms of 

any resulting SBIR funding agreement, the terms of the funding agreement are controlling.

Before award of a SBIR funding agreement, the Government may request the applicant to 

submit certain organizational, management, personnel, and financial information to assure 

responsibility of the applicant. 

The Government is not responsible for any funds expended by the applicant before award 

of any funding agreement. 

This program NOFO is not an offer by the Government and does not obligate the 
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Government to make any specific number of awards. Also, awards under the SBIR Program 

are contingent upon the availability of funds. 

The SBIR Program is not a substitute for existing unsolicited application mechanisms. 

Unsolicited applications will not be accepted under the SBIR Program in either Phase I or 

Phase II. 

If an award is made pursuant to an application submitted under this SBIR Program NOFO, a 

representative of the awardee will be required to certify that the concern has not previously 

been, nor is currently being, paid for essentially equivalent work by any Federal agency. 

The responsibility for the performance of the principal investigator, and other 

employees or consultants who carry out the proposed work, including those of 

subrecipients or contractors, lies with the management of the organization receiving an 

award. 

NIST is committed to the goal of commercialization of the results of SBIR projects and will 

provide Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) to Phase I and Phase II awardees as 

authorized by 15 U.S.C. § 638(q). The NIST TABA program assists in the successful 

commercialization of products, services, or technologies developed in association with the 

NIST SBIR Program. The NIST TABA program provides guidance and mentoring in topics such 

as assessing small business commercialization needs; planning, developing, and assisting in 

the preparation of a commercialization plan; and identifying markets and developing entry 

strategies. You may request up to an additional $6,500 for TABA during Phase I. If you wish 

to utilize your own vendor, you must include vendor information in your budget and 

provide details in the budget narrative, see Section 8.01 for additional information. 

Reimbursement is limited to services received that comply with 15 U.S.C. § 638(q). 

5.12 Technical Assistance for Application Preparation and Project Conduct 

Applicants may wish to contact the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

(MEP), a nationwide network of locally managed extension centers whose sole purpose is to 

provide small- and medium-sized manufacturers with the help they need to succeed. The 

centers provide guidance to high-technology companies seeking resources and teaming 

relationships. To be referred to an MEP center for technical assistance, call 1-800-MEP-4-

MFG (1-800-637-4634) or visit MEP‘s website at http://www.nist.gov/mep. 

MEP Centers are also prepared to provide referrals to state and local organizations offering 

resources and technical assistance to all NIST SBIR applicants after awards have been 

announced. If you would like your local MEP Center to contact you, please respond 
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affirmatively to the statement (#11) about MEP on the Cover Sheet.

6.0 SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

6.01 Deadline for Applications 

Phase I applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, April 

19, 2019. Only electronic applications submitted via Grants.gov will be accepted.

Applicants should be awareTu, and factor in their application submission planning, that 

the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at these times:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time

Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time

Monday

February 16, 2019 February 18, 2019

March 16, 2019 March 18, 2019

Applicants are cautioned to be careful of unforeseen delays that can cause late arrival of 

applications, with the result that they will not be forwarded for evaluation. 

Applications not received by the specified due date and time, as recorded by Grants.gov, or 

that do not adhere to the other requirements of this NOFO (see Section 4.02 Screening 

Criteria and Section 8.01 Required Forms and Documents) will not be considered.

NIST strongly recommends that applicants do not wait until the last minute to submit an 

application. NIST will not make allowance for any late submissions. To avoid any potential 

processing backlogs due to last minute Grants.gov registrations, applicants are highly 

encouraged to begin their Grants.gov registration process early. No extensions will be 

granted.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are 

required to have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) 

the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management 

(SAM.gov) (see Section 6.03.1.b) of this NOFO) may take between three and five business 

days or as long as more than two weeks; and (3) applicants are required to have a current 

registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages from 

Grants.gov over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal 

agency’s electronic system has received its application. Please note that a federal 
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assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System 

for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

Applicants will find instructions on registering with SAM.gov as part of the Grants.gov 

process at: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organizationregistration.html.

6.02 Address to Request Application Package

The standard application package, consisting of the standard forms, i.e., SF-424, SF-424A, SF424B, SF-LLL, and the CD-511, is available at www.grants.gov. The standard application 

package may be requested by contacting the NIST personnel listed below:

J’aime Maynard by phone: (301) 975-8408 or by e-mail: jmaynard@nist.gov.

Please see Section 8.01 for a complete list of required forms and documents.

6.03 Application Submission 

Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov at www.grants.gov. Paper 

applications or applications submitted by other electronic means will not be accepted.

Supplementary material, revisions, substitutions, audio or video tapes, or computer storage 

media or devices will not be accepted. While applicants may not submit replacement pages 

or missing documents once an application has been submitted, an applicant may submit a 

complete, new application including such information by the required deadline. The last 

application received in Grants.gov will be used for evaluation. Applications to multiple 

research areas or multiple applications to the same research area must be clearly 

differentiated.

(1) Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov at www.grants.gov, under 

announcement 2019-NIST-SBIR-01.

a) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure the 

attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov 

indicating an application is received does not provide information about whether 

attachments have been received. For further information or questions regarding the 

electronic application process for the 2019-NIST-SBIR-01 announcement, contact Leon 

Sampson by phone at 301-975-3086 or by e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

b) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching due 
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date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for submitting an application through 

Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new registrant 

can apply. If all goes well, the registration process takes three (3) to five (5) business days. If 

problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to two (2) weeks or more. 

Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a current 

registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant database, the System for Award 

Management (https://www.sam.gov/SAM/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site. See 

also Section 8.03 of this NOFO. After registering, it may take several days or longer from the 

initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only 

authorized individuals(s) will be able to submit an application, and the system may need 

time to process a submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of 

submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the 

applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received and (b) call Grants.gov directly 

for immediate assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, 

please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S.

territory, please call 606-545-5035. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be 

available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk 

assistance will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For 

assistance using Grants.gov, you may also contact support@grants.gov.

c) To find instructions on submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants should refer 

to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the http://www.grants.gov home 

page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two exceptionally useful sources of 

information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which applicants are advised to 

review. 

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days 

before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Closely following the detailed information in these subcategories will increase the likelihood 

of acceptance of the application by the Federal agency’s electronic system. 

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it contains 

information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including essential details on 

the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov applications.

The Grants.gov Online Help site provides vital information on checking the status of 

applications. See especially the “Check Application Status” option, found by clicking first on 

Applicants, and then by clicking on Grant Applications.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov. The application is 

“received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and an 
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application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking 

number, the application has not been received. After the application has been received, it 

must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or “rejected with errors.” 

To know whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons why, the 

applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from the top navigation, and select 

“Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with errors,” the 

applicant may still seek to correct the errors and resubmit your application before the 

deadline. If the applicant does not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded 

to NIST by Grants.gov.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov and does not issue Agency Tracking 

Numbers.

Applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ 

schedules for delivery of their application. Submitters are advised that volume on 

Grants.gov may be extremely heavy leading up to the deadline date.

Refer to important information in Section 6.01 Deadline for Applications, to help ensure 

your application is received on time.

Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through Grants.gov. Applicants can sign 

up for Grants.gov NOFO amendments or may request copies from J’aime Maynard by 

telephone at 301- 975-8408, or by e-mail to jmaynard@nist.gov.

7.0 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION SOURCES

Background information related to the NIST research programs referenced within the 

research areas may be found within the NIST website at: www.nist.gov. The NIST Research

Library, https://www.nist.gov/nist-research-library, may also provide valuable scientific and 

technical information resources. A listing of NIST developed technologies is available on the 

Federal Laboratory Consortium’s (FLC) website (https://www.federallabs.org/labs/nationalinstitute-of-standards-and-technology-nist-0). 

8.0 SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS

8.01 Required Forms and Documents

Applicants should review the following list carefully to ensure the proposal includes all 

required forms and documents. Failure to include any of the applicable listed forms and/or 
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documents will result in rejection of the proposal without consideration. All required 

forms and documents must be complete. Please also review Section 4.02 Phase I Screening 

Criteria. Guidelines provided below are based on frequently asked questions and are not 

intended to be comprehensive – all forms must be fully completed.

A complete application contains the following forms and documents:

1. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. Item 12 should list the NOFO number 

2019-NIST-SBIR-01. The response to #19 should be ‘no’ – the NIST SBIR Program is not 

covered by that Executive Order. For SF-424, Item 21, the list of certifications and 

assurances is contained in the SF-424B, which is item 3 in this list of Required Forms and 

Documents.

2. SF-424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs. The budget should 

reflect all anticipated expenses for the project. 

In Section A, the Grant Program Function or Activity on Line 1 under Column (a) should 

be entered as “Science, Tech., Business and/or Educ. Outreach”. The Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance Number on Line 1 under Column (b) should be entered as “11.620”.

In Section B, Acceptable fees (see Section 5.06 of this NOFO) should be included in 

“Other (h)”.

These sections of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the entirety of the award: Section 

A; Section B; Section C; and Section D. Section E is not relevant to the 2019-NIST-SBIR-01 

program.

3. SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs.

4. CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2019-NIST-SBIR-01” in the Award 

Number Field. Enter the title of the application used in field 15 of the SF-424, or an 

abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

5. SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable).

6. Cover Sheet and Technical Proposal. Read Section 3.02 of this NOFO very carefully, 

and in its entirety, for directions on completing this section of the application. Attach 

this document to the SF-424 as described at the end of Section 8.01.

7. Budget Narrative. In addition to other mandatory budget information, a separate 

Budget Narrative is required. There is no set format for the budget narrative; however, 

it should provide a detailed breakdown of costs under each applicable object class 
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category as reflected on the SF-424A (personnel, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, 

supplies, other direct costs and indirect costs), and written justification that includes the 

necessity and the basis for the cost. Proposed funding levels must be consistent with 

the project scope, and only allowable costs that fall within the spending limitations 

specified in Section 1.03.01 of this NOFO should be included in the budget. The 

proposed budget should reflect planned costs, but the awardee must charge actual 

costs to the award consistent with cost principles applicable to the type of awardee in 

accordance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards in this 

program. More information is available at http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and 

http://go.usa.gov/SBg4. Information needed for each category in the budget narrative 

is as follows. Attach this document to the SF-424 as described at the end of Section 

8.01.

(a) Personnel – At a minimum, the budget justification for all personnel should include 

the following: name,; job title; commitment of effort on the proposed project in 

terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time; salary rate; total 

direct charges on the proposed project; description of the role of the individual on 

the proposed project; and the work to be performed. For Phase I, a minimum of 

two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort must be performed by the 

awardee.

(b) Fringe Benefits – Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and 

wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included 

in the fringe benefit rate (e.g. health insurance, workers’ compensation, etc.) should 

not be charged under another cost category. 

(c) Travel – For all travel costs, the budget justification for travel should include the

following: destination; names or number of people traveling; dates and/or duration; 

mode of transportation, lodging and subsistence rates; and description of how the 

travel is directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be 

determined, please provide best estimates based on prior experience. If a 

destination is not known, an approximate amount may be used with the 

assumptions given for the location of the meeting.

(d) Equipment – Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition 

cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an 

expected service life of more than one year. Any items that do not meet the 

threshold for equipment can be included under the supplies line item. The budget

justification should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how 

it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed 
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project. Please note that any general use equipment (computers, etc.) charged 

directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage 

on the project (i.e. prorated cost). 

(e) Supplies –– Supplies are defined as all tangible personal property other than that 

described as equipment. Provide a list of each supply, and the breakdown of the 

total costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the 

completion of the proposed project. 

(f) Contractual (i.e. Contracts/Subawards) – Each contract or subaward should be 

treated as a separate item. Identify the cost and describe the services to be 

provided and the necessity of the subaward or contract to the successful 

performance of the proposed project. Contracts are for obtaining normal goods and 

services. Subawardees perform part of the project scope of work. The total cost for 

all consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or 

purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total award. Any funds 

requested for TABA should be included in this section; see Section 5.11. 

(g) Other Direct Costs – For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories, 

please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost. 

Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the proposed project. Only 

allowable costs can be charged to the award. Profit or fee not to exceed 7% of the 

sum of the direct and indirect costs must be listed in this cost category if included in 

the applicant’s budget. 

8. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. NIST will not negotiate indirect cost rates for Phase I 

awards. If indirect costs are included in the proposed budget, include the cost 

computation in the budget narrative, and provide a copy of the current, approved 

negotiated agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit agency. 

Attach this document to the SF-424 as described at the end of Section 8.01. If a rate has 

not been established, provide a statement to this effect and a computation for the cost 

in the budget narrative. Applicants without an established rate may propose estimated 

indirect costs at a rate not to exceed 40 percent of the total direct costs and will not be 

required to provide further justification if selected for an award. Any profit or fee 

requested is not considered a direct cost for the purpose of the indirect cost base 

calculation.

9. SBA Company Registry Form. SBA maintains and manages a Company Registry at 

http://www.sbir.gov/registration to track ownership and affiliation requirements for all 

companies applying to the SBIR Program. The SBIR Policy Directive requires each Phase I 

applicant to register in the Company Registry prior to submitting an application. The 
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applicant must save its information from the registration in a .pdf document. Attach this 

document to the SF-424 as described at the end of Section 8.01.

10. Data Management Plan. In accordance with NIST Policy 5700.003, Managing Public 

Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.004, Managing 

Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research”, applicants must include a Data 

Management Plan (DMP).

The DMP is a supplementary document of not more than two pages that must include, 

at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to generate data, a 

summary of the types of data expected to be generated by the identified activities, a 

plan for storage and maintenance of the data expected to be generated by the 

identified activities, and a plan describing whether and how data generated by the 

identified activities will be reviewed and made available to the public. As long as the 

DMP meets these NIST requirements, it may take the form specified by the applicant’s 

institution or some other entity (e.g., the National Science Foundation5 or the National 

Institutes of Health6).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are 

required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and/or preservation are not 

within the scope of the project.

For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 C.F.R. 

§ 200.315(e)(3) (available at http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ).

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the application.

The sufficiency of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review (see

Section 4.02. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be evaluated against any 

evaluation criteria. Attach this document to the SF-424 as described at the end of 

Section 8.01.

11. Research & Related Personal Data. Complete and print the form available at 

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/r-r-family.html#sortby=1. Attach this 

document to the SF-424 as described at the end of Section 8.01.

 

3 http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-P-5700.pdf 4 http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-O-5701_0.pdf 5 http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp

6 https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm
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12. Compliance with SBIR Program Requirements, Applicant Fraud Awareness Training 

- Certificate of Training Completion. Complete the training at: 

https://www.nist.gov/file/384881). After completion, print and fill out the last page of 

the training presentation. Attach this document to the SF-424 as described at the end 

of Section 8.01.

Items (1) through (5) above are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and 

are completed through the download application process. Items (6) through (12) must be 

completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, 

Application for Federal Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for transmittal of 

the documents electronically via Grants.gov. Applicants should carefully follow specific 

Grants.gov instructions at www.grants.gov to ensure the attachments will be accepted by 

the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is received 

does not provide information about whether attachments have been received.

8.02 Verifying the Submission and Tracking the Application

Applicants are urged to use Grants.gov’s Download Submitted Applications feature to 

check that all required attachments were contained in their submission. Go to the 

Grants.gov Online Help site for more information.

See especially the “Check Application Status” option, found by clicking first on Applicants, 

and then by clicking on Grant Applications. 

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following the 

procedures at the Grants.gov site (https://www.grants.gov/). It can take up to two 

business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to NIST.

8.03 Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. Part 25, applicants and recipients (as the case may be) are required to: 

(i) be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity 

identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with 

current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an 

application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency, unless otherwise 

excepted from these requirements pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a 

Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique 

entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this 

NOFO, NIST may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award 

and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.
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9.0 RESEARCH AREAS

The NIST research programs work at the frontiers of measurement science to ensure that 

the U.S. system of measurements is firmly grounded in sound scientific and technical 

principles. Today, the NIST laboratories address increasingly complex measurement 

challenges, ranging from the very small (nanoscale devices for advanced computing) to the 

very large (vehicles and buildings), and from the physical (resilient infrastructure) to the 

virtual (cybersecurity and data science). As new technologies develop and evolve, NIST’s 

measurement research and services remain central to national defense, homeland security, 

trade and innovation. 

NIST’s research activities provide industry, academia and other federal agencies with worldclass research capabilities in measurement science that form the foundation of the global 

system of weights and measures and enable innovation. NIST provides measurement tools 

and standards to strengthen U.S. competitiveness and security in the following areas:

Advanced Communications, Networks and Scientific Data Systems

NIST’s Advanced Communications, Networks and Scientific Data Systems activities enable 

secure, reliable, high-speed wireless and wireline communications critical to U.S. economic 

competitiveness, safety and security. NIST measurement science research and support for 

the development of standards accelerates the deployment of next-generation 

communication technologies needed for commercial- scale use of connected vehicles, 

“internet of things” (IoT) applications, drones and future artificial intelligence/machine 

learning-based systems. NIST is committed to helping solve the measurement and 

validation challenges of these fast-moving fields to help the U.S. achieve and maintain 

global leadership in these areas. 

Advanced Manufacturing and Material Measurements 

NIST has partnered with the U.S. manufacturing sector for more than a century and has a 

proven track record of delivering useful tools and technical assistance existing 

manufacturers and aspiring start-ups need. NIST's Advanced Manufacturing and Material 

Measurements activities provide industry with precision measurement technologies, tests, 

protocols and world-class scientific and engineering knowledge through targeted research 

across a broad portfolio, including advanced materials development, advanced sensing, 

biomanufacturing and smart manufacturing systems. NIST’s efforts in advanced 

manufacturing and material measurements rely on three major mechanisms: partnerships 

with manufacturers, development of physical and information standards, and development 

of new measurement capabilities.
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Cybersecurity and Privacy

NIST’s Cybersecurity and Privacy activities strengthen the security of the digital 

environment through a portfolio bridging foundational and applied cybersecurity research, 

and through the development of publicly available standards and technical guidance. NIST’s 

sustained outreach efforts support the effective application of standards and best practices 

enabling the adoption of practical cybersecurity and privacy. Through internal research and 

collaboration with the private sector, academia, standards development organizations, 

other government agencies and national and international stakeholders, NIST addresses the 

nation’s current and future measurement science needs and is responsive to Congressional 

mandates and Executive Orders.

Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science and Measurement Dissemination 

At the heart of NIST’s mission is the dissemination of the fundamental units of 

measurement (the International System of Units, or SI). NIST determines the definitive 

methods for nearly every kind of measurement employed in commerce and research, 

provides NIST-traceable calibrations, and disseminates standards and best practices 

throughout the nation. Staying ahead of the increasingly challenging demands of U.S. 

industry requires that NIST push the frontiers of measurement science by devising new 

tools and techniques—especially at the quantum scale where the rules of classical physics 

do not apply. Through balanced and coordinated programs, NIST leads the world in 

disseminating the fundamental units of measurement. This leadership in metrology 

advancement directly impacts NIST’s relevance and leadership in measurement services.

Health and Biological Systems Measurements

NIST provides a solid foundation of measurement assurance enabling reproducibility of 

biomedical research results and confidence in clinical decision-making and ensuring the 

efficacy and safety of treatments. As a nonregulatory agency, NIST’s research plays an 

essential role in health and bioscience innovations, including in precision medicine, 

engineering biology, medical imaging, regenerative medicine and our understanding of the 

microbiome and how it affects health. New and improved measurement capabilities 

advance our understanding of biology and provide the basis for industries to harness this 

information for future medical technologies.

Physical Infrastructure and Resilience 

NIST’s Physical Infrastructure and Resilience activities support the safety, interoperability 

and resilience of the nation’s infrastructure at the component, structure and system levels. 

NIST’s research supports the development of building codes making the built environment 

healthier for occupants, more resilient against hazards, and safer for both residents and first 
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responders. In collaboration with policymakers, building officials and planning groups, NIST 

produces guides to help communities integrate resilience into their economic development, 

zoning, mitigation and other local planning activities impacting buildings, public utilities and 

infrastructure systems.

Exploratory Measurement Science

NIST’s mission requires deep expertise in a broad range of disciplines. To best position NIST 

to support U.S. technological interests well into the future, it is essential that NIST maintain 

a portfolio of exploratory measurement science research programs. NIST invests in higherrisk and potentially transformative measurement science research to stay on the cutting

edge of technology trends.

Appendix A. COVER SHEET

(A fillable version of the Cover Sheet is available at http://www.nist.gov/sbir)

Application to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I

2019-NIST-SBIR-01

Cover Sheet

Name of Submitting Firm:

Project

Title

Click here to enter text.

Principal 

Investigator

(PI) Name

PI Title

PI Phone # PI E-mail

NIST may verify the following responses with information provided elsewhere in your application or by independent sources.

THE APPLICANT CERTIFIES THAT: 

1. It is a small business concern (SBC) and meets the definition as stated in this Notice of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO).

☐ Yes ☐ No

2. The primary employment of the PI will be with the SBC at the time of award and during the 

conduct of research.

☐ Yes ☐ No

3. A minimum of either two-thirds for Phase I or one-half for Phase II of the research will be 

performed by the SBC as determined by data provided in the Budget Narrative. See NOFO 

Section 1.03.01 for details on funding determination.

☐ Yes ☐ No

4. The applicant and/or PI ☐ has / ☐ has not submitted applications for essentially equivalent work under other Federal program 

FFOs and ☐ has / ☐ has not received other Federal awards for essentially equivalent work.

If “has”, what agency? Click here to enter text.

 See NOFO Section 3.02.02 () 14) for additional details that must be provided.

5. The applicant qualifies as a socially and economically disadvantaged SBC and meets the 

definition as stated in this NOFO.

☐ Yes ☐ No
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6. The applicant qualifies as a woman-owned SBC and meets the definition as stated in this NOFO. ☐ Yes ☐ No

7. The applicant qualifies as a HUBZone-owned SBC and meets the SBA’s definition (see 

http://www.sba.gov/hubzone).

☐ Yes ☐ No

8. Year SBC founded: Click here to enter text.

9. Number of Employees: Click here to enter text.

STATEMENTS:

10. The applicant will permit the Government to disclose contact information if this application 

does not result in an award, to appropriate local and State-level economic development 

organizations that may be interested in contacting you for further information.

☐ Yes ☐ No

11. The applicant authorizes contact information and project title to be provided to the NIST 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) after awards have been announced. If ‘Yes’ your 

contact information will be provided to NIST MEP. If so, you will be contacted by your local 

MEP to explore business-related support services that could benefit the potential of the 

project you proposed.

☐ Yes ☐ No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (limit to 200 words):

POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION OF THE RESEARCH: (limit to 100 words)

OTHER INFORMATION:

Information contained in unsuccessful applications will remain the property of the applicant. The government may, however, retain copies 

of all applications. Public release of information in any application submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory 

requirements.

Applicants are discouraged from submitting proprietary information unless the information is deemed essential for proper evaluation of 

the application. If proprietary information provided by an applicant in an application constitutes trade secret, proprietary commercial or 

financial information, confidential personal information, or data affecting national security, it will be treated in confidence to the extent 

permitted by law. This information must be clearly marked by the applicant with the term ‘confidential proprietary information’ and the 

following legend must appear in this section of the application.

PROPRIETARY NOTICE

“These data shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any 

purpose other than evaluation of this proposal. If a funding agreement is awarded to this applicant as a result of or in connection with the 

submission of these data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the funding 

agreement and pursuant to applicable law. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in the data 

if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained on pages _________________of 

this proposal.”

The use of any other legend is unacceptable to the Government and may constitute grounds for removing the application from further 

consideration without assuming any liability for inadvertent disclosure.

This collection of information contains Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requirements approved by the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to be 30 minutes per response, including the time 

for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the 

collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions 
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for reducing this burden, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Attn: Mary Clague, 100 Bureau Dr., MS 2200, Gaithersburg, MD 

20899. 

OMB Control No. 0693-0072

Expiration Date: 12/31/2020
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Appendix B. CERTIFICATIONS

SBIR Funding Agreement Certification (at time of award)

All small businesses that are selected for award of an SBIR funding agreement must complete 

this certification at the time of award and any other time set forth in the funding agreement 

that is prior to performance of work under this award. This includes checking all of the boxes 

and having an authorized officer of the awardee sign and date the certification each time it is 

requested.

Please read carefully the following certification statements. The Federal government relies on 

the information to determine whether the business is eligible for a Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) Program award. A similar certification will be used to ensure continued 

compliance with specific program requirements during the life of the funding agreement. The 

definitions for the terms used in this certification are set forth in the Small Business Act, SBA 

regulations (13 C.F.R. Part 121), the SBIR Policy Directive and also any statutory and regulatory 

provisions referenced in those authorities.

If the funding agreement officer believes that the business may not meet certain eligibility 

requirements at the time of award, they are required to file a size protest with the U.S. Small 

Business Administration (SBA), who will determine eligibility. At that time, SBA will request 

further clarification and supporting documentation in order to assist in the verification of any of 

the information provided as part of a protest. If the funding agreement officer believes, after 

award, that the business is not meeting certain funding agreement requirements, the agency 

may request further clarification and supporting documentation in order to assist in the 

verification of any of the information provided.

Even if correct information has been included in other materials submitted to the Federal 

government, any action taken with respect to this certification does not affect the 

Government’s right to pursue criminal, civil or administrative remedies for incorrect or 

incomplete information given in the certification. Each person signing this certification may be 

prosecuted if they have provided false information.

The undersigned has reviewed, verified and certifies that (all questions must be responded to 

by checking the appropriate box):

(1) The business concern meets the ownership and control requirements set forth in 13 C.F.R. §

121.702.

☐Yes ☐No

(2) If a corporation, all corporate documents (articles of incorporation and any amendments, 

articles of conversion, by-laws and amendments, shareholder meeting minutes showing officer 
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elections, organizational meeting minutes, all issued stock certificates, stock ledger, buy-sell 

agreements, stock transfer agreements, voting agreements, and documents relating to stock 

options, including the right to convert non-voting stock or debentures into voting stock) 

evidence that it meets the ownership and control requirements set forth in 13 C.F.R. § 121.702.

☐Yes ☐No ☐N/A Explain why N/A: 

____________________________________________

(3) If a partnership, the partnership agreement evidences that it meets the ownership and 

control requirements set forth in 13 C.F.R. § 121.702.

☐Yes ☐No ☐N/A Explain why N/A: 

____________________________________________

(4) If a limited liability company, the articles of organization and any amendments, and 

operating agreement and amendments, evidence that it meets the ownership and control 

requirements set forth in 13 C.F.R. § 121.702.

☐Yes ☐No ☐N/A Explain why N/A: 

____________________________________________

(5) The birth certificates, naturalization papers, or passports show that any individuals it relies 

upon to meet the eligibility requirements are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens in the 

United States.

☐Yes ☐No ☐N/A Explain why N/A: 

____________________________________________

(6) It has no more than 500 employees, including the employees of its affiliates.

☐Yes ☐No 

(7) SBA has not issued a size determination currently in effect finding that this business concern 

exceeds the 500 employee size standard.

☐Yes ☐No 

(8) During the performance of the award, the principal investigator will spend more than one 

half of his/her time as an employee of the awardee or has requested and received a written 

deviation from this requirement from the funding agreement officer.

☐Yes ☐No ☐Deviation approved in writing by funding agreement officer: ______ %

(9) All, essentially equivalent work, or a portion of the work proposed under this project (check 

the applicable line):

☐Has not been submitted for funding by another Federal agency.

☐Has been submitted for funding by another Federal agency but has not been funded under 
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any other Federal grant, contract, subcontract or other transaction.

☐A portion has been funded by another grant, contract, or subcontract as described in detail in 

the application and approved in writing by the funding agreement officer.

(10) During the performance of award, it will perform the applicable percentage of work unless 

a deviation from this requirement is approved in writing by the funding agreement officer 

(check the applicable line and fill in if needed):

☐SBIR Phase I: at least two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the research.

☐SBIR Phase II: at least half (50%) of the research.

☐Deviation approved in writing by the funding agreement officer: ______ %

(11) During performance of award, the research/research and development will be performed 

in the United States unless a deviation is approved in writing by the funding agreement officer.

☐Yes ☐No ☐Waiver has been granted

(12) During performance of award, the research/research and development will be performed 

at my facilities with my employees, except as otherwise indicated in the SBIR application and 

approved in the funding agreement.

☐Yes ☐No 

(13) It has registered itself on SBA’s database as majority-owned by venture capital operating 

companies, hedge funds or private equity firms.

☐Yes ☐No ☐N/A Explain why N/A: 

____________________________________________

(14) It is a Covered Small Business Concern (a small business concern that:

(a) was not majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge 

funds, or private equity firms on the date on which it submitted an application in response to 

an SBIR NOFO; and (b) on the date of the SBIR award, which is made more than 9 months after 

the closing date of the NOFO, is majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating 

companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms).

☐Yes ☐No 

☐It will notify the Federal agency immediately if all or a portion of the work proposed is 

subsequently funded by another Federal agency.

☐I understand that the information submitted may be given to Federal, State and local 

agencies for determining violations of law and other purposes.

☐I am an officer of the business concern authorized to represent it and sign this certification 

on its behalf. By signing this certification, I am representing on my own behalf, and on behalf of 
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the business concern that the information provided in this certification, the application, and all 

other information submitted in connection with this application, is true and correct as of the 

date of submission. I acknowledge that any intentional or negligent misrepresentation of the 

information contained in this certification may result in criminal, civil or administrative 

sanctions, including but not limited to: (1) fines, restitution and/or imprisonment under 18 

U.S.C. § 1001; (2) treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 

§ 3729 et seq.); (3) double damages and civil penalties under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies 

Act (31 U.S.C. § 3801 et seq.); (4) civil recovery of award funds, (5) suspension and/or 

debarment from all Federal procurement and nonprocurement transactions (FAR Subpart 9.4 

or 2 C.F.R. Part 180); and (6) other administrative penalties including termination of SBIR/STTR 

awards.

Signature ____________________________________________________Date ___/___/____

Print Name (First, Middle, Last) 

______________________________________________________

Title 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Business Name 

_____________________________________________________________________
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SBIR Funding Agreement Certification (Life-Cycle Certification)

All SBIR Phase I and Phase II awardees must complete this certification at all times set forth in 

the funding agreement (see §8(h) of the SBIR Policy Directive). This includes checking all of the 

boxes and having an authorized officer of the awardee sign and date the certification each time 

it is requested.

Please read carefully the following certification statements. The Federal government relies on 

the information to ensure compliance with specific program requirements during the life of the 

funding agreement. The definitions for the terms used in this certification are set forth in the 

Small Business Act, the SBIR Policy Directive, and also any statutory and regulatory provisions 

referenced in those authorities.

If the funding agreement officer believes that the business is not meeting certain funding 

agreement requirements, the agency may request further clarification and supporting 

documentation in order to assist in the verification of any of the information provided.

Even if correct information has been included in other materials submitted to the Federal 

government, any action taken with respect to this certification does not affect the 

Government’s right to pursue criminal, civil, or administrative remedies for incorrect or 

incomplete information given in the certification. Each person signing this certification may be 

prosecuted if they have provided false information.

The undersigned has reviewed, verified and certifies that (all boxes must be checked):

(1) The principal investigator spent more than one half of his/her time as an employee of the 

awardee or the awardee has requested and received a written deviation from this requirement 

from the funding officer.

☐Yes ☐No ☐Deviation approved in writing by funding agreement officer: ______ %

(2) All, essentially equivalent work, or a portion of the work performed under this project 

(check applicable line):

☐Has not been submitted for funding by another Federal agency.

☐Has been submitted for funding by another Federal agency but has not been funded under 

any other Federal grant, contract, subcontract or other transaction.

☐A portion has been funded by another grant, contract, or subcontract as described in detail in 

the application and approved in writing by the funding agreement officer.

(3) Upon completion of the award it will have performed the applicable percentage or work, 

unless a deviation from this requirement is approved in writing by the funding agreement 

officer (check the applicable line and fill in if needed):
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☐SBIR Phase I: at least two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the research.

☐SBIR Phase II: at least half (50%) of the research.

☐Deviation approved in writing by the funding agreement officer: ______ %

(4) The work is completed and it has performed the applicable percentage of work, unless a 

deviation from this requirement is approved in writing by the funding agreement officer (check 

the applicable line and fill in if needed):

☐SBIR Phase I: at least two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the research.

☐SBIR Phase II: at least half (50%) of the research.

☐Deviation approved in writing by the funding agreement officer: ______ %

☐N/A because work is not completed.

(5) The research/research and development is performed in the United States unless a 

deviation is approved in writing by the funding agreement officer.

☐Yes ☐No ☐Waiver has been granted

(6) The research/research and development is performed at my facilities with my employees, 

except as otherwise indicated in the SBIR application and approved in the funding agreement.

☐Yes ☐No 

 ☐It will notify the Federal agency immediately if all or a portion of the work authorized and 

funded under this award is subsequently funded by another Federal agency.

☐I understand that the information submitted may be given to Federal, State and local 

agencies for determining violations of law and other purposes.

☐I am an officer of the business concern authorized to represent it and sign this certification 

on its behalf. By signing this certification, I am representing on my own behalf, and on behalf of 

the business concern, that the information provided in this certification, the application, and all 

other information submitted in connection with the award, is true and correct as the date of 

submission. I acknowledge that any intentional or negligent misrepresentation of the 

information contained in this certification may result in criminal, civil or administrative 

sanctions, including but not limited to: (1) fines, restitution and/or imprisonment under 18 

U.S.C. § 1001; (2) treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §

3729 et seq.); (3) double damages and civil penalties under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies 

Act (31 U.S.C. § 3801 et seq.); (4) civil recovery of award funds, (5) suspension and/or 

debarment from all Federal procurement and nonprocurement transactions (FAR Subpart 9.4 

or 2 C.F.R. Part 180); and (6) other administrative penalties including termination of SBIR/STTR 

awards.
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Signature _____________________________________________________Date ___ /___ /___

Print Name (First, Middle, Last) 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Title 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Business Name 

_____________________________________________________________________________