In consultation with the SBIR program staff, this individual appoints a review panel. The review panel meets in Washington, D.C., to evaluate all proposals. Proposals are reviewed both by members of the review panel and by ad hoc reviewers with specific expertise appropriate for each proposal. The panel discusses each proposal carefully and then ranks the proposals. The panel rankings determine which proposals are funded.
Considerable effort is made to ensure that the review process is completely confidential.
All reviewers are instructed to handle all proposals in complete confidence. The USDA has very detailed rules on COI that are followed during the review process. USDA is committed to ensuring the reviewing process is completely fair and is handled with complete confidence. Evaluation Criteria A phase II proposal may be submitted only by a USDA phase I awardee. In the event that two or more proposals are of approximately equal merit, a follow-on funding commitment for continued development in phase III will be an important consideration.