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Introduction
This solicitation for research proposals is issued by The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, P.L. 97-219 (codified at 15 U.S.C. 638) as amended by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, Extension, P.L. 99-443 which extended the program through September 30, 1993. On October 28,1992, through the Small Business Innovation Research and Development Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-564), Congress reauthorized and extended the SBIR program for another seven years (2000). Subsequently, on December 21, 2000, through the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-554) Congress again reauthorized the SBIR program through September 30, 2008.
The SBIR program encourages small business concerns to engage in research or research and development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization to meet Federal research or research and development objectives.
The purposes of the SBIR program are:
- To stimulate technological innovation;
- To use small business to meet Federal R/R&D needs;
- To increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal R/R&D; and
- To foster and encourage participation by minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation.
In consonance with the statutory obligations of the Act, the DOT has established a Small Business Innovation Research Program —hereinafter referred to as the DOT SBIR Program .
The purpose of this solicitation is to invite small businesses with their valuable resources and creative capabilities to submit innovative research proposals that address high priority requirements of the DOT .
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Three Phase Program
The DOT SBIR Program is a three-phase process.
THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR PHASE I PROPOSALS ONLY .
Phase I. Phase I provides support for the conduct of feasibility-related experimental or theoretical research or R/R&D efforts on research topics as described herein. The dollar value of the proposal may be up to $100,000 unless otherwise noted and the period of performance is generally six months. The basis for award will be the scientific and technical merit of the proposal and its relevance to DOT requirements and priorities. Only awardees in Phase I are eligible to participate in Phase II which is by invitation only.
Phase II. Phase II is the principal R/R&D effort having a period of performance of approximately two years with a dollar value of up to $750,000 unless otherwise noted. DOT will accept Phase II proposals under the DOT SBIR Program only from firms which have previously received a DOT Phase I award. Phase II proposals must be prepared in accordance with guidelines provided by DOT to Phase I awardees receiving an invitation to submit a Phase II proposal. Phase II awards will be based on the results of Phase I efforts, technical merit, agency priority and commercial applications, and the availability of appropriated funds to support the Phase II effort. Special consideration may be given to proposals that have obtained commitments for follow-on funding from non-Federal sources for Phase III .
Phase III. SBIR Phase III award logically follows SBIR Phase II and may be a continuation of the work under Phase II or commercialization of the research under the previous SBIR phases. Like SBIR Phase II, the award process is exempted from FAR subpart 5.2 requirements. Only those vendors who were awarded both a SBIR Phase I and Phase II may receive a SBIR Phase III award. There is no limit on the performance period length or dollar value of a SBIR Phase III, and the small business size limits for Phase I and Phase II awards do not apply to SBIR Phase III awards.
Phase III is to be conducted by the small business with either:
- non-Federal funds to pursue commercial applications of R/R&D funded in Phases I and II, or
- non-SBIR Government funded contracts for continued research or products or processes intended for use by the United States Government.
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Eligibility
Each concern submitting a proposal must qualify as a small business at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II contracts. In addition, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the small business firm at the time of contract award and during the conduct of the proposed research unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer. Primary employment means that more than one-half of the principal investigator's time is spent with the small business. Also for both Phase I and Phase II, the R/R&D work must be performed in the United States. "United States" means the 50 states, the Territories and possessions of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the District of Columbia .
All types of small business organizations may submit proposals, including high technology, R&D, manufacturing, and service firms. Companies with outstanding scientific or engineering competence in highly specialized product, process or service areas may wish to apply their expertise to the research topics in this solicitation through a laboratory prototype. Ideally, the research should make a significant contribution to the solution of an important transportation problem and provide the small business concern with the basis for new products, processes, or services .
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General Information
This is a solicitation for Phase I R/R&D proposals on advanced, innovative concepts from small business firms having strong capabilities in applied science or engineering.
The Phase I R/R&D proposals shall demonstrate a sound approach to the investigation of an important transportation-related scientific or engineering problem categorized under one of the topics listed in Section VIII.
A proposal may respond to any of the research topics listed in Section VIII, but must be limited to one topic. The same proposal may not be submitted under more than one topic. An organization may, however, submit separate proposals on different topics, or different proposals on the same topic, under this solicitation. Where similar research is discussed under more than one topic, the offeror shall choose that topic which appears to be most relevant to the offeror's technical concept .
The proposed research must have relevance to the improvement of some aspect of the national transportation system or to the enhancement of the ability of an operating element of the DOT to perform its mission.
Proposals shall be confined principally to scientific or engineering research, which may be carried out through construction and evaluation. Proposals must be for R/R&D, particularly on advanced or innovative concepts, and shall not be for incremental or scaled-up versions of existing equipment or the development of technically proven ideas. Proposals for the development of already proven concepts toward commercialization, or which offer approaches already developed to an advanced prototype stage or for market research shall not be submitted. Commercialization is the objective of Phase III, in which private capital or non‑SBIR funds are to be used to continue the innovative research supported by DOT under Phase I and Phase II .
The proposal shall be self‑contained and checked carefully by the offeror to ensure that all preparation instructions have been followed. (See Proposal Checklist, Appendix D).
Requests for additional information or questions relating to the DOT SBIR Program may be addressed to:
Joseph Henebury
DOT SBIR Program Director, RTV-1A
U.S. DOT/RITA/VNTSC
55 Broadway
Cambridge , MA 02142-1093
Telephone: (617) 494-2051
Fax: (617) 494-2370
E-Mail Address: joseph.henebury@dot.gov
Volpe Center Web Site: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/SBIR
