This U.S. DOT Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum provides small businesses an opportunity to submit clarifying questions on the topics published in the U.S. DOT Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Phase I Pre-Solicitation. Questions will be answered by the Technical Experts/Topic Authors at the U.S. DOT Operating Administrations during this period. Questions shall be limited to improving the understanding of a particular topic's requirements and should not share proposal ideas nor proprietary information. 

The U.S. DOT’s FY 2021 Pre-Solicitation period is January 5, 2021 through February 2, 2021 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time (ET). Only questions posted within this period will be responded to.

How to Use the SBIR Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum:

1. Register (optional): Anyone can view questions and answers without an account, but registration is recommended if you wish to post a question and receive a notification when it is responded to.
2. Search: Browse the existing questions by category to find the topic you are interested in and to see if your question has already been addressed. If you see a question you are also interested in, you can add a vote to the question, or leave a comment. 
3. Post: If your question has not already been posted, use the “Enter your idea” box at the top of the page to enter your question. 
   1. Select the research topic your question is related to from the drop-down menu that appears when you begin typing. 
   2. You may add more detail in the Description box (optional). Do NOT attach any files. The U.S. DOT shall not consider any submitted materials other than questions. 
   3. Enter your email address (optional). 
   4. When finished, select “Post idea.” If you registered, you will be able to track responses to your post. Please include only one question or comment per post to help us keep the forum organized.

Please note, all comments will be public information. Potential offerors shall not include in the question(s) or comment(s) any information that they do not wish to be made public. Telephone inquiries or meeting requests will not be addressed and may be removed. The U.S. DOT shall not respond to requests for advice or guidance on any offeror’s solution to any SBIR topic, and shall not consider any submitted materials other than questions.

Thanks for joining our SBIR Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum. 

If you experience technical difficulties, please contact us at DOTSBIR@dot.gov.