Commercial potential is one of the five Phase I evaluation criteria. See the solicitation for more details. 

Selections will be based on best value to the Government. Therefore, all other things being equal in terms of technical ratings, a lower cost may provide a better value. 

Yes. Only Federal U.S. DOT employees will be evaluating the offers. 

The awardee owns, and has full right and title to, the data it develops under an SBIR award for not less than 20 years from the date of the (Phase I) award. Awardee’s data rights are detailed within FAR C52.227- 20 Rights in Data-SBIR Program (May 2014).

The Government has rights to certain limited use of the data, primarily for evaluation of the results of the award. While some agencies use the data only for evaluation and review purposes, others have interest in accessing the data to explore applications of the research or technology. These rights are stipulated in the SBIR Policy Directive. 
 

The Government requires that the research be documented showing success or lack thereof. For Phase I awards, the documentation required is three reports: two bi-monthly reports documenting progress and a third final report documenting the challenges and/or successes. For Phase II awards, the research outcomes and deliverables are informed by the Phase II proposal and finalized in the contract. 

Yes, the U.S. DOT SBIR Program began offering this service with Solicitation 15.1. The purpose of technical and business assistance (TABA), according to the SBIR Policy Directive, is to assist SBIR awardees in: 

1. Making better technical decisions on SBIR projects;
2. Solving technical problems that arise during SBIR projects;
3. Minimizing technical risks associated with SBIR projects; and
4. Commercializing the SBIR products of processes.

More information on TABA will be provided in the solicitation.
 

Your request for technical and business assistance (TABA) funding is based on how you choose to receive it. When submitting your proposal via U.S. DOT’s secure proposal submission site, there is a question that asks the following:

If selected for an award, is your firm interested in participating in the U.S. DOT’s Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) Program? The program provides assistance to Phase I awardees in the area of commercialization planning and strategy (see the Solicitation). Firms selected for award can choose to receive assistance from (1) U.S. DOT’s pre-approved vendor, or (2) their own proposed subcontractor (and provide additional documentation for verification as determined by U.S. DOT's Acquisitions Office).

A. Yes - I am interested in the TABA Program and plan to use U.S. DOT's approved vendor

B. Yes - I am interested in the TABA Program and plan to propose to use a vendor of my choosing and will submit documentation as requested by U.S. DOT if selected for award

C. No - I am not interested in the TABA Program

D. I am undecided at this time

If an offeror chooses (A) and their offer is recommended for award, the prospective awardees will receive notification from the U.S. DOT SBIR Program Office on what services are available and how to obtain these services at no cost to the small business using the vendor provided by U.S. DOT’s SBIR program.

If an offeror chooses (B) and their offer is recommended for award, the U.S. DOT SBIR Program Office and contracting officer will work with the awardee to request a revised cost proposal (Appendix C) that accounts for this cost. In addition, the awardee must provide at that time an outline of the specific technical assistance services to be provided, and the detailed qualifications and experience of the proposed subcontractor/consultant being requested.

If the offeror chooses (C) and their offer is recommended for award, no assistance will be provided.

If the offeror chooses (D) and their offer is recommended for award, the U.S. DOT SBIR Program Office and contracting officer will contact the offeror with more information on the TABA Program and request a decision within five business days.

Yes. The firm may be given a sole-source contract for further work or production that derives from, extends, or completes earlier SBIR work. Such follow-on work must be given Phase III status. 

Phase II proposal instructions are typically issued 30 days prior to the completion of the Phase I award. The gap in time between the end of Phase I and beginning of Phase II varies for each project. 

U.S. DOT does not have a sample technical section to share; however, all offerors should follow the instructions in Section II of the Phase I solicitation, Offer Preparation Instructions and Requirements, to ensure that their technical proposal contains the requirements in the order they are described.

Yes, edits can be made by logging in to the submission website and will only be accepted if submitted before the deadline.

Question (continued): If so, is a bibliography allowed at the end of the offer to provide key resources used in the preparation of the offer? Would this count towards the page limit?

The bibliography should reflect work done by key personnel. Place the bibliography as heading number 5 of the technical section. Any bibliography of key resources used in the preparation of the offer can be added to the end of the technical section. Yes, these do count towards the page limit.

Letters of support are allowed as part of the technical section; however, they do count towards the page limit. If the letters are from a subcontractor or consultant or a supplier of materials or equipment and include pricing information, the letters should be included within the Appendix C supporting documentation. 

Yes, references and citations count towards the page limit for the technical section.

For the Anticipated Results and Keywords section of Appendix B, there is no minimum word limit. Responses must fit within the space provided. 

The file names have a character limit of 256 characters. Asterisks and backslashes are not allowed. 

An internet quote means pricing gleaned from suppliers’ websites. Often this is in the form of a screen shot or print-out of the supplier’s webpage showing the price of the material or equipment. The screen shot should also include the supplier’s name and the date the screen shot was taken. 

If travel is proposed, similar information should be provided (e.g., from a rental car website or airline website). 
 

No. An estimate for Phase II is not required for the Phase I offer. The solicitation includes an estimated Phase II award amount, subject to change. 

There is no maximum overhead rate as long as the percentage can be justified in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) policy. A narrative should be included in Appendix C justifying the factors that are used to compile the rate (see DCAA Manual 7641.90, Information for Contractors).

Profit has typically been proposed and accepted at a rate between 6 and 10 percent. The profit proposed should be commensurate with Offeror’s assessment of risk. The profit proposed must be supported by narrative within the proposal. The narrative needs to state which cost elements profit/fee was applied to and why it is reasonable.

Please note: For Phase II and IIB awards issued as a cost-plus-fixed-fee type award, the maximum fee is set by statute at 15 percent.