Grantee Research Project Results

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY

Recipients List

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH
PHASE I Program Solicitation
RFP# SOL-NC-14-00014

ISSUE DATE: July 16, 2014
CLOSING DATE: September 11, 2014 October 9, 2014 *

* CAUTION - See Section V., Paragraph J.9(c), Instructions to Offerors, Concerning Late Proposals and Modifications.

Your proposal in Portable Document Form (PDF) (including all appendices) shall be received via FedConnect by 12:00 p.m. (noon) eastern standard time on September 11, 2014 October 9, 2014.

Please Read this entire solicitation carefully prior to submitting your proposal.

Notwithstanding any other provision or clause in this solicitation to the contrary, proposals shall be submitted via the FedConnect web portal . In order to submit proposals, offerors must register in FedConnect , see main page of FedConnect website for registration instructions. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect technical questions please contact the FedConnect Help Desk (support@fedconnect.net) at (800) 899-6665.

IMPORTANT:

Offerors should note and consider Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause 52.215(c)(3), “Instructions to Offerors – Competitive Acquisitions” concerning Late Proposals, Modification of Proposals and Withdrawal of Proposals.

It is the responsibility of Offerors to submit proposals in FedConnect with sufficient time to ensure they are received by the date and time specified. Only proposals received by the date and time specified via FedConnect will be considered for award.

Table of Contents

Section
I.	SBIR Program Description
	A.	Purpose of EPA’s SBIR Program
	B.	Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark
	C.	SBIR Phase I Research Topics
		1.	Air and Climate
			1A.	Industrial process pollution reductions
			1B.	Lab-on-a-chip sensors
			1C.	Nano-air filters
		2.	Manufacturing
			2A.	Non-toxic electronics
		3.	Toxic Chemicals
			3A.	Non-fluorinated surfaces or coatings
			3B.	Polyurethane coatings
			3C.	Flame retardant materials
		4.	Water
			4A.	Nutrient recovery
			4B.	Small drinking water systems
		5.	Building Materials
			5A.	Innovative Construction Materials
			5B.	Material reuse and Recycling
		6.	Food Waste
			6A.	Food Waste – Resource Recovery
		7.	Homeland Security
			7A.	Pathogen removal from water pipes
	D.	Phase II
	E.	Phase III
	F.	Guidelines
	G.	Award Amounts
	H.	Fraud Waste and Abuse
	I.	EPA Contact Information
II.	Definitions
	A.	Research or Research and Development (R/R&D)
	B.	Funding Agreement
	C.	Subcontract
	D.	Small Business Concern
	E.	Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Concern
	F.	Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual
	G.	Woman-Owned Small Business Concern
	H.	Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)
	I.	Primary Employment
	J.	United States
	K.	Commercialization
	L.	SBIR Technical Data
	M.	SBIR Technical Data Rights
III.	Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements
	A.	Proposal Page Limit
	B.	Proposal Cover Sheet
	C.	Project Abstract
	D.	Technical Contact
	E.	Proposed Budget
	F.	Phase I Quality Assurance Statement (QAS)
	G.	Company Registry Requirements
IV.	Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria
	A.	Phase I External Peer Review
	B.	Phase I Internal Programmatic Review
	C.	Release of Proposal Review Information
V.	Considerations
	A.	Awards
	B.	Reports
	C.	Payment Schedule
	D.	Innovations, Inventions, and Patents
	E.	Cost Sharing
	F.	Profit or Fee
	G.	Joint Ventures or Limited Partnerships
	H.	Research and Analytical Work
	I.	Contractor Commitments
	J.	Additional Information
VI.	Submission of Proposals
VII.	Submission Forms and Certifications
	APPENDIX A - Proposal Cover Sheet
	APPENDIX B - Project Summary
	APPENDIX C - SBIR Proposal Summary Budget
	APPENDIX D - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
	APPENDIX E - Certification (at Time of Award)
	APPENDIX F - Certification (with Final Report)

SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION

I. SBIR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. Purpose of EPA’s SBIR Program

Every Federal agency with an extramural research and development (R&D) budget over $100 million is required by law to have a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. For the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the SBIR program provides the only way it can directly award R&D funding to small businesses. The EPA SBIR program is very competitive. Each agency implements the program in a phased manner that follows the technology development continuum:  research, development, demonstration, commercialization, and utilization. The number of phases an agency supports depends on its program needs and budget. Generally, there are two phases:  the first is for proof of concept, and the second is intended to move the technology as far as possible toward full-scale commercialization.

Successful commercialization usually results from reversing the technology development continuum. That is, first identifying a need that can be addressed by technology, then assessing whether that need provides a viable market opportunity, and, after that, identifying or inventing a technology that can be developed and commercialized to meet that need in a profitable manner.

The EPA’s needs result from its mission to protect human health and the environment. Because its needs are large and the available funding is small, the EPA seeks “disruptive” technologies that offer totally new approaches to meeting its needs—not incremental improvements of existing technologies. Such novel technologies could, for example, completely eliminate a seemingly intractable problem or provide performance at dramatically reduced costs and orders of magnitude better than existing technology.

The EPA recognizes that supporting such ground-breaking technologies involves a high risk that projects will not meet their objectives. For the EPA, the potentially greater rewards of such technologies justify that larger degree of risk. The EPA welcomes and accepts such risks in the interest of fulfilling its mission.

For the EPA, success means that the technologies it supports will in fact be used to solve the problems for which they are being developed; therefore, from the outset of the selection process, the EPA will consider commercialization potential to be as important as technical potential, and it will evaluate proposals accordingly.

SBIR proposals should directly pertain to the EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment. Those proposals should also consider the lifecycle environmental impacts of the technology itself, including (if applicable) minimizing resource use, minimizing toxicity of materials, efficient use of  water and energy, minimizing pollution, and minimizing the impacts of disposal.  The proposed research must be responsive to the topics included in this solicitation.  The research should be the basis for technological innovation resulting in new commercial products, processes, or services that benefit the public and promote the growth of the small business.

The EPA will follow a two-stage application evaluation process to make funding decisions. The two stages are: external peer review and internal programmatic review. The review processes are described below. The evaluation criteria that will be used in each stage are described later in the solicitation.

B. Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark

Offerors that have received 20 or more Phase I SBIR awards over the 5-year period that ends one year prior to the date of submission of a proposal must meet a Phase I - Phase II transition rate of at least 0.25 to be eligible for a Phase I award under this SBIR solicitation being issued by the EPA. The Phase I - Phase II transition rate reflects the minimum ratio of Phase II awards to Phase I awards received by an offeror in the target period.

If it is determined that a Phase I offeror subject to the Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement does not meet the Phase I - Phase II transition rate, the offeror will not be eligible for a Phase I SBIR award for a period of one year from the date of that determination.

The Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement does not apply to Phase I offerors that have received less than 20 Phase I awards during the target period. Furthermore, if a Phase I offeror that received 20 or more Phase I awards during the target period does not meet the Phase I – Phase II transition rate, but the offeror is able to demonstrate that at least 0.25 of its Phase I awards received either Phase II awards or research or development investments comparable in size to Phase II awards, the offeror may submit supporting documentation for consideration in lieu of meeting the Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement.

C. This Year’s SBIR Phase I Topics

For this solicitation, the EPA’s needs are being expressed through a variety of very specific topics. Offerors must select just one specific topic toward which their technology is addressed. The letter and number before a specific topic constitute the topic code.

The topics for this solicitation are:

1. Air and Climate

   Industrial and energy production processes emit a variety of contaminants into the air.  Some of these contaminants are directly toxic to human health and the environment, some are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and, thereby, indirectly affect human health and the environment, and some are both. The EPA uses a variety of approaches to address these issues, including requiring the use of control technologies (Control Strategies and Organic Chemical Production Plants), setting emission and air quality standards (Technology Transfer Network National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)), creating voluntary programs to achieve or go beyond compliance with standards Progress Cleaning the Air: Voluntary Partnership Program Accomplishments), and doing R&D to create and validate the performance of monitoring devices (Next Generation Air Measuring Research) and technologies that enable prevention, treatment, recycling, and disposal of contaminants and contaminated media (Air and Climate Change Research).

   With this in mind, the EPA is interested in supporting the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that address the following topics.

   1. Industrial process pollution reductions: Changes in an industrial production process that reduce the overall carbon footprint while minimizing emissions to other environmental media;
   2. Lab-on-a-chip sensors: Lab-on-a-chip sensors for affordable, remote, in-situ, real-time, and continuous measurement of multiple contaminants at trace (parts per trillion) concentrations;
   3. Nano-air filters: Super high-performance, low cost filters (e.g., using nanomaterials) for removing gaseous pollutants from contaminated air streams.
2. Manufacturing

   Executive Order 13329 directs the EPA to properly and effectively assist the private sector in its manufacturing innovation in order to sustain a strong manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy. These innovations often involve engineering and technical solutions that make the manufacturing operation and/or the manufactured product both more environmentally and economically sound.

   As a result, the EPA is seeking the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that, when compared with current technologies, dramatically improve the performance, dramatically reduces the environmental impacts, and significantly reduce the costs of both the production processes and the product characteristics of:

   1. Non-toxic electronics: Next generation non-toxic electronic devices and components.
3. Toxic Chemicals

   In February 2012, the EPA issued an document, “Existing Chemicals Program: Strategy” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). That strategy document noted that the TSCA inventory of chemicals in commerce now exceeds 84,000 chemicals. Furthermore, periodic TSCA chemical data reporting has indicated that there are approximately 7,000 chemicals currently produced at volumes of 25,000 pounds or greater. Under the TSCA, the EPA is responsible for assessing the safety of these commercial chemicals and to take necessary action if there are significant risks to human health or the environment from those chemicals.

   To implement its “Strategy”, the EPA developed a number of Action Plans (Existing Chemicals Action Plans) for addressing specific chemicals of concern.  Based on these plans, the EPA is seeking technological innovations that can be developed and commercialized to address the following needs:

   1. Non-fluorinated surfaces or coatings: Non-fluorinated surfaces or coatings that are water- and stain-resistant;
   2. Polyurethane coatings: Polyurethane coatings and foams that do not have free isocyanate groups in their monomers or pre-polymers;
   3. Flame retardant materials: Materials that are inherently flame retardant (that is materials that do not require added flame retardants).
4. Water

   The Office of Water (OW) has the goal of being a catalyst for fostering the protection and sustainability of water resources in the U.S. and around the globe.  It has produced two papers that are intended to help achieve this goal. The first is the March 27, 2013, “Blueprint for Integrating Technology Innovation into the National Water Program.”  The second is the April 2014 “Promoting Technology Innovation for Clean and Safe Water:  Water Technology Innovation Blueprint—Version 2” (PDF) (EPA 820-R-14-006).

   These papers identify 10 market opportunities for technology innovation. This solicitation addresses 2 of these opportunities:  recovering nutrients, and improving performance of small drinking water systems. Consequently, the EPA is seeking innovative technologies that address the following needs:

   1. Nutrient recovery: Cost-effectively recover nutrients from human and animal wastes and convert them into marketable commodities before they impair surface and groundwater;
   2. Small drinking water systems: Cost-effective and affordable technologies that substantially improve the performance and reliability of small drinking water systems.
5. Building Materials

   A large portion of the waste materials created in the United States results from the construction and demolition of buildings. These materials include concrete, wood, metal, glass, wallboard, and plastic. Much of this material goes to landfills. Waste reduction could be achieved by constructing buildings with innovative materials and creating demolition processes that increase the recycling and reuse of those materials. As a result, there is a need for the development and commercialization of the following:

   1. Innovative construction materials: Innovative commercial building construction materials that provide superior strength and durability; have less weight and volume, as well as reduced toxicity; and are easier to recycle and reuse than current materials;
   2. Material reuse and recycling: Innovative processes that will dramatically increase the reuse and recycling of materials that results from the demolition of commercial buildings.
6. Food Waste

   The EPA and the USDA are partnering through the U.S. Food Waste Challenge to address sustainable food management from farm to final disposition.  Through this partnership, the EPA is working to reduce food waste, which is the largest component (21 percent) of discarded municipal solid waste. In keeping with the RCRA mandate to conserve resources and energy, and recognizing that an estimated 42 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to materials management activities, the EPA continues to create innovative strategies that emphasize sustainable materials management. These efforts to identify and reduce or minimize the impact of waste and capture the resulting GHG benefits through more sustainable materials management throughout all life-cycle stages (from extraction of raw materials through end of life) are critical for offsetting the use of virgin materials.

   1. Food Waste- Resource Recovery: Innovative processes that divert food waste from landfills and recover valuable resources

      For more information, see the EPA’s FY 2011-2015 Strategic Plan

7. Homeland Security

   More than 280 million Americans count on the safety of the tap water provided by their local water systems. The President has given the EPA the primary responsibility for coordinating Federal, state, and local authorities in the protection of drinking water systems. The Bioterrorism Act of 2002 requires communities serving more than 3,300 people to develop vulnerability assessments and certify emergency response plans. With most of this work now completed, the EPA has shifted its focus to reducing the risks associated with those vulnerabilities.  These risks include the adherence of biological agents to the inside of water system pipes.  As a result, the EPA is interested in the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that can perform more effectively and affordably than current approaches.

   1. Pathogen removal from water pipes: Remove chlorine-resistant pathogens (such as Bacillus anthracis in spore form) that adhere to the inside of water system pipes.

D. Phase II

THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR PHASE I PROPOSALS ONLY

Process

Upon completion of their Phase I project, Phase I awardees will be eligible to apply for follow-on Phase II funding.  Phase II is the principal R&D effort. It should be completed in 24 months. It has two objectives. The first is to continue the R&D initiated under Phase I, and take it at least through full-scale testing of the technology. The second is to work with partners, investors, and customers to fully commercializing the technology and obtain widespread utilization.

The EPA recognizes that a full demonstration of a technology’s capability and full-scale commercialization may require, in effect, a Phase III that utilizes non-EPA Federal and/or private sector funds. Phase II projects should position their technologies to successfully move into and through such a Phase III.     

The Agency anticipates making approximately eight (8) Phase II awards, each in the amount of $300,000 with a 24-month term of performance.  In Phase II, the EPA is also offering a commercialization option of $100,000 to companies that can secure third-party investment for the commercialization of their technology.  To implement this, the Agency plans to require a “Commercialization Option” under which Phase II offerors shall submit a proposal for $100,000 of additional EPA funding based on having obtained at least $100,000 of private sector funding. The proposal should document the receipt of these latter funds from one or more third-party investors, such as a venture capital firm, an individual "angel" investor, a state or local funding source, another company under a partnership, licensing, or joint venture arrangement, or any combination of third parties. The EPA funds must be designated solely for support of the R&D-related elements of the project. The entire Phase II proposal, including the documentation submitted in support of the commercialization option, will be evaluated together.

The EPA anticipates issuing the follow-on Phase II Solicitation on or about October 15, 2015, with proposals due on/about November 30, 2015.

Evaluation

For Phase II, the EPA plans to use a two-stage evaluation process similar to that used for Phase I. There will be an external peer review, plus an internal review that considers programmatic balance, Agency priorities, and available funding. The following criteria will be used in the external peer review of the Phase II proposals.

1. Technical Merit:  Adequately established proof of concept in Phase I.  Showed the soundness of the scientific and technical principles underlying the technology.  Technology is ready to move from laboratory scale to pilot scale and prototype development.
2. Performance Demonstration:  Adequacy of staff, facilities, and resources to demonstrate and evaluate in Phase II the technical performance, environmental benefits, and cost of the technology at pilot or larger scale.  Likelihood the technology will be a disruptive technology when compared with the performance, benefits, and cost of existing and likely competitor technologies in the field.  Adequacy of the Phase II Quality Assurance Statement.
3. Company/Team:  Management Team demonstrated effective performance and good working relations in Phase I.  PI, supporting staff, and consultants demonstrated commitment to the project and have adequate plans to continue and enhance that commitment in Phase II.  In Phase I, company effectively used external advisors such as leaders in technical, entrepreneurial, financial, and other relevant areas and has adequate plans to continue and strengthen these relationships in Phase II.
4. Commercialization Potential:  Strength of market analysis and product marketing plans.  Strength of business development strategy and plans for Phase II and beyond.  Adequacy of current and planned facilities and resources for scaling up production to gain market penetration.  Likelihood of successfully commercializing technology.
5. Partners/Investors:  Demonstrated ability of company in Phase I in building relationships with commercial, distribution, and/or other relevant partners that would result in successful commercialization of the technology.  Adequacy of plans for moving in Phase II to more formalized relationships with these and other partners.  Success in obtaining investment commitments for Phase II and beyond.

 

Internal Programmatic Review Criteria

1. The potential of the technology to meet Agency program priorities.
2. The potential of the technology to advance sustainability, including environmental, economic, and societal benefits.
3. The potential of the technology to be widely used, have broad application, and/or to impact large segments of the population.

E. Phase III

THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR PHASE I PROPOSALS ONLY

The EPA strongly encourages Phase II awardees who do not think they will be able to achieve full-scale commercialization by the end of Phase II to diligently plan for and pursue during Phase II non-EPA SBIR sources of funding to achieve full-scale commercialization and utilization of their technology. That third phase could be funded by:

1. Non-Federal sources of capital—including investors, commercial partners, licensing, etc.
2. Federal non-SBIR sources that support any necessary continued R&D and product development.
3. Federal non-SBIR funds for purchasing and/or domestic and international marketing of the technology.

F. Guidelines

Each offeror submitting a proposal must qualify as a small business for research or R&D purposes at the time of award of the Phase I and Phase II funding agreements. In addition, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the small business firm, both at the time of contract award and during the conduct of the proposed research. Principal investigators who appear to be employed by a university must submit a letter from the university stating that the principal investigator, if awarded a SBIR contract, will become a less-than-half-time employee of the university. Also, a principal investigator who appears to be a staff member of both the applicant and another employer must submit a letter from the second employer stating that, if awarded a SBIR contract, s/he will become a less than half-time employee of the second employer. Letters demonstrating that these requirements have been fulfilled shall be submitted prior to contract award to the addressee stated in Section VI of this solicitation. Failure to do so may jeopardize award. Also, for both Phase I and Phase II, the research or R&D work must be performed in the United States. (For the definition of the “United States”, see Section II. J.)

G. Award Amounts

For Phase I, the EPA anticipates the award of approximately $2.0M in firm-fixed-price contracts, at a maximum dollar amount of  $100,000 each including profit, but reserves the right to change either the number of awards or the amount of the individual awards, depending on the outcome of the selection process. The period of performance is expected to be 6 months. Source selection will not be based on a comparison of cost or price between offerors. However, cost or price will be evaluated to determine whether the price, including any proposed profit, is fair and reasonable, and whether the offeror understands the work and is capable of performing the contract.

H. Fraud Waste and Abuse

To report fraud, waste, or abuse in EPA programs, contact the OIG Hotline by:

E-mail:  OIG_Hotline@epa.gov

Postal Mail:
EPA Inspector General Hotline
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Mail code 2431T

Phone: 1-888-546-8740, Fax: 1-202-566-2599

I. Contact Information

Potential offerors shall only communicate with the Agency via FedConnect. All inquiries concerning this solicitation shall be submitted via FedConnect.    

II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this solicitation, the following definitions apply:

A. 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, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

B. Funding Agreement 

Any contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into between any Federal Agency and any small business concern for the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work, including products or services, funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government.

C. Subcontract

Any agreement, other than one involving an employer-employee relationship, entered into by an awardee of a funding agreement for purposes of obtaining supplies or services for the performance of the original funding agreement.

D. Small Business Concern

Only United States small businesses are eligible to participate in the SBIR program. A small business concern is one that, at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II, meets all of the following criteria:

1. Is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States;
2. Is more than 50 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States, or by another for-profit business concern that is more than 50% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States; and
3. Has no more than 500 employees, including affiliates;
4. Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust, or cooperative, except that, where the form is a joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by business entities in the joint venture;
5. Phase I awardees with multiple prior awards must meet the benchmark requirements for progress toward commercialization outlined in I.B. above.

PLEASE NOTE:  Majority Ownership in Part by Multiple Venture Capital, Hedge Fund, and Private Equity Firms.  For the EPA SBIR FY 2014 solicitation, the SBIR Program will not accept proposals from or make awards to small business concerns that are owned in major part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms. Small business concerns with such ownership are ineligible to submit proposals under this solicitation.

E. Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Concern

A socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern is one that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, or an Indian tribe, including Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), a Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO), or a Community Development Corporation (CDC). Control includes both the strategic planning (as that exercised by boards of directors) and the day-to-day management and administration of business operations. See 13 CFR 124.109, 124.110, and 124.111 for special rules pertaining to concerns owned by Indian tribes (including ANCs), NHOs, or CDCs, respectively.

F. Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual

A member of any of the following groups:

1.   Black Americans;
2.   Hispanic Americans;
3.   Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, or Native Hawaiians);
4.   Asian-Pacific Americans (persons with origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru);
5.   Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal); and
6.   Other groups designated from time to time by SBA pursuant to Section 124.103 (d) of  13 CFR

Ch.1(1-1-02 Edition).

G. Women-Owned Small Business Concern

A small business concern that is at least 51 % owned by and controlled by a woman or women. Control includes both the strategic planning (as that exercised by boards of directors) and the day-to-day management and administration of business operations.

H. Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)

A small business concern meeting the following requirements:

1. It must be a small business by SBA standards;
2. It must be owned and controlled at least 51% by U.S. citizens, or a Community Development  Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, or an Indian tribe;
3. Its principal office must be located within a “Historically Underutilized Business Zone,” which includes lands considered “Indian Country” and military facilities closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Act;
4. At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone.

I. Primary Employment

More than one-half of the principal investigator's time is spent in the employ of the small business concern.

J. United States

The 50 States, the Territories and possessions of the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

K. 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.

L. SBIR Technical Data

All data generated during the performance of an SBIR award.

M. SBIR Technical Data Rights

The rights a small business concern 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.

III. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

A. Proposal Page Limit

Proposals shall be submitted in Portable Document Form (PDF) in response to this Phase I of the SBIR program and shall not exceed a total of 25 pages, one side only. Exceptions being the requirements set forth in Section III.D.12, "Prior SBIR Awards" and the one page print out showing the company has registered in the SBA company registry (described in IV. H). The 25 pages shall include the cover page, budget, and all enclosures or attachments. Pages (including enclosures or attachments, such as letters of recommendation) should be of standard size (8 ½" x 11"; 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm) with (1”; 2.5 cm) margins and type no smaller than 10 point font size. All pages shall be consecutively numbered. Proposals in excess of the 25 page limitation shall not be considered for review or award. Any additional attachments, appendices, or references beyond the 25-page limitation shall result in the proposal not being considered for review or award. A letter of transmittal is not necessary. If a letter of transmittal is attached it will be counted as page 1 of the proposal.

B. Proposal Cover Sheet

The offeror shall photocopy (or download from the Internet) and complete Appendix A of this solicitation which has the relevant solicitation number and applicable research topic code and the corresponding topic title as page 1 of the proposal. The offeror shall select one (and only one) research topic code and the corresponding topic title on the cover sheet. It is the complete responsibility of offerors to select and identify the best research topic code and the corresponding topic title for their proposal. No other proposal cover sheet shall be permitted. Do not use cover sheets from previous years’ solicitations; they include obsolete research topics and corresponding topic codes. When downloading the solicitation from the Internet, Appendix A may print on no more than two pages, but Appendix A will only count as one page. If Appendix A exceeds two pages, any additional pages will count toward the 25-page limitation. Offerors may reformat the forms to correct spacing and pagination errors, however, identical information shall be provided.

The cover sheet shall contain the pen-and-ink signatures of the principal investigator and the corporate/business official authorized to sign the proposal.

C. Project Abstract

Each application must include an abstract which will be an important document for all stages of the review process. In addition, if a project is funded, it will be posted on the EPA SBIR web site, so the abstract shall not include any proprietary data. The abstract format is provided in Appendix B and shall be submitted as page 2 of the proposal. When downloading the solicitation from the Internet, Appendix B may print on no more than two pages, but Appendix B will only count as one page. If Appendix B exceeds two pages, any additional pages will count toward the 25-page limitation.

The abstract must use include the following information:

Project Summary: Describe the Specific Need for the Technology, What the Technology Would Do to Meet That Need, What Basic Research Was Done with What Result, What is the Application, Who are the End Users, the Size of the Potential Market, and Potential Investors and Commercial Partners (~1/2 page);

Evidence that Successful Development and Commercialization of this Technology will Result in Widespread Environmental Benefit (~1/4 page);

Basic Market Research that Shows There Would be Willing Buyers for the Technology if It Were Commercialized (~1/4 page);

The Technical Concepts that Support the Feasibility of Developing the Technology (1/2 page);

How this Technology Would Outperform Currently-Used Technologies (1/2 page).

D. Technical Content

Begin the main body of the proposal on page 3. At a minimum, the following shall be included:

1. IDENTIFICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY. A clear statement of the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed and the associated environmental benefits.

   INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TECHNOLOGY IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND THE EPA INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW. Where appropriate, proposals should describe the positive and negative environmental impacts based on an assessment of the full life cycle of the new product or technology. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) refers to the analysis of impacts throughout all stages of a product or process from production to use to disposal. Integration of a life cycle perspective into the environmental analysis typically considers impacts from raw materials extraction, manufacture, packaging, distribution, use, and disposal.

2. PHASE I OBJECTIVES. State the specific objectives of the Phase I research and development effort, including the technical questions it will try to answer.  That information shall be used to determine the feasibility of the proposed approach.
3. PHASE I WORK PLAN. This section provides a detailed description of the work plan. The work plan shall describe what will be done, where it will be done, and how the R/R&D will be carried out. The work planned to achieve each task shall be discussed in detail, to enable a complete scientific and technical evaluation of the work plan. A work schedule shall also be provided.  
4. RELATED RESEARCH OR R&D. Describe significant research or R&D that is directly related to the proposal, including any conducted by the project manager/principal investigator or by the proposing firm. Describe how it relates to the proposed effort, and any planned coordination with outside sources. Offerors must demonstrate their awareness of key recent research or R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area by providing appropriate references from the literature and other published documents.
5. KEY PERSONNEL AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DIRECTLY RELATED WORK. Identify key personnel involved in Phase I, including their directly related education, experience, and bibliographic information. Where vitae are extensive, summaries that focus on the most relevant experience or publications are desired, and may be necessary to meet proposal size limitations.
6. RELATIONSHIP WITH FUTURE RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. State the anticipated results of the proposed approach if the project is successful (Phase I and II). A discussion of cost-effectiveness is paramount, especially comparing the state-of-the-art approaches with the proposed approach. Discuss the significance of the Phase I effort in providing a foundation for Phase II R/R&D effort.
7. FACILITIES. A detailed description, including the availability and location of instrumentation and physical facilities proposed for Phase I, shall be provided.
8. CONSULTANTS. Involvement of consultants in the planning and research stages of the project is permitted. If such involvement is intended, it shall be described in detail and vitae shall be provided.
9. COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN. Provide an abbreviated 2-3 page plan related directly to producing an innovative product, process, or device and getting it into commercial production and sales. Comprehensive business plans (that are company rather than project oriented) are not desired. The Phase I plan is a roadmap toward producing a detailed Phase II Commercialization Plan, which shall be required as part of the Phase II Application.

   NOTE:  In accordance with the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, the EPA is able to provide discretionary commercialization assistance to SBIR awardees. The Agency may provide up to $5,000 of SBIR funds for technical assistance per award.  The EPA intends to provide Phase I awardees with technical assistance through a separate EPA arrangement. For Phase I, this assistance will be in addition to the award amount. If you wish to receive commercialization assistance from the EPA vendor (Foresight), you do not need to include this in your budget.

   The Phase I plan shall provide limited information on the subjects described below. Explain what will be done during Phase I to decide on applications, markets, production, and financing. The Commercialization Plan shall address:

   1. SBIR Project:  A brief description of the company, its principal field(s) of interest, size, and current products and sales. A concise description of the SBIR project, and its key technical objectives.
   2. Commercial Applications:  Potential commercial applications of the research results specifying customers and specific needs that will be satisfied. Have you or do you intend to file for one or more patents as a result of the SBIR project?
   3. Competitive Advantages:  What is particularly innovative about the anticipated technology or product? (Innovation may be expressed in terms of applications, performance, efficiencies, or reduced cost. To determine if your innovation is likely to result in intellectual property that may be legally protected, it helps to conduct a patent search and look for related work being funded by the EPA or another Federal agency.)  What significant advantages in application, performance, technique, efficiency, or costs do you anticipate your new technology will have over existing technology?  (In order to assess such advantages, it is useful to compare the anticipated performance of your technology against substitutable products currently being sold or emerging out of R&D. If regulations, industry standards, or certifying requirements apply to your technology or product, these provide useful criteria for comparing your anticipated performance with potentially competing technology and products. However, other expressions of end-user needs may also contain important criteria).
   4. Markets:  What are the anticipated specific markets for the resulting technology, their estimated size, classes of customers, and your estimated market share 5 years after the project is completed and/or first sales?  Who are the major competitors in the markets, present and/or anticipated?
   5. Commercialization:  Briefly describe how you plan to produce your product. Do you intend to manufacture it yourself, subcontract the manufacturing, enter into a joint venture or manufacturing agreement, license the product, etc.?  Briefly describe the approach and steps you plan to take to commercialize the research results to significant sales. Do you plan to market the product yourself, through dealers, contract sales, marketing agreements, joint venture, sales representatives, foreign companies, etc.?  How do you plan to raise money to support your commercialization plan?  Describe what steps you plan to take towards building relationships with commercial, distribution, or financial partners aimed at furthering the commercialization of the technology.
10. SIMILAR OR CLOSELY RELATED SBIR AWARDS. If the small business concern has received ANY prior Phase I or Phase II award(s) from the EPA or any Federal agency for similar or closely related research, submit the name of the awarding agency, the date of the award, the funding agreement number, the amount of the awards, and the topic or subtopic title. DESCRIBE THE TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES AND REASONS WHY THE PROPOSED NEW PHASE I RESEARCH IS DIFFERENT FROM RESEARCH CONDUCTED UNDER PRIOR SBIR AWARDS.  (This required proposal information shall be counted toward the 25 page proposal limitation.)
11. DUPLICATE OR EQUIVALENT SBIR PROPOSALS. A firm may elect to submit essentially equivalent work under other Federal Program Solicitations. In those cases, a statement shall be included in each such proposal indicating: the name and address of the agencies to which proposals were submitted or from which awards were received; the dates of proposal submissions or dates of award; the titles, numbers, and dates of the solicitations under which proposals were submitted or awards received; specific applicable research topics for each proposal submitted or award received; titles of research projects; name and title of project manager or principal investigator for each proposal submitted or award received. (This information shall count toward the 25-page proposal limitation.)
12. PRIOR SBIR AWARDS. If the small business concern has received ANY prior Phase II award from any Federal agency in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit the name of the awarding agency, the date of the award, the funding agreement number, the amount, the topic or subtopic title, any follow-on agreement amount, the source and date of commitment, and the current commercialization status for each Phase II award. (This required proposal information shall be included as an attachment to the proposals and shall not be counted toward the 25-page proposal limitation.)  Information provided shall be limited to what has been requested. Proposals that contain information in the attachment beyond what is requested shall count toward the 25-page limitation.

E. Proposed Budget

Complete the budget form in Appendix C and include the completed form immediately after proposal Section D.11. Incorporate the copy of the budget form bearing the original signature into the copy of the proposal bearing the original signature on the cover page. The completed budget form will count as one page in the 25-page limit. If budget explanation pages are included, they will count toward the 25-page limit. Offerors are encouraged to include travel expenses on the budget form to attend a one-day SBIR Phase I Kick-Off Meeting in Washington, DC, soon after the Phase I awards are made

F. Phase I Quality Assurance Statement (QAS)

Offerors must state whether or not their proposal involves data collection or processing, environmental measurements, modeling, or the development of environmental technology (whether hardware-based or via new techniques). The QAS describes the processes that will be used to assure that results of the research satisfy the intended project objectives. The EPA is particularly interested in the quality controls for data generation and acquisition, and how data validation and usability will be verified. This QAS shall not exceed one page and will be included in the 25-page limitation for the proposal. The QAS shall briefly address each of the sections below. If a section does not apply, provide a brief justification of why.

1. Identify the individual who will be responsible for the quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) aspects of the research, along with a brief description of this person’s function(s), experience, and authority within the firm. Describe the firm’s general approach for conducting quality research. (QA is a system of management activities to ensure that a process or product is of the type and quality needed for the project. QC is a system of activities that measures the attributes and performance of a process or product against the standards defined in the project to verify that they will meet those stated requirements.)
2. Discuss project objectives, including quality objectives, any hypotheses to be tested, and the quantitative and/or qualitative procedures that will be used to evaluate the success of the project. Include any plans for peer or other reviews of the study design or analytical methods.

3. Address the collection of new primary data, if applicable:  (Note: In this case the word “sample” is intended to mean any finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole. If certain attributes listed below do not apply to the type of samples to be used in the research, simply explain why those attributes are not applicable.)

   Discuss the plan for sample collection and analysis. As applicable, include sample type(s), frequency, locations, sample sizes, sampling procedures, and the criteria for determining acceptable data quality (e.g., precision, accuracy, representativeness, and completeness, comparability, or data quality objectives). Describe the procedures for the handling and custody of samples, including sample collection, identification, preservation, transportation, storage, and how the accuracy of test measurements will be verified. Describe or reference each analytical method to be used, any QA or QC checks or procedures with the associated acceptance criteria, and any procedure(s) that will be used in the calibration and performance evaluation of the analytical instrumentation. Discuss the procedures for overall data reduction, analysis, and reporting. Include a description of all statistical methods that will be used to make inferences and conclusions, acceptable error rates, and any statistical software that will be used.

4. Address the use of existing/secondary data (i.e., data previously collected for other purposes or from other sources), if applicable:  Describe or reference each analytical method to be used, any QA or QC checks or procedures with the associated acceptance criteria, and any procedures that will be used in the calibration and performance evaluation of the analytical instrumentation. Discuss the procedures for overall data reduction, analysis, and reporting. Include a description of all statistical methods that will be used to make inferences and conclusions, acceptable error rates, and any statistical software that will be used.
5. Address method development, if applicable:  (Note: The data collected for use in method development or evaluation should be described in the QAS, as per the guidance in Sections 3 and/or 4 above.)  Describe the scope and application of the method, any tests (and measurements) to be conducted to support the method development, the type of instrumentation that will be used and any required instrument conditions (e.g., calibration frequency), planned QC checks and associated criteria (e.g., spikes, replicates, blanks), and tests to verify the method’s performance.

6. Address development or refinement of models, if applicable:  (Note:  The data collected for use in the development or refinement of models should be described in the QAS, as per the guidance in Sections 3 and/or 4 above.)

   Discuss the scope and purpose of the model, key assumptions to be made during development/refinement, requirements for code development, and how the model will be documented. Discuss verification techniques to ensure the source code implements the model correctly. Discuss validation techniques to determine that the model (assumption and algorithms) captures the essential phenomena with adequate fidelity. Discuss plans for long-term maintenance of the model and associated data.

7. Address development or operation of environmental technology, if applicable: (Note: The data collected for use in the development or evaluation of the technology should be described in the QAS, as per the guidance in Sections 3 and/or 4 above.)

   Describe the overall purpose and anticipated impact of the technology. Describe the technical and quality specifications of each technology component or process that is to be designed, fabricated, constructed, and/or operated. Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting and controlling design changes. Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting the acceptability of processes and components, and discuss how the technology will be benchmarked, and its effectiveness determined. Discuss the documentation requirements for operating instructions/guides for maintenance and use of the system(s) and/or process(s).

8. Discuss data management activities (e.g., record-keeping procedures, data-handling procedures, and the approach used for data storage and retrieval on electronic media). Include any required computer hardware and software, and address any specific performance requirements for the hardware/software configuration used.

A more detailed Proposal Quality Assurance Plan shall be required in Phase II. The plan shall be required as part of the first monthly report under the Phase II contract.

G. Company Registry Requirements

1. The Small Business Administration (SBA) maintains and manages a Company Registry at www.SBIR.gov to track ownership and affiliation requirements for all companies applying to the SBIR Program. The SBIR Policy Directive requires each small business concern (SBC) applying for a Phase I or Phase II award to register in the Company Registry prior to submitting a proposal.
2. The SBC will save its information from the registration in a .pdf document and will append this document to the last page of its technical proposal. This page will not count towards the 25 page limit.
3. All SBCs will report and/or update ownership information to SBA prior to each SBIR proposal submission or if any information changes prior to award. For example, if a concern that registers on the Company Registry becomes majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms after the time it submitted its initial proposal (or other formal respo