Grantee Research Project Results

To view and apply for EPA's 2015-2016 SBIR Solicitation through FedConnect:
Opportunity: 2015-2016 SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION AMENDMENT 1

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Enter "2015 SBIR Phase I Solicitation" into the text box and select the search option.
Select the SBIR solicitation title with Reference Number SOL-NC-16-00001.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM PHASE I SOLICITATION

SOL-NC-16-00001

ISSUE DATE: November 18, 2015

CLOSING DATE: January 7, 2016

*CAUTION - See Section VI., Paragraph J. j(c)(3), Instructions to Offerors, Concerning Late Proposals and Modifications. And Section VI., Paragraph J. j(d), offeror expiration date. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will be valid for 250 days.

Your proposal (including all appendices) shall be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF), and shall be received via FedConnect by 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Standard Time (EST) on January 7, 2016. Your entire proposal (including appendices) shall be submitted through FedConnect as ONE document in PDF. Only proposals received via FedConnect as ONE PDF by the deadline identified above will be considered for award.

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

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

IMPORTANT:

Please note Section VI., Paragraph J. j, 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.

SBIR Program Description
1. Purpose of EPA’s SBIR Program
2. Phase I
3. Performance Benchmark Requirements for Phase I Eligibility
4. 2015 SBIR Phase I Research Topics
5. Phase II
  Process
  Evaluation
  Phase II Commercialization Criteria
  Phase II Technical Criteria
  Phase II Internal Programmatic Relevancy Review Criteria
6. Phase III
7. Guidelines
8. Inquiries
9. Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Definitions
Certifications
Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements
Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria
1. External Peer Review
2. Phase I Evaluation Criteria
  Phase I Commercialization Criteria
  Phase I Technical Criteria
3. EPA Programmatic Relevancy Review
  Phase I Internal Programmatic Relevancy Review Criteria
4. Release of Proposal Review Information
5. Company Registry Requirements
Considerations
Submission of Proposals
Scientific and Technical Information Sources
Submission forms and Certifications
Appendix 1 – Proposal Cover Sheet
Appendix 2 – Project Summary
Appendix 3 – SBIR Proposal Summary Budget
Appendix 4 – Representations and Certifications
Appendix 5 – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Appendix 6 – Commercialization History

PHASE I SOLICITATION FOR SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH

SBIR Program Description
1. 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 one 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. The objective of Phase III, where appropriate, is for the small business to pursue commercialization
  1. Importance of Commercialization
    For the EPA, success of its SBIR program 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.
    
    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. An offeror is encouraged to conduct market research before submitting their proposal to this solicitation to demonstrate that there is a viable market opportunity.
    
    EPA also requires the offeror to provide commercialization history information if they have received one or more SBIR Phase II awards from any agency. A template is provided for the history in Appendix 6. This information is incorporated into the solicitation as part of the evaluation criteria in section V.B. Phase I Commercialization Criteria, (2) Management Capabilities and PI Experience and Commitment.
  2. Desire for Disruptive and Platform Technologies
    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. In addition, the EPA seeks “platform” technologies that have the potential for many future applications in addition to the proposed application.
  3. Risk Taking is Essential
    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.
  4. Life Cycle Impacts must be Considered
    Proposals should also consider the lifecycle environmental impacts of the technology, 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 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.
  5. Two-Step Evaluation Process
    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 and the evaluation criteria that will be used in each stage are described later in the solicitation.
2. Phase I
  The EPA anticipates making approximately eighteen (18) Phase I awards, each in the amount up to $100,000 and not to exceed a six (6) month term of performance. It is anticipated that these contracts will be awarded with a contract start date of August 1, 2016. The Phase I effort is for “proof of concept” of the proposed technology. All companies that successfully complete Phase I are eligible to compete for Phase II which is to further develop and commercialize the technology.
3. Performance Benchmark Requirements for Phase I Eligibility
  
  Each year, SBA assesses the Performance Benchmark rates for all applicable SBIR or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awardees in the Company Registry. Rates are based on a company’s total SBIR/STTR awards, across all the participating agencies. Companies that fail to meet either of the two Performance Benchmark requirements are not eligible to receive a Phase I award for a period of one year from the assessment. Note that this does not affect a company’s eligibility for Phase II or Phase III awards.
  
  All offerors for an SBIR or STTR award must be registered on SBIR.gov. Offerors should be sure to update their information on the Company Registry at least once per year. To open or update an SBIR/STTR Company Registry account, go to SBIR User account and register as a Small Business User. After the registration is complete, the SBA will issue your company a unique SBC Control ID and .pdf file to be attached to this application.
  
  NOTE: THE SBA NOTIFIES FIRMS EACH YEAR THAT DO NOT MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED BELOW WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A PHASE I AWARD FOR ONE YEAR AFTER THE SBA NOTIFICATION.
  
  Before responding to this solicitation, all offerors should verify their Transition Rate and Commercialization Rate eligibility for Phase I awards. Each year, the SBA will perform an evaluation of companies and the SBA will notify the companies of their status. Phase I offerors that meet the below criteria must meet two Performance Benchmark requirements to be eligible for a new Phase I award: the Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate and the Commercialization Rate benchmarks. General information on the Performance Benchmark requirements is available on SBIR.gov on the “Performance Benchmarks” tab under the “Learn About” section.
  
  The Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate requirement applies only to SBIR Phase I offerors that have received more than 20 Phase I awards over the past 5 fiscal years (excluding the most recent year). For these offerors, the ratio of the number of Phase II awards (awarded during the past 5 fiscal years) to the number of Phase I awards (awarded during the past 5 years excluding the most recent year) must be at least 0.25.
  
  The Commercialization Rate requirement applies only to SBIR Phase I offerors that have received more than 15
  Phase II awards over the past 10 fiscal years, excluding the last two years. These companies must have realized, to date, an average of at least $100,000 of sales and/or investments per Phase II award (awarded during this period), or have received a number of patents resulting from the SBIR work equal to or greater than 15% of the number of Phase II awards.
  
  SBA sends three notifications each year to companies affected by the benchmark performance requirements and will also communicate these to the EPA SBIR program. The SBA will also notify the EPA SBIR Program of those companies that have met the benchmarks as detailed above.
  
  When logged in to the Company Registry at sbir.gov, awardees can view their last assessed Transition Rate and Commercialization Rate by clicking on the “Performance Benchmark” side-bar. These company-specific rates appear under the heading “At Last Assessment.” A thumbs-up/thumbs-down indicator shows whether or not the company passed the benchmark rates at the last assessment. If at any time, a company believes the award information on SBIR.gov is not correct, it should notify SBA using the dispute link provided. If a company’s dispute of the data used for the rates is under review, it will see “TBD” under the “At Last Assessment” heading. Companies with less than the threshold number of awards (21 Phase I awards for the Transition Rate and
  16 Phase II awards for the Commercialization Rate) will see “N/A” displayed because the requirement did not apply
  to them.
  
  Under the heading “Current (On-Going)”, the page displays a running calculation of the benchmark rates using the next years’ time periods (each period moved up by one year) and current data in the system. Companies should monitor these rates to anticipate their standing for each upcoming June 1 Assessment. Prior to proposal preparation, all offerors to this solicitation that have received more than 20 Phase I awards across all federal SBIR/STTR agencies over the past five (5) years should verify that their company will not have a failing status on the Transition Rate Benchmark at the time of award. Offerors that have received more than 15 Phase II awards across all federal SBIR/STTR agencies over the past ten (10) years should verify that their company will not have a failing status on the Commercialization Rate benchmark at the time of award.
4. 2015 SBIR Phase I Research Topics
  For this solicitation, the EPA’s needs are being expressed through a variety of very specific topics. Offerors must directly address and select just one of the specific topics described below.
  
  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, setting emission and air quality standards, creating voluntary programs to achieve or go beyond compliance with standards, and doing R&D to create and validate the performance of monitoring devices and technologies that enable prevention, treatment, recycling, and disposal of contaminants and contaminated media.
    With this in mind, EPA is interested in supporting the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that address the following topic.
    
    Topic Code 1. Lab-on-a-chip sensors for organic pollutants in homes: Lab-on-a-chip sensors for very affordable, in-home, real-time, and continuous measurement and reporting of multiple (not single) organic contaminants at trace (parts per trillion) concentrations that can be easily deployed and results understood by the homeowner or resident.
  2. Integrated Cookstove-Heating-Electricity Generation for Small Homes
    For roughly half the world’s population, the source for both cooking and keeping warm is a simple fire pit surrounded by three large stones arranged to keep a cooking surface above the flames. The World Health Organization estimates that indoor air pollution from such cooking fires contributes to nearly two million premature deaths annually.
    The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is coordinating a multi-national, multi-disciplinary effort to address the need for better cookstoves in developing countries. Its approach involves enhancing demand for clean cookstoves and fuels, strengthening the supply of clean cookstoves and fuels, and fostering the enabling environment for a thriving market for clean cooking solutions. Exit
    
    Together with other Federal agencies and private sector partners that support the Alliance’s efforts, EPA is supporting research that evaluates cookstove performance in the laboratory and in the field.
    
    The need for electrical power is increasingly being added to the needs for cooking and providing heat in homes in developing countries. A technical challenge is to integrate all three capabilities into a single technology that could work in such conditions. Therefore, EPA is looking for the development and commercialization of:
    
    Topic Code 2. Integrated cooking, heating, and electric power generation. Successful technologies will be able to function using small amounts of a variety of fuels (e.g., various types of biomass, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, solar, etc.), produce far less indoor air pollution than currently used technologies, be affordable, have wide applicability, be rugged and reliable, and easy to use.
  3. 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.
    The EPA is seeking the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that, when compared with currently available technologies, have dramatically better performance, decreased cost of production, and reduced environmental impacts in both production and use.
    
    The production, use, recycle/reuse, and disposal of plastic materials and products still pose significant environmental and human health problems. Toxic fumes that affect workers and neighbors of manufacturing facilities and that off-gas in the home are one type of problem. Another is portrayed by the very graphic pictures of ocean wildlife fatally caught in plastic holders for soda cans. The EPA is seeking innovative plastics that are less hazardous in both their production and use. This means that technologies proposed for this topic must achieve both of these goals in order to be successful, as follows:
    1. The EPA is seeking more sustainable ways of manufacturing plastics that eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in their production, greatly reduce the amount of energy used, and eliminate toxic pollutants that result from the manufacturing process, and
    2. the plastics that are manufactured using these improved processes should not emit toxic fumes, should not be toxic if ingested, should rapidly biodegrade in soil and water, and should be easily recycled/reused.
    These considerable improvements should result in the following:
    
    Topic Code 3. Non-toxic and biodegradable plastics: Manufacture and use of the next generation of non-toxic and biodegradable plastic materials and products.
  4. Toxic Chemicals
    In February 2012, the EPA issued a document, “Existing Chemicals Program: Strategy” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which 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 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 this Strategy, the EPA developed a number of 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 need:
    
    Topic Code 4. Less toxic coatings: Polyurethane coatings that do not have free isocyanate groups in their monomers or pre-polymers.
  5. 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 (PDF) (6 pp,231 K).” The second is the April 2014 “Promoting Technology Innovation for Clean and Safe Water: Water (PDF) (22 pp, 3.42 MB) Technology Innovation Blueprint—Version 2 (PDF) (22 pp, 3.42 MB) ” (EPA 820-R-14-006).
    These papers identify 10 market opportunities for technology innovation. This solicitation addresses two of these opportunities: nutrient recovery and energy recovery. Consequently, EPA is seeking innovative technologies that address the following needs:
    
    Topic Code 5. Resource and/or Energy Recovery: Innovative technologies that can cost-effectively do one or, preferably, both of the following. The ideal technologies will be applicable to both small and large treatment systems.
    
    The technologies should recover potentially valuable resources from wastewater and sewage sludge, such as nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and/or phosphorus, micronutrients, etc.), heavy metals (e.g., copper, zinc, molybdenum, magnesium), precious metals (e.g., palladium, platinum, gold, silver), plasmids, and rare earth elements, and/or produce enough energy from treating the wastewater and sewage sludge to operate the treatment facility on a continuous basis.
  6. 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:
    Topic Code 6. Innovative Construction Materials: Innovative commercial building Construction Materials that are stronger, more durable, last longer, weigh less, have lower volume, are less toxic, cost less to produce, and will be easier to recycle and reuse than currently used materials.
  7. Homeland Security
    The Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and associated Presidential Directives and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and other EPA authorizing legislation give EPA responsibility for remediating indoor and outdoor areas that are chemically, biologically, or radiologically contaminated due to disasters and terrorist acts. EPA is interested in developing and commercializing innovative technologies that can help reduce the risk of and remediate such contamination once it has occurred. Such technologies should perform far more effectively and affordably than currently available technologies. They include:
    Topic Code 7. Decontamination of railroad and subway cars: Technologies that can inactivate and/or remove biological agents from the interior and exterior of railroad cars and subway cars.
5. Phase II
  (THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR PHASE I PROPOSALS ONLY)
  Process
  Upon completion of their Phase I project, Phase I awardees are eligible to submit for follow-on Phase II funding. Phase II offerors should have made significant progress in their commercialization planning and implementation during their Phase I project.
  
  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 commercialize 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 EPA 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 requires 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 shall document the receipt of these latter funds from one or more third-party investors, such as a venture capital firm, an individual "angel" investor¹, 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 January 16, 2017, with proposals due on/about March 2, 2017.
  
  ¹An angel investor is an investor who provides financial backing for a business start-up.
  
  Evaluation
  For Phase II, the EPA will 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.
  
  Phase II Commercialization Criteria
  1. Commercialization Plan: Completeness of market analysis. Goals that involve achieving by the end of Phase II full-scale commercialization and adoption. Thoroughness and convincing nature of the steps in the plan to reach those goals. Clearly delineated plans for field and full-scale demonstrations in the facilities of potential and already-committed partners using widely accepted evaluation criteria and processes.
  2. Company/Team: Management Team demonstrated effective performance and good working relations in Phase I. Principal Investigator (PI), supporting staff, and consultants demonstrated commitment to the project and have convincing 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 convincing plans to continue and strengthen these relationships in Phase II.
  3. Partners/Investors: Demonstrated ability of company in Phase I in building relationships with commercial, distribution, investors, and/or other relevant partners. Convincing plans for moving in Phase II to more formalized relationships with these and other partners that will result in successful commercialization of the technology. Success in obtaining investment funds during Phase I and commitments of additional investment in Phase II and beyond.
  Phase II Technical Criteria
  1. Technical Soundness: Convincingly established proof of concept in Phase I. Clearly explained and convincingly demonstrated in Phase I the soundness of the scientific and technical principles underlying the technology that will apply in Phase II. Technology is ready to move from field/operational-setting demonstrations to initial production and then to full-scale commercialization and adoption to meet the goals of the Commercialization Plan.
  2. Demonstrations and Performance Evaluation Criteria: Demonstrations carried out in Phase I in operational facilities of committed or potential manufacturing partners. Use of widely-accepted and environmentally-relevant performance evaluation criteria when conducting demonstrations. Relevance of the planned demonstrations to achieving the goals of the Commercialization Plan.
  3. Life Cycle Impacts and Quality Assurance Plan: Completeness of the life cycle analyses performed in Phase I. Convincing plans for life cycle analyses in Phase II. Success in Phase I and convincing plans for Phase II to address potential negative environmental impacts of the technology. Adequacy of Quality Assurance Plan for Phase II and convincing plans for following that plan in Phase II.
  Phase II Internal Programmatic Relevancy 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.
6. 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.
  The objective of Phase III, where appropriate, is for the small business to pursue commercialization objectives resulting from the Phase I/II R/R&D activities. The SBIR program does not fund Phase III.
7. Guidelines
  Each offeror submitting a Phase I 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 offeror and a second 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 Contract Specialist via the FedConnect web portal. Failure to do so may jeopardize award. Also, for Phase I, the research or R&D work must be performed in the United States. (For the definition of the “United States”, see Section II. J.)
8. Inquiries
  All inquiries concerning this solicitation shall be referred to the EPA Contract Specialist:
  Jeffery Clodfelter
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  RTP Procurement Operations Division (AA005)
  109 T.W. Alexander Dr.
  Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
  Phone: (919) 541-0796
  E-mail: clodfelter.jeffery@epa.gov
9. 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
Definitions
For purposes of this solicitation, the following definitions apply:
1. 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
  2. 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.
2. 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.
3. Subcontract
  Any agreement, other than one involving an employer-employee relationship, entered into by an awardee of a funding agreement for purpose of obtaining supplies or services for the performance of the original funding agreement.
4. Small Business Concern
  A small business concern is one that, at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II contracts, 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
  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. 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.
6. 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 the 13 CFR Ch.1 (1-1-02 Edition).
7. Woman-Owned Small Business Concern
  A small business concern that is at least 51 percent 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.
8. 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.
9. Primary Employment
  More than one-half of the principal investigator's time is spent in the employ of the small business concern.
10. 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.
11. Commercialization
  The process of developing marketable products or services and producing and delivering products or services for sale (whether by the originating party or by others) to Government or commercial markets.
12. SBIR Technical Data
  All data generated during the performance of a SBIR award.
13. 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.

Certifications
The Section K Representations and Certifications are located in Appendix 4. Refer to IV., Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements, Section G. Attachment 4: Representations and Certifications for instructions on proposal preparation.
Please Note: Majority Ownership in Part by Multiple Venture Capital, Hedge Fund, and Private Equity Firms. For this EPA SBIR FY 2016 solicitation, the EPA’s SBIR Program will not accept proposals from or make awards to small business concerns that are owned in majority part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms. Small business concerns with such ownership will not be considered for award under this solicitation.
Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements
1. Proposal Page Limit and Cover Sheet
  Proposals shall be submitted in Portable Document Form (PDF) in response to this Phase I solicitation. Proposals shall not exceed a total of 25 pages, one side only. Exceptions being the requirements set forth in Section IV. C. (12) “Company SBIR Commercialization History” by submitting Appendix 6 and the one page print out showing the company has registered in the SBA company registry (described in Section V. E). The 25 pagesshall 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 in x 11 in; 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm) with 2.5 cm margins and type no smaller than 10 point font size. All pages shall be consecutively numbered. Any additional attachments, appendices, or references beyond the 25-page limitation (unless specifically requested in this solicitation) 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.
  Proposals in excess of the 25 page limitation shall not be considered for review or award. Your entire proposal (including appendices) shall be submitted through FedConnect as ONE document in PDF. Only proposals received via FedConnect as ONE PDF by the deadline identified above will be considered for award.
  
  The offeror shall complete the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix 1) of this solicitation which has the relevant solicitation number and applicable research topic code and corresponding topic title and use it 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 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 1 may print on no more than two pages, but Appendix 1 will only count as one page. If Appendix 1 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 signatures of the principal investigator and the corporate/business official authorized to sign the proposal. The total costs requested on Appendix 1 (Proposal Cover Sheet) must match the total costs proposed on Appendix 3 (SBIR Proposal Summary Budget). The amount must not exceed $100,000 on Appendix 1 and 3. If your firm intends to incur any additional costs beyond the budget limit of $100,000, please provide a statement indicating that your firm will be responsible for any additional cost beyond the budget limits.
  
  Offerors should prepare their technical proposal as succinctly as possible. Quality of information is more important than quantity. Elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond those which are sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are neither necessary nor desired and will not be read. Clarity, brevity and logical organization should be emphasized during proposal preparation.
2. Project Summary
  Each proposal must include a Project Summary which will be an important document for all stages of the review process. The offeror shall complete the Project Summary form (Appendix 2) and use it as page 2 of their proposal. Offerors shall properly enter their Phase I Research Topic Code and Topic Title on both their Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix 1) and Project Summary (Appendix 2).
  The Project Summary shall be limited to one page and not to exceed 200 words. The Project Summary shall include the following information (must be publishable, i.e., not proprietary): The specific need for the technology, what the technology would do to meet that need, technical feasibility, application(s), end users, evidence of willing buyers, size of the potential market, performance compared to current technologies and potential for environmental benefits.
  
  In summarizing anticipated results, the implications of the approach and the potential commercial applications of the research shall be stated. THE PROJECT SUMMARY IS USED EXTENSIVELY DURING THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW. The project summary and proposal title from Appendix 2 of the successful proposals will be published by EPA and, therefore, shall not contain proprietary information. No changes shall be allowed.
  
  When downloading the solicitation from the Internet, Appendix 2 may print on no more than two pages, but
  Appendix 2 will only count as one page. Offerors may reformat the forms to correct spacing and pagination errors; however, identical information shall be provided. If Appendix 2 exceeds two pages, any additional pages will count toward the 25-page limitation.
3. Technical Content: Phase I Proposal
  The Phase I technical proposal requirement is described in this section. Begin the main body of the Phase I technical proposal on page 3, after the proposal cover sheet and project summary. Note that there are FOUR attachments required as part of the complete Phase I proposal as follows:
  Attachment 1: Commercialization Plan (See Section D);
  Attachment 2: Phase I Quality Assurance Statement (See Section E); Attachment 3: Cost Breakdown/Proposed Budget (See Section F); Attachment 4: Representations and Certifications (See Section G).
  
  The main body of the technical proposal shall contain sections that, at a minimum, respond to each of the following twelve (12) requirements:
  1. Problem. Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity. Provide a clear statement of the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed.
    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. Proposals do not have to have a formal LCA, but integration of a life cycle perspective into the environmental analysis should consider 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. Provide a detailed description of the Phase I R/R&D plan. The plan shall indicate 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 objective or 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 or principal investigator or by the proposing firm. Describe how the research or R&D relates to the proposed effort, and any planned coordination with outside sources. The proposer must persuade reviewers of his/her awareness of recent research or R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area.
  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.
  6. Relationship with Future Research or R&D. Describe 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. Provide 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.
  9. Commercialization Plan. Provide a brief summary of the important elements of the Commercialization Plan. This section is only a brief summary of the plan. Note: The Phase I Proposal shall include a copy of the Commercialization Plan. (See Section D below.)
    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.
  10. Similar or Closely Related SBIR Awards. If the small business concern has received ANY prior Phase I or Phase II award(s) from EPA or any Federal agency for similar or closely related research in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit the name of the awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number, amount, topic or subtopic title, follow-on agreement amount, source and date of commitment and current commercialization status. Describe the technical differences and reasons why the proposed Phase I research is difference 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 these 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; date of proposal submission or date of award; title, number, and date of 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 required proposal information shall be counted toward the 25 page proposal limitation.)
  12. Company SBIR Commercialization History. A Company SBIR Commercialization History is required for all offerors certifying receipt of previous SBIR Phase II awards from any Federal agency. The Commercialization History Template in Appendix 6 MUST be used. All items must be addressed in the format outlined in this template. Changes to the template, additional narratives and/or commercialization history documents from other agencies are not permitted. (This required proposal information shall not be counted toward the 25-page proposal limitation.)
4. Attachment

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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