SBIR/STTR Program Guidance
Members of the Intelligence Community (IC) are exempt from participating in the Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. NGA has found that the SBIR/STTR program is valuable enough to warrant voluntary participation and is the only member of the IC that participates in the SBIR program.
Broad Information
The first step to take if you're interested in participating in NGA's SBIR/STTR program is to learn more about the program in general. The program is run by the Small Business Administration , which sets the basic parameters of the program according to law. Beyond these guidelines, every Agency and Department runs its SBIR/STTR program a little differently. Therefore, you should also investigate the Department of Defense (DOD) SBIR/STTR program , under which NGA's program falls.
NGA's program is designed to help NGA meet its mission to provide timely, relevant, and accurate imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information in support of national security objectives. Therefore, topics of interest to NGA focus on getting the most out of imagery and geospatial data. Consistent with Executive Order 13329, NGA encourages Phase I and Phase II proposals to address the development of innovative manufacturing methods and processes when applicable to the topics.
Solicitation Dates
NGA is aligning its SBIR/STTR solicitation with NGA’s research and technology focus areas. Depending on the needs of these major research programs, we may participate in any of the three solicitations offered through DOD annually.
Contract Cost and Duration
SBCs and research institutions apply first for a six-month to nine-month Phase I award of up to $256,580 to test the scientific, technical, and commercial merit and feasibility of a particular concept. If Phase I proves successful, the SBC or research institution may apply for a two-year Phase II award of up to $1,710,531 to further develop the concept, usually to the prototype stage. (Note: The Small Business Administration (SBA) reviews the thresholds annually for the effects of inflation and posts those adjustments on www.SBIR.gov , per the SBA’s SBIR and STTR Program Policy Directive.) Agencies have the discretion to issue awards for less than maximum dollar amount. For more information regarding a specific agency’s award guidelines, please visit their solicitation.
Proposal Submission
All of DoD's SBIR/STTR proposal submission requirements are required by NGA. It is mandatory to electronically submit the entire technical proposal, DOD Proposal Cover Sheet, Cost Proposal, and the Company Commercialization Report through the DOD SBIR/STTR website at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/ . If you have any questions or problems with the electronic submission, contact the DOD SBIR/STTR Helpdesk at 703-214-1333 or via email at DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com (9 a.m.to 5 p.m. EST). Complete electronic submission includes the submission of the Cover Sheets, Cost Proposal, Company Commercialization Report, the Entire technical proposal and any appendices via the DOD Submission site. The DOD proposal submission site
https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/ will lead you through the process for submitting your technical proposal and all of the sections electronically. All proposals must be received by the date and time indicated in the solicitation. In addition, a work breakdown structure that shows the number of hours of each key person and other labor (by type) to be assigned to each task and subtask, as well as the start and end dates for each task and subtask, shall be included. Please ensure a valid email is included for your primary point of contact for notification purposes. If you are submitting a phase II proposal, your base and options cost must be shown separately.
Proposal Selection
Proposals will be selected according to the evaluation procedures and criteria discussed in the solicitation. Due to limited funding, NGA reserves the right to limit awards under its topics, and only those proposals of superior scientific and technical quality will be funded. There is no commitment by NGA to make any awards on any topic, to make a specific number of awards or to be responsible for any monies expended by the proposer before award of a contract.
Contract Award
NGA aims to award Phase I contracts within 180 days after the close of the solicitation. NGA aims to award Phase II contracts within 120 days of receipt of all Phase II proposals on a given topic.
Classification
NGA's SBIR/STTR program is completely unclassified, allowing a wide range of vendors to compete for contracts.
Contact the NGA SBIR/STTR Program Manager at: sbir@NGA.mil