Skip to main content

Other Supplementary Documents

A. Phase I

Other Supplementary Documents. Other supplementary documents include the following (multiple PDFs can be uploaded in this section).

  • Company Commercialization History (required, if applicable). A company commercialization history is required for all proposers certifying receipt of previous Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program Phase II awards from any federal agency in Question 11 of the SBIR certification questions. All items must be addressed in the format given in the U.S. National Science Foundation commercialization history template. Changes to the NSF template, additional narratives and/or commercialization history documents from other agencies are not permitted.

  • Letters of Commitment from Subawardees and Consultants (strongly recommended). Please refer to the budget guidance section for details.

  • Resubmission Change Description (required, if applicable). A declined proposal may be resubmitted only after it has undergone substantial revision and only with the receipt of a new invited Project Pitch. A resubmitted proposal that has not clearly considered the major comments or concerns resulting from the prior NSF review may be returned without review. The agency will treat the revised proposal as a new proposal, subject to the standard review procedures.

    Note: The proposing company must indicate in Question 10 of the SBIR/STTR Certification Questions if the current proposal is a revision of a previously declined proposal. The resubmission change description, uploaded in the Other Supplementary Documents, must detail the substantial revisions that have been made to the original submission.

  • Letters of Support (at least one required; three maximum). Letters of Support act as an indication of market validation for the proposed innovation and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. Letters of support can be used to demonstrate that the company has initiated dialogue with relevant stakeholders (e.g., potential customers, strategic partners or investors) for the proposed innovation and that a legitimate business opportunity may exist should the technology prove feasible. Ideally, letters of support will serve to substantially mitigate key non-technical risks that face the project. Letters of support that focus on personal endorsements of project personnel or of the underlying technology are not considered as useful as those that express the voice of key stakeholders in the commercial market and/or elucidate key aspects of the near-term commercial opportunity.

    The letter(s) must contain affiliation and contact information for the signatory stakeholder. Letters of commitment and supporting documents from consultants and subcontractors (or any personnel identified in the Budget Justification) are NOT considered letters of support.

  • IP (Intellectual Property) Rights Agreement (Required for STTR proposals and strongly recommended for SBIR proposals where there is a subaward to another institution). A fully executed Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights agreement is not required with initial proposal submission, but will be required before a recommendation for an award can be made. For proposal submission, if an executed agreement is not in place, please include a draft Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights agreement or a statement that includes the name of the partner research institution stating that an agreement will be provided upon program officer notification of a potential award recommendation.

    For more details on what is required in the IP Rights agreement, please reference the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive.

  • Other Personnel Biographical Information (strongly recommended). This optional section can be used to provide additional biographical information about project participants who are not listed as Senior/Key Personnel for the small business or for a subawardee.

B. Phase II

Other Supplementary Documents. Other supplementary documents include the following (multiple PDFs can be uploaded in this section).

  • Company Commercialization History (required, if applicable). A company commercialization history is required for all proposers certifying receipt of previous SBIR/STTR Phase II awards from any Federal agency in Question 11 of the SBIR Certification Questions. All items must be addressed in the format given in the NSF Commercialization History Template. Changes to the NSF template, additional narratives and/or commercialization history documents from other agencies are not permitted.
  • Letters of Commitment from Subawardees and Consultants (strongly recommended). Please refer to the budget guidance section for details.
  • Project Schedule. The required Project Schedule must show the estimated duration and timing of major project tasks that are required to implement the research plan. This document should clearly estimate the initiation and completion of tasks in relation to other tasks within the 24-month award timeline.

    NSF recommends downloading the Project Schedule template and uploading a completed version of this form into Research.gov. This schedule should also provide projected levels of effort for each key person during each reporting period of the project. Key personnel to be listed generally include any senior/key personnel listed on line A of the main project budget, any persons listed on line A of any subaward budgets, or any budgeted consultants. The schedule should also include estimates of the total level of effort (for all project personnel) and total expenditures for each six-month project period.

    Payment Schedule: NSF generally makes the Phase II SBIR/STTR award funds available for drawdown in tranches, with the first tranche upon award and subsequent tranches at six-month intervals thereafter. The standard schedule is as follows:
    • An initial payment of 25% of the total budget with the award.
    • A 2nd payment of 25% of the total at the six-month mark and based on approval of the first interim report.
    • A 3rd payment of 25% of the total at the 12-month mark and based on approval of the second interim report.
    • A 4th payment of 25% of the total (less $25,000) at the 18-month mark and based on approval of the third interim report.
    • A final payment of $25,000 based on approval of the final annual report and submission of the Project Outcomes Report.

    A deviation from the standard payment schedule can be requested if the standard schedule poses significant difficulties for the recipient or would negatively affect the execution of the project. If the standard payment schedule as described above is not appropriate, please request alternative amounts for each payment and provide a brief justification for the departure from the standard schedule.

  • Commercialization Plan (maximum 15 pages). The Commercialization Plan is a critical section of the proposal. It is the primary opportunity to describe the strategy that the small business will employ to generate revenue from the proposed innovation research. The Commercialization Plan is the company’s road map and should convey how the company will generate profits from its innovation. It should represent a compelling vision of a unique business opportunity that could be addressed with continued support from SBIR/STTR Phase II funding. The depth and quality of the analysis within the Commercialization Plan are a critical element of the NSF SBIR/STTR proposal review. Assumptions within the plan should be clearly stated, and evidence of validation should be provided.

    The plan must concisely convey:
    • The business opportunity enabled by the innovation.
    • The compelling value proposition(s) for the intended customer(s).
    • The key points of a plan appropriate for the company's stage of development.
    • The status of the commercial effort to date and map out a strategy for the enterprise moving forward.
    • The current commercial landscape (and any anticipated changes) and the resources required to address the opportunity enabled by the innovation.
    • The company's vision for growing and evolving the small business to achieve scalable commercial impacts.


    The outline below describes the points that should be covered in the Commercialization Plan. There are four sections required for an NSF Commercialization Plan: Market Opportunity, Company/Team, Product/Technology and Competition, and Finance and Revenue Model. Each section should be developed with careful analysis of the company’s position in the industry and the market opportunity that is enabled by the proposed innovation. The key points required for each section are also shown below.

    This outline represents a standard NSF Commercialization Plan. The company’s particular strategy may include additional components not represented below; please include other elements as appropriate.

    NSF recognizes that each innovation requires a specific strategy to generate strong outcomes and that no two businesses are exactly alike. Therefore, NSF supports a broad array of commercialization strategies. Each strategy requires a different emphasis on the plan’s elements, depending on the specifics of the innovation and the market landscape. For instance, the strategies and mechanisms for leveraging and protecting IP vary according to industry and innovation.

    Section 1: Market Opportunity

    • Describe the target customer, with generally known examples if possible.
    • Describe which customer needs will be addressed with the product or service.
    • How does the target customer currently meet the need, or does a significant unaddressed problem exist?
    • Describe succinctly the product or service to be delivered based on the innovation.
    • What is the business model the company envisions to generate revenue from the innovation?
    • Is the target market domestic, international or both?
    • Describe the communications and distribution channels the company will employ to reach the targeted customer.
    • What is the current size of the broad market the company plans to enter and the "niche" market opportunity it is addressing in the short term?
    • What are the growth trends for both the market and the industry that the company is targeting?
    • What are the barriers to entering this market?
    • Describe the technology/development objectives and critical milestones that must be met to address the market opportunity.


    Section 2: Company/Team

    • Provide a short description of the origins of the company.
    • What type of corporate structure is in place?
    • What is the current capitalization?
    • What is the current employee count?
    • What is the company's financing and revenue history for the past three years?
    • What are the sources of operating capital or revenue: product sales, consulting/services, license revenues, R&D grants/contracts and others?
    • Give a brief description of the experience and credentials of the personnel responsible for taking the innovation to market.
    • What specific experience does the team lack, and how will this be addressed during the Phase II effort and beyond?
    • How does the background and experience of the team enhance the credibility of the Commercialization Plan, and have they previously taken similar products/services to market?
    • From which additional resources will the company draw support or guidance (e.g., board of directors, board of advisors, technical advisors, legal counsel)? Provide details on the names, affiliations and expertise of these resources.


    Section 3: Product/Technology and Competition

    • Which features of the technology enable a compelling value proposition?
    • How has the company validated the significance of these features?
    • What is the customer willing to pay for the product or service?
    • How has the company validated this assumption?
    • What are the costs to produce the product or service?
    • What are the assumptions that underlie the cost model(s)? How does the technology/innovation allow the team to compete and win in the marketplace? How does the product or service compare to that of the competition?
    • Describe the anticipated competitive landscape when the company reaches product launch.
    • Describe the intellectual property landscape.
    • Do you have the freedom to operate?
    • How does the company plan to protect the intellectual property associated with the technology and/or company?
    • Which other sources of intellectual property does the company need to address the market opportunity?


    Section 4: Finance and Revenue Model

    • Describe an appropriate staged finance plan given the market opportunity; enumerate the level of funding required for each stage along the path to commercialization.
    • How will the company access the appropriate funds? Provide specific contacts, leads, previous relationships and agreements already in place.
    • Which commitments does the company have for follow-on funding?
    • Describe the projected revenue streams (licensing, product sales or other) associated with the company's commercialization plan. What is the expected timeline for first revenues and revenue ramp?
    • When does the company anticipate initial revenues from each projected stream?
    • When does the company expect to reach break-even operations? Provide annual pro formas for the next five years (two years of the Phase II effort + three years post Phase II). Income statements are required. Cash flow and balance sheets may be included if they are considered critical for your strategy. If not included, cash flow and balance sheets should be available upon request from NSF.
    • What are the assumptions in the company's models? How has it validated these assumptions?
  • Phase I Technical Narrative. This narrative details the technical accomplishments of the NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I award. Reviewers will consider how these results support the underlying commercial opportunity.
    Upload a complete copy of the most recent SBIR/STTR Phase I technical narrative. This is either the Final Annual Report submitted to NSF via Research.gov at the conclusion of the Phase I effort, OR a technical narrative that covers all Phase I results and progress to date, specifically:
    • A summary description of the research carried out, the results thus far, and the activities to be carried out for the remainder of the Phase I project (if applicable).
    • Problems encountered and methods of resolution used.
    • Problems remaining or unfilled research objectives.
    • Conclusion of the Phase I findings and how these conclusions support a Phase II proposal.


    This report should not exceed 15 pages. It must be self-contained (i.e., do not refer to other documents submitted to NSF in the original SBIR/STTR Phase I proposal nor to reports) because the Phase II reviewers do not have access to any documents submitted via Research.gov as part of the Phase I effort.

  • Letter(s) of Support (required). Three Letters of Support from potential product/service users or customers are REQUIRED; up to five Letters of Support may be included. All Letters of Support should be uploaded to Research.gov in one PDF.

    Letters of Support should address market validation for the proposed innovation, market opportunity, or small business/team and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. These letters should ideally demonstrate that the company has developed partnerships and/or meaningful dialogue with relevant stakeholders (e.g., potential customers, strategic partners, or investors) for the proposed innovation and that a real business opportunity exists and has been validated. Each Letters of Support must contain affiliation and contact information for the signatory stakeholder.

  • IP (Intellectual Property) Rights Agreement (required for STTR proposals and strongly recommended for SBIR proposals where there is a subaward to another institution). A fully signed Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement is not required for STTR proposals at the initial proposal submission, but will be required before a recommendation for an award can be made. For proposal submission, place a draft of the Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement or a letter that includes the name of the partner research institution stating that an agreement will be provided upon Program Officer notification of a potential award recommendation.

    The SBIR/STTR Policy Directive indicates:

    “The model (IP) agreement will direct the parties to, at a minimum:
    i. State specifically the degree of responsibility and ownership of any product, process, or other invention or Innovation resulting from the cooperative research. The degree of responsibility shall include responsibility for expenses and liability, and the degree of ownership shall also include the specific rights to revenues and profits.
    ii. State which party may obtain United States or foreign patents or otherwise protect any inventions resulting from the cooperative research.
    iii. State which party has the right to any continuation of research, including non-STTR follow-on awards.”

  • Other Personnel Biographical Information (strongly recommended). This section can be used to provide additional biographical information about project participants who are not listed as Senior/Key Personnel for the small business or for a subawardee.

C. Fast-Track

Other Supplementary Documents. Other supplementary documents include the following (multiple PDFs can be uploaded in this section).

  • Company Commercialization History (required, if applicable). A company commercialization history is required for all proposers certifying receipt of previous SBIR/STTR Phase II awards from any federal agency in Question 11 of the SBIR Fast Track Certification Questions. All items must be addressed in the format given in the NSF Commercialization History Template. Changes to the NSF template, additional narratives and/or commercialization history documents from other agencies are not permitted.

  • Letters of Commitment from Subawardees and Consultants (strongly recommended). Please refer to the budget guidance section for details.

  • Letters of Support (at least three required; five maximum). Letters of Support act as an indication of market validation or unmet need for the proposed innovation and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. Letters of support can be used to demonstrate that the company has initiated dialogue with relevant stakeholders (e.g., potential customers, end users, strategic partners or investors) for the proposed innovation and that a legitimate business opportunity may exist should the technology prove feasible. Ideally, letters of support will serve to substantially mitigate key non-technical risks that face the project. Letters of support that focus on personal endorsements of project personnel or of the underlying technology are NOT considered as useful as those that express the voice of key stakeholders in the commercial market and/or elucidate key aspects of the near-term commercial opportunity.

    The letter(s) must contain affiliation and contact information for the signatory stakeholder. Letters of commitment and supporting documents from consultants and subcontractors (or any personnel identified in the Budget Justification) are NOT considered letters of support.

  • IP (Intellectual Property) Rights Agreement (required for STTR proposals and strongly recommended for SBIR proposals where there is a subaward to another institution). A fully executed Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement is not required with initial proposal submission, but will be required before a recommendation for an award can be made. For proposal submission, if an executed agreement is not in place, please include a draft Allocation of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement or a statement that includes the name of the partner research institution stating that an agreement will be provided upon program officer notification of a potential award recommendation.

    For more details on what is required in the IP Rights agreement, please reference the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive.

  • Other Personnel Biographical Information (strongly recommended). This optional section can be used to provide additional biographical information about project participants who are not listed as Senior/Key Personnel for the small business or for a subawardee.

Return to Preparation and Submission