Innovative companies in the educational technology field are encouraged to explore funding opportunities in the Department of Education’s Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program.
Applications are due by 10 a.m. on March 20.
The ED has three priority areas for which it seeks responsive SBIR applications in this Phase I solicitation (RFP number 91990019R0011):
PRIORITY 1: Education Technology Products for Use by Students or Teachers (or other Instructional Personnel) in Education Settings
PRIORITY 2: Education Technology Products for Use by Infants, Toddlers, or Students With or At Risk for Disabilities, or Teachers (or other Instructional Personnel, Related Services Providers, or Family Members) in Early Intervention or Special Education Settings
PRIORITY 3: Education Technology Products for Use by School Administrators in Education Settings or in Early Intervention or Special Education Settings
In addition to its standard Phase I solicitation, in mid-February the ED SBIR program will release a special topic solicitation (#91990019R0016) in postsecondary education. This solicitation will request Phase I proposals for awards of up to $200,000 and 8 months for the development of a prototype of a tool to measure the return on investment (or “ROI”) of different education programs and career pathways.
The ROI tool is intended to inform decision-making for of students from traditional and non-traditional backgrounds on education and careers. The due date for submission for proposals to this solicitation will be 45 days after the solicitation release, likely in early April. For more information about this special topic solicitation, please contact Edward.Metz@ed.gov.
Standard ED SBIR Phase I awards are for periods up to eight months up to $200,000. Phase I awardees can apply for Phase II funding for periods up to two years in amounts up to $900,000. Applicants are permitted to submit multiple proposals under this solicitation, provided the projects are distinctly different in nature. In such cases, the proposals will be reviewed independently of one another. Applicants may resubmit a modified proposal that was unsuccessful in previous years. The review from a previous year will not factor into the 2019 proposal review.
The ED is expected to announce Phase I awards on the Federal Business Opportunities website by approximately June 20. All applicants will receive notification and reviewer evaluations within approximately two weeks of the award notification date.
Technical Assistance
Per guidance from the Small Business Administration’s Technical and Assistance Business (TABA) Project Working Group in the fall of 2018, ED now provides awardees the option to use part of the Phase I and II awards for technical assistance for specialized strategic business training. Applicants may request a maximum of $6,500 per year for a Phase I and a maximum of $50,000 per Phase II project (across all years) for assistance.
If an applicant chooses to utilize a technical assistance provider/vendor, the applicant is required to include this vendor as a consultant in the budget and to provide a detailed budget justification.
Reimbursement is limited to the following services:
To provide small business concerns engaged in SBIR projects with technical and business assistance services, such as access to a network of scientists and engineers engaged in a wide range of technologies, product sales, IP protections, market research, market validation, development of regulatory plans, manufacturing plans, or access to technical and business literature available through on-line data bases, for the purpose of assisting such concerns in:
- making better technical decisions concerning such projects;
- solving technical problems which arise during the conduct of such projects;
- minimizing technical risks associated with such projects; and
- developing and commercializing new commercial products and processes resulting from such projects, including intellectual property protections.
Questions about this RFP must be submitted before 10 a.m. CDT on Feb. 21 to Barakat Shakir, contract specialist, at Barakat.Shakir@ed.gov. Responses will be posted as an amendment to the solicitation on FedBizOps. Final applications are emailed to Barakat Shakir (Barakat.Shakir@ed.gov) as single Word or PDF documents.
Arkansas-based companies and entrepreneurs can reach out to Rebecca Todd for SBIR/STTR proposal development assistance at rctodd@ualr.edu or 501.683.7717.
