Dear Small Business Research Community,
As you are aware, on February 17, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). As part of the Recovery Act, NIH has designated at least $200 million in FYs 2009 - 2010 for a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research, to fund 200 or more grants (contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications). This new program will support research on Challenge Topics which address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that will benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds. Challenge Areas, defined by the NIH, focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. The research in these areas should have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health.
Small businesses are eligible to apply for grants under this program.
I encourage you to explore details of this opportunity. Note: The due date is April 27, 2009.
See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/index.htm
On a related note…..
I have received scores of inquiries asking about the role of small businesses and SBIR/STTR relative to the Recovery Act, and I hope that I can clarify some of the information (and mis-information) that appears to be generating the questions.
NIH appreciates the opportunity afforded by the Recovery Act to provide economic stimulus to the nation while furthering our mission to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. Among the goals of the Recovery Act are to preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery, and provide investments to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health.
Although the Act provides that the funds to NIH not be subject to the SBIR/STTR set-aside requirement, small businesses ARE ELIGIBLE to apply for Recovery Act NIH funding opportunities (e.g., Challenge Grants, administrative supplements, competitive supplements).
I encourage you to subscribe to the Weekly NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts update to stay apprised of these opportunities that will be released in the upcoming weeks.
You can also Sign up to receive NIH and the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act e-mail updates.
Bottom Line: In addition to opportunities to access the available set-aside dollars (est. $650 million) for NIH SBIR/STTR awards, you have opportunities to access Recovery Act funding under other new programs/initiatives (e.g., Challenge Grants (RC1), administrative supplements, competitive supplements) that NIH is/will soon be offering.
I sincerely hope you consider applying to those funding opportunities that you deem are appropriate and relevant to your company’s core capabilities/strategies. I encourage you to focus your energies on preparing a strong application that aligns with the goals of the Recovery Act and the mission of NIH. Each funding opportunity includes a program contact within the Institute/Center sponsoring the initiative. These individuals welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
Best regards,
Jo Anne
PS: Don’t forget to get registered in Grants.gov and eRA Commons
PPS: Registration is now open for 11th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR Conference (June 30-July 1, 2009 in NE)
http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/SBIR/NIHconference/home.htm
Jo Anne Goodnight | NIH SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator; Director, Division of Special Programs |
OEP, OER, NIH, DHHS | Phone: 301-435-2688 | Fax: 301-489-0146 | JG128w@nih.gov
Web Pages of Interest:
• Small Business Research Funding Opportunities (SBIR/STTR Solicitations)
• NIH Pipeline to Partnerships (Showcase of NIH SBIR/STTR and NIH Licensed Technologies)
SBIR/STTR Collaboration Opportunities and Research Partnerships

The National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) has created a new website to SHOWCASE researchers and their research to grant providers, entrepreneurs, SBIRs/STTRs, other researchers, VCs, the Global 1000, angel investors, and small business research companies in order to help the researchers commercialize their work.

Go to http://researchers.ncet2backoffice.org/ for more information and to provide a profile about yourself and your research. 

They will have the first live Virtual Online Poster Sessions on April 8, 1pm-2:30pm. They will select the most exciting 10-15 research profiles from those submitted over the next few weeks to invite the researchers to make powerpoint presentations on the April 8 poster sessions webinar.

On February 17, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). As part of the Recovery Act, NIH has designated at least $200 million in FYs 2009 - 2010 for a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research, to fund 200 or more grants (contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications). This new program will support research on Challenge Topics which address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that will benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds. Challenge Areas, defined by the NIH, focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. The research in these areas should have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health.

Small businesses are eligible to apply for grants under this program. Note: The due date is April 27, 2009.

Although the Act provides that the funds to NIH not be subject to the SBIR/STTR set-aside requirement, small businesses ARE ELIGIBLE to apply for Recovery Act NIH funding opportunities (e.g., Challenge Grants, administrative supplements, competitive supplements). 

The Leonard Wood Institute (LWI) is pleased to announce the release of its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2009 Collaborative Research Program.  LWI is seeking applied research proposals from companies, non-profit organizations, universities, and government agencies. LWI intends to provide approximately $18.0 million in research funding through subawards for projects to be initiated and completed during FY2009-2010.  Research funding was made available to LWI through a Cooperative Agreement (W911NF-07-2-0062) with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and is intended to produce useful technologies for the U.S. Army, particularly the Army’s Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

The requested proposals will be in the form of white papers and constitute the first step in a two-step proposal process that will lead to funding awards for selected projects on or before July 14, 2009. See the schedule listed below for project milestones and target dates.

To view or download the 2009 Collaborative Research RFP, visit the LWI website. To receive consideration for funding, white paper submittals must be received by 5:00 p.m. CDT, April 3, 2009.

For more information contact me: Kathy Volz (LWI Technical Program Manager)

573-329-8502, x2273, kathy.volz@leonardwoodinstitute.org

At least 25 of the federal agencies that received funding through the Recovery Act have created recovery webpages to allow easier access for potential grantees to the funding opportunities available through the act.  Links to 25 agency recovery websites are available at: http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/agencies

Already one negative: “The Office of the Director of the NIH will receive $8.2 billion. Of that amount, $7.4 billion will go to support general scientific research at the various institutes and centers within the NIH, and the remaining $800 million will be chosen at the discretion of the NIH Director for short-term grants that can be completed within two years. These allocations to the NIH are not subject to SBIR/STTR set-aside requirements.”

There might be other increased opportunities from NIH, but it won’t come from SBIR/STTR.  Dept of Health & Human Services Recovery Site: http://www.dhhs.gov/recovery/