FAQ: What percent of SBIR applications are funded?
Answer: Around 14% of Phase I SBIR applications are funded and 25% of Phase II applications. Phase I proposals scored lower than 30 are typically funded. Phase II proposals with scores of 10 to 40 are considered for funding. However, other factors are also considered, including the NIH institute’s program and your proposal’s similarity to other funded projects.
FAQ: What are the next steps after submission?
Answer: You may be asked for additional information as part of Just-in-Time procedures, which means your application is in consideration for an award. Submitting all required documentation when requested helps you receive any money you are awarded in a more timely fashion.
FAQ: Should I quit pursuing entrepreneurship if my SBIR proposal is not funded?
Answer: If your proposal is not funded, you can use the feedback from the reviewers to improve it and try again. Reach out to your program official after you get your summary statement and discuss whether resubmission is a good idea in your case. You may also want to contact your scientific review officer (SRO), the person in charge of the review panel assigned to your proposal, to see if they have any information to help you determine if resubmission is a worthwhile option. Even if the NIH staff does not encourage resubmission, you can use the review to improve your vision, change to a more productive project, or seek funding somewhere else, perhaps privately.
Resubmission Information
- Revised proposals have higher success rates than first-time submissions.
- The same panel will review your revised proposal, but it may have new reviewers.
- Reviewers are not given access to your previous submission but do get access to your last summary statement.
Proposal Resubmission Tips
- Don’t view an unfunded proposal as a failure. The review can be valuable in correcting important issues. The majority of funded proposals have gone through a resubmission.
- Consider writing a new proposal if the weaknesses identified in the summary statement are substantial or if the science has changed a great deal.
- Use the review information found in your summary statement to improve your proposal before resubmitting.
- Contact your program officer. For grants (not contracts), they will help you determine whether resubmission is a good idea in your case and guide you through the process. Their name is on the summary statement from your review.
- Respectfully address the reviewers’ concerns in the summary statement point by point and summarize in one page what you will include with your proposal resubmission. If you feel the comments were off base, consider the need to explain your research better.
- Have someone else read your revisions to make sure your responses are clear.
- Consider whether additional preliminary data, from either scientific or market research, would help you better make your case.
- Follow the most recent version of the Omnibus Solicitation or other funding opportunity announcement that you used when submitting the original proposal since some of the requirements may have changed.
