FY 2020 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II | NOAA OAR OAR TPO 2020 2006595

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA OAR OAR TPO 2020 2006595

The FY 2020 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II opportunity is a NOAA-led funding competition run by the U.S. Department of Commerce to support continued research and development by qualifying small businesses whose earlier SBIR work showed enough promise to justify a larger follow-on effort. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is specifically for Phase II projects only; it is not open to new Phase I proposals and it is not a pathway for unsolicited proposals. In other words, companies cannot use this solicitation to pitch unrelated ideas outside the SBIR process, and NOAA makes clear that SBIR is separate from other proposal mechanisms the agency may have.

Eligibility is tightly limited. Only small businesses that previously received a FY 2019 NOAA SBIR Phase I award under NOFO number NOAA-OAR-OAR TPO-2019-2005899 may apply, and only if their Phase I project period started on January 1, 2020 and ends no later than September 30, 2020. That restriction effectively makes this a Phase I-to-Phase II continuation competition meant to help prior awardees mature the technology they began developing in Phase I. Applicants outside that specific cohort are not eligible to submit.

From a program standpoint, SBIR is a long-running federal initiative created by Congress to channel a portion of federal extramural research and development spending toward small, technology-driven businesses. The legislation establishing and extending SBIR dates back to 1982, with significant expansion in 1992 and later reauthorizations, including an extension through 2022. Across the federal government, participating agencies reserve a slice of their R&D budgets to fund SBIR work, with the broad goals of accelerating technological innovation, strengthening small businesses as contributors to federal R&D needs, encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged firms and women-owned small businesses, and increasing commercialization of innovations that come out of federally funded R&D. NOAA uses its SBIR topics and subtopics to target innovations that align with its mission areas, which generally include environmental science, oceans and atmosphere, weather, climate, fisheries, coastal resilience, and related technology needs.

This particular opportunity is a discretionary funding action offered through either a grant or a cooperative agreement. It is cataloged under CFDA 11.021 and falls within funding activity areas that include environment, natural resources, and broader science and technology research and development. NOAA anticipated making around 23 awards, with a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $400,000 per project, subject to the availability of funds and final agency decisions. NOAA also emphasizes standard federal funding cautions: it is not obligated to make any awards under the NOFO, awards depend on appropriations and available funding, and the agency will not reimburse applicants for any proposal preparation or other pre-award costs.

Key administrative details included the Funding Opportunity Number NOAA OAR OAR TPO 2020 2006595, an opportunity creation date of July 31, 2020, and an original application closing date of October 14, 2020. Overall, the NOFO is best understood as a targeted Phase II continuation competition for a defined set of prior NOAA SBIR Phase I winners, intended to push their NOAA-relevant technologies closer to workable prototypes, field demonstrations, or other milestones that improve the odds of real-world deployment and commercialization.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2020 Small Business Innovation Research Phase II" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.021.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 31, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 14, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 23 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA OAR OAR TPO 2020 2006595

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