Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Solicitation FY 2011 (Release 2) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I Solicitation for FY 2011 (Release 2), Funding Opportunity Number 11-691, is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to help small businesses turn high-quality scientific and engineering ideas into early-stage technologies with clear commercial potential. The program is rooted in federal SBIR legislation (Public Law 112-1) and is built around two linked outcomes: pushing technological innovation forward and accelerating private-sector commercialization of results that come from federally supported research. In practice, this solicitation is meant to fund feasibility-stage R and D in small companies so they can prove out core technical concepts, reduce key risks, and set up a credible path toward products, services, or platforms that can succeed in the marketplace while also delivering broader societal benefits.

The solicitation emphasizes that proposals must align with NSF's mission while also fitting within broad, investment-relevant technology areas. Instead of narrowly defined subtopics, NSF framed four wide topic domains intended to capture a large range of high-tech innovation: Biological and Chemical Technologies (BC), Education Applications (EA), Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (EI), and Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, and Manufacturing (NM). Applicants are directed to the proposal instructions (specifically the section on selecting and describing a research topic) for the detailed breakdown of what NSF considers responsive within each domain. This structure signals that NSF is looking for strong technical novelty and sound science, but with commercialization always treated as a central requirement rather than an afterthought.

From a funding standpoint, NSF anticipated making about 150 awards under this release, with an estimated total program funding level of $22.5 million. The award floor listed is $150,000, and cost sharing or matching is indicated as required in the opportunity record. The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA number associated with the listing is 47.041 (Engineering Grants). As a Phase I SBIR solicitation, the support is aimed at early validation work rather than full-scale development, with the expectation that successful projects would be positioned to pursue follow-on funding and commercialization pathways after the Phase I effort.

Eligibility is limited to firms that meet the federal definition of a "small business concern" as referenced by NSF. The opportunity explicitly encourages participation by socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses and by women-owned small businesses, reflecting one of SBIR's statutory goals to broaden participation in federally funded innovation. Joint ventures and partnerships are allowed only if the newly formed entity itself qualifies as an eligible small business concern under the SBIR definition. A key performance requirement also applies to how the research work is conducted: for a Phase I project, at least two-thirds of the R and D effort, measured by budget, must be performed by the proposing small business. The remaining portion may be outsourced through consultants and/or subcontractors. At the same time, NSF signals that it values thoughtful collaboration, encouraging firms to leverage specialized facilities and expertise at universities, colleges, national laboratories, and other research providers through subcontracts, consulting relationships, or by hiring faculty and employing graduate or undergraduate students as project assistants.

The Principal Investigator (PI) rules reinforce that Phase I projects are intended to be driven from within the small business itself. The PI's primary employment must be with the small business at the time of award, and the PI must be at least 51% employed by the company when the award is made. In addition, the PI must commit a minimum of one calendar month of effort to the Phase I project, a requirement that helps ensure leadership engagement and accountability for execution.

The solicitation had a defined submission window and strict deadline enforcement. Full proposals were due by June 10, 2011, and submissions were only accepted during the window from May 10, 2011 through June 10, 2011. Proposals submitted outside that period were to be returned without review, which is an important compliance detail for applicants because missing the window would eliminate the chance of being considered regardless of technical merit. The opportunity was posted March 7, 2011, later archived on July 12, 2011 (with the listing now marked archived), reflecting that it is no longer open but serves as a record of the program requirements and parameters for that fiscal year release.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is the National Science Foundation, and the official reference document is NSF Publication 11-691. For access or technical issues tied to the electronic announcement, the listing directs users to NSF's Grants.gov support contact (grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov). Overall, the solicitation represents NSF's standard SBIR Phase I model: fund small businesses to perform mostly in-house feasibility R and D within broad high-technology topic areas, require strong internal project leadership, encourage strategic external research collaborations, and keep commercialization as a primary goal alongside scientific and engineering advancement.

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