Dear Colleagues:

The National Science Foundation elects to use the authority described in Section 4(b)(1)(i) of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Policy Directive (http://sbir.gov/sites/default/files/sbir_pd_with_1-8-14_amendments_2-24-14.pdf), which provides that, at the agency's discretion, projects awarded a Phase I under a solicitation for Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) may choose to transition in Phase II to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR).

The transition may be proposed by an STTR Phase I awardee prior to the application of or during the Phase II award. A firm wishing to transfer from STTR to SBIR must contact their cognizant Program Director to discuss the reasons for the request and the agency's ability to support the request. Sufficient written documentation of the reasons for the request and permission from the cognizant Program Director must be in place before the transition may occur.

If the transition occurs before the Phase II proposal is submitted, the applicant company should follow the SBIR Phase II requirements, application instructions and deadlines detailed here: https://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/phase_II.jsp. This includes beginning the Intellectual Merit paragraph in the Project Summary with "This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project..." Additionally, the proposer should include the following sentence in the Project Description of the SBIR Phase II proposal (specifically, Part 2. Phase II Technical Objectives): "This SBIR Phase II proposal continues the R/R&D effort from STTR Phase I award #..."

If the transition occurs during the performance of the STTR Phase II award, the awardee must provide justifications and work with their cognizant Program Director to adjust the award budget, scope of work, and relevant personnel assignments if needed.

CONTACT PERSONNEL

Questions about this letter should be directed to the cognizant SBIR/STTR program officer in the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, Directorate for Engineering.

The list of IIP SBIR/STTR Program Officers can be found on the NSF website at the following URL: https://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_list.jsp?orgId=115&subDiv=y&org=IIP&from_org=IIP

Pramod Khargonekar
Assistant Director
Directorate for Engineering (ENG/OAD)