National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration SBIR/STTR

The Project Narrative, including the SBIR Cover Page (pages 1-2), Project Abstract (page 3), and Technical Content (pages 4-15), is limited to 15 pages total, including references cited. The only exception is the additional Prior SBIR Phase II Awards information required under Section 3.3(14) for SBCs that have received more than 15 Phase II awards in the prior five fiscal years, which is not counted toward the 15-page limit. Additional pages beyond the 15-page limit will not be considered in the evaluation. Required forms and documents listed in Section 8.1 are not included in the 15-page count.

Type must be at least 10-point font. (No specific typeface/font family is mandated by the NOFO.)

Margins of 2.5 cm (approximately 1 inch) on pages of the Project Narrative.

Pages should be of standard size: 8 1/2" x 11" (21.6 cm x 27.9 cm).

The NOAA SBIR FY2025 Phase I NOFO does not specify a line spacing requirement. The Section 3.3 formatting instructions state only standard page size, 2.5 cm margins, and minimum 10-point font. No minimum or maximum line spacing is prescribed.

A completed SBIR Cover Page is a required part of the Project Narrative and is counted as pages 1 and 2 of the Project Narrative (Appendix D; fillable form provided in the NOFO / on the NOAA TPO site). The Project Abstract is counted as page 3.

An applicant may submit an application to only one topic under this NOFO (when an innovation applies to more than one topic, submit under the most relevant topic), and may submit only one (1) Phase I application total in response to the NOFO. Each application package must clearly identify and address that single topic. Applications on multiple topics, or multiple applications to the same topic, will not be considered for review (screening criterion).

The Project Narrative must contain, in order: (1) SBIR Phase I Cover Page (pages 1-2, Appendix D); (2) Project Abstract (page 3, a one-page summary including agency name, Program Solicitation number, and topic; SBC name and complete address; PI name and title; project title; technical abstract limited to 200 words; and a summary of anticipated results / potential commercial applications limited to 200 words); and (3) Technical Content (pages 4-15) with all of these required headings included (use 'N/A' if a heading does not apply): 1. Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity; 2. Phase I Technical Objectives; 3. Phase I Work Plan; 4. Related R/R&D; 5. Key Individuals and Bibliography of Related Work; 6. Relationship with Future R/R&D; 7. Facilities and Equipment; 8. Consultants, Contracts, and Sub-awards; 9. Potential Commercial Application; 10. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA); 11. Guest Researcher; 12. Cost Sharing; 13. Similar Applications or Awards; 14. Prior SBIR Phase II Awards.

The applicant must qualify as a Small Business Concern (SBC) for R/R&D purposes per 13 C.F.R. 121.701-121.705, with no more than 500 employees including affiliates, and must be more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. At award (not at application) the SBC must submit a certification (Appendix B) attesting it meets the ownership/control requirements of 13 C.F.R. 121.702 and has no more than 500 employees including the employees of its affiliates.

All Phase I applicants with a current SBA assessment of their Phase I-to-Phase II Transition Rate must, at the time of application, have satisfied the requirements of that Performance Benchmark to be eligible for a new Phase I award. NOAA will automatically disqualify proposals from firms that are currently ineligible for Phase I awards as a result of failing to meet the benchmark rate at the last assessment.

The primary employment of the Principal Investigator (PI) must be with the SBC at the time of award and during the conduct of the project. Primary employment means at least 51% of the PI's time is spent in the employ of the SBC, and precludes full-time employment with another organization. (At award, certification Appendix B item 8 frames this as the PI spending more than one half of his/her time, based on a 40-hour workweek, as an employee of the awardee, absent a written deviation.)

All R/R&D work must be performed in the United States by the SBC and its sub-awardees/subcontractors, unless a waiver/exemption is granted in advance by the NOAA Grants Officer. Requests for an exemption must be submitted in writing prior to application submission; only rare and unique circumstances will be considered.

For Phase I, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort (expenditures) must be performed by the awardee SBC. The total cost for all consultant fees, facility leases, usage fees, and other subcontract/subaward or purchase agreements may not exceed one-third of the total award. (Screening criterion: the proposing firm must carry out a minimum of two-thirds of expenditures under the Phase I project.)

NOAA elects NOT to use the authority that would allow venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity firms to participate in the SBIR Program. Applications in which work would be performed by VCOCs will not be considered for award. (Thus eligibility relies on the >50% individual U.S.-citizen/permanent-resident ownership standard, not the majority-VC ownership alternative permitted for SBIR under 13 C.F.R. 121.702.)

Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov under announcement NOAA-OAR-TPO-2025-0001. Paper applications or submissions by other electronic means will not be accepted. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before applying (typically three to five business days, up to two weeks or more). Supplementary material, revisions, substitutions, audio/video tapes, or computer storage media/devices will not be accepted; the last application received in Grants.gov is the one used for evaluation.

Applicant must have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and maintain an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) at the time of application submission and through the life of any award. Applications will be rejected if the applicant is not registered in SAM at the time of submission. SAM registration is free and can take three to five business days, or a month or more.

Each Phase I applicant must register in the SBA Company Registry (at sbir.gov) prior to submitting an application, save the registration information as a PDF, and append it to the SF-424 form. Applicants must report/update their Company Registry information prior to each SBIR application submission or if information changes prior to an award.

All applicants must complete the DOC OIG agency-mandatory Fraud, Waste, and Abuse training and submit the signed certification of completion as an attachment to the application. This is a required document; a complete application must include all required forms and documents listed in Section 8.1 (screening criterion 9).

Phase I application budgets must not exceed $190,000. Phase I awards provide up to $190,000 to fund the period of performance. (Screening criterion: budgets exceeding $190,000 are eliminated from consideration.)

The project duration for the Phase I feasibility research shall not exceed six (6) months. (Screening criterion.)

A complete application requires a Budget Narrative (Awardee Budget Narrative, plus a Sub-Awardee Budget Narrative if applicable) in addition to the required budget forms (Research & Related Budget / SF-424A). There is no set format, but it must provide a detailed breakdown in narrative and tabular form of costs under each applicable object class category as reflected on the SF-424A (personnel, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies, other direct costs, and indirect costs), with written justification. Cost sharing/matching is not required and must not be included in the budget form.

Phase I applications (one per topic) must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the NOFO closing date. For the FY2025 NOFO, the closing date was January 15, 2025. Only electronic applications submitted via Grants.gov will be accepted. The application must be received by NOAA before the deadline (screening criterion 6); no allowances are made for late submissions. No Letters of Intent are accepted. NOTE: This date is cycle-specific; the FY2026 deadline has not been published as of 2026-06-09.