NIH: IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development Program

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to provide opportunities for eligible U.S. small business concerns (SBCs), together with academic partners, in the Northeast region of the Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible states, to apply for IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) program awards that support the development of educational products to promote biomedical entrepreneurship in the Northeast region of IDeA states.

Donor Name: National Institutes of Health

State: Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 01/06/2023

Size of the Grant: up to $1.5 million

Grant Duration: 2 years

Details:

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, also known as America’s seed fund, support US-owned and operated small businesses to engage in federal research and development that has a strong potential for commercialization. NIH’s SBIR and STTR programs invest over 1.2 billion dollars into health and life science companies that create innovative technologies that align with NIH’s mission to improve health and save lives. Specifically, the STTR program encourages public-private partnerships by funding cooperative research and development conducted jointly by start-up companies in early-stage technology and research institutions. Among other activities, the STTR program funds the systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods. The IDeA program is a congressionally mandated program that builds research capacity in states that historically have had low levels of NIH funding. It supports basic, clinical, and translational research, faculty development, and infrastructure improvements. There are 24 IDeA-eligible jurisdictions located in four geographic regions: Northeast (Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); Southeast (Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and West Virginia); Central (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota); and West (Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wyoming). These states and territory, collectively known as IDeA states, submit a low number of SBIR/STTR grant applications to the NIH and consequently receive a similarly low number of awards. NIH is strongly interested in strengthening IDeA states’ participation in the SBIR/STTR programs.

Phase I Scope

The following activities must be completed during Phase I of the award. Additional activities to prepare for Phase II may also be proposed in the application.

Establish functional SC, AC, and EAC
Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)/contract describing the arrangements between the SBC and academic institutions, including the partner institution and the institutions in the Tech Transfer Network where product testing and validation will take place through conducting entrepreneurship training, and possible award(s) of pilot projects. This should be completed in the Phase I of the award, but not prior to the submission of the applications.
Complete research and needs analyses to set product development goals
Set product development goals
Complete product design
Develop prototypes
Develop/adapt effective strategies and plans for product testing through conducting entrepreneurship training at academic institutions
Develop a pilot project funding opportunity announcement and solicit applications from investigators at academic institutions. Establish a process to evaluate and select pilot projects for funding.
Implement an evaluation plan to monitor the Phase I progress of the I-RED program
The length of Phase I should not exceed one year and can be shorter if milestones are met.

Phase II Scope

The following activities must be completed during Phase II of the award. Additional activities appropriate for Phase II may also be proposed.

Continue the iterative process of product development, including testing at academic institutions, assessing the effectiveness of the products, and product refinement
Fund pilot projects and testing the I-RED entrepreneurship training products, in conjunction with any other needed training materials, with the pilot project investigators to meet their entrepreneurship needs such as patent filing, business plan development, and raising capital, bookkeeping, financing, business operation, and marketing
Test training products designed to build the skills needed to develop successful SBIR/STTR applications
Advise pilot project investigators, in coordination with institutional technology transfer offices, to facilitate the commercialization of technologies and other products developed through the pilot projects
Implement an evaluation plan to monitor the success of the I-RED program
Develop and implement commercialization plans.

Funding Information

Budgets up to $275,766 total costs (direct costs, indirect costs, fee) per year for Phase I and up to $1.5 million total costs (direct costs, indirect costs, fee) per year for Phase II may be requested.
According to statutory guidelines, award periods normally may not exceed 1 year for Phase I and 2 years for Phase II.

Eligibility Criteria

Only United States small business concerns (SBCs) from IDeA states in the Northeast region are eligible to submit applications for this opportunity.
A small business concern is one that, at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II, meets all of the following criteria:
- Is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor;
- Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that where the form is a joint venture, there must be less than 50 percent participation by foreign business entities in the joint venture;
- SBIR and STTR. Be a concern which is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), other business concerns (each of which is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), an Indian tribe, ANC or NHO (or a wholly owned business entity of such tribe, ANC or NHO), or any combination of these; OR
- SBIR-only. Be a concern which is more than 50% owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, or any combination of these. No single venture capital operating company, hedge fund, or private equity firm may own more than 50% of the concern, unless that single venture capital operating company, hedge fund, or private equity firm qualifies as a small business concern that is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States; OR
- SBIR and STTR. Be a joint venture in which each entity to the joint venture must meet the requirements set forth in paragraph 3 (i) or 3 (ii) of this section. A joint venture that includes one or more concerns that meet the requirements of paragraph (ii) of this section must comply with § 121.705(b) concerning registration and proposal requirements.
- Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees. If the concern is more than 50% owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, or any combination of these falls under 3 (ii) or 3 (iii) above, see Section IV. Application and Submission Information for additional instructions regarding required application certification.