Arrowhead Center SBIR Accelerator (ACSA)
Applications are due April 30th
Notices will be sent out May 7th
Real-time Support for SBIR Proposal Package Preparation.
Timing matters. Run concurrently with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SBIR/STTR open submission window, Arrowhead Center’s SBIR Accelerator (ACSA) provides the structure and support you need to put together a strong proposal package.
Do you have a transformative technology or innovative idea with commercial potential?
The ACSA Model
Putting together a strong SBIR proposal takes time. Drawing on the resources and expertise of NM FAST, ACSA provides a guided, structured track of support, from registration to submission. Throughout the 12-week program, participants will receive guidance on areas such as preparing and submitting a Project Pitch, creating actionable Letters of Support, and creating a complete proposal package that adheres to NSF requirements. Each week focuses on an aspect of proposal package development and culminates with a submission to NSF.
Weekly, participants can expect to:
- Attend a virtual meeting
- Complete a portion of their proposal package
- Receive feedback, guidance, and support from NM FAST
This ACSA agency-specific program focuses on the NSF’s SBIR/STTR programs. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit. NSF funds deep technologies – those that are based on discoveries in fundamental science and engineering – in a variety of functional technology topic areas. The only scientific discovery areas that NSF will typically not fund are related to drug discovery and clinical trials.
NSF utilizes the Project Pitch as a “first-pass” to see if you meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. If your Project Pitch is a good fit for the program, you will receive an official invitation from NSF to submit a full proposal, and you will continue on with cohort activities. If you Project Pitch is rejected, NM FAST staff will work with you on refining your Project Pitch and developing one that more closely aligns with NSF’s needs for their SBIR/STTR programs.
Through the ACSA program, you’ll receive targeted support on the following areas of proposal development:
- Registrations
- Project Pitch
- Topic matching
- Letter(s) of support
- Forms
- Grant writing
- Budget creation
The NM FAST program will help you facilitate a meeting or phone call with an appropriate NSF program director, conduct a professional review of your completed proposal package, and be on-call during the submission process.
The NSF Approach
The FY21 NSF ACSA cohort will go through a slight paradigm shift. While prior cohorts have focused on an immediate rampway into the Project Pitch process, the FY 21 NSF cohort will require approved applicants to attend a Project Pitch development workshop before the start of the 12-week program (tentatively scheduled for May 12th). In this workshop, participants will receive an overview of the NSF Project Pitch process, what to focus on in their Pitch, how to discuss their innovation, and work directly with a member of the teaching team on starting their Pitch. Approved applicants will attend a follow-up one-on-one session with the teaching team to discuss their efforts to date and to have live critique and feedback on their document.
Cohort participants will not need to have an approved Project Pitch to participate in the ACSA program, but they will need to have a final draft by the start of the teaching sessions. This will allow for participants to have more development time for their full proposal and the ability to submit a complete proposal package during the 12-week program.
The Team
Del Mackey
Economic Development Officer
Arrowhead Center
A member of the NM FAST team for five years, Del has extensive experience in helping clients prepare SBIR/STTR proposal packages for every agency.
Jim Greenwood
Owner and President
Greenwood Consulting Group
Jim Greenwood and his wife, Gail, have been involved in the SBIR program since its inception in 1983. The Greenwoods have taught SBIR/STTR workshops in 48 states plus Puerto Rico.
Tailored Benefits
Targeted Support
Our team will walk you through the NSF SBIR proposal development process, from start to finish.
Funding
Professional Review
Connect
We will also connect you to experts – those who live and breathe SBIR – throughout the program. Expect to talk to NSF program managers, DCAA compliance experts, past reviewers, and more.
We are looking for small businesses working on innovative ideas with commercial potential, that align with NSF SBIR/STTR guidelines.
Requirements include:
SBIR Program Eligibility:
- Having 500 or fewer employees;
- Being independently owned and operated and organized for profit;
- Having your principal place of business in the U.S.;
- Being at least 51% owned by U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens;
- Performing all work within the U.S.;
- Having the Principal Investigator (PI) spend more than one-half of their time employed by the proposing firm; and,
- Having a minimum of two-thirds of the research work performed by the proposing firm in Phase I and one-half in Phase II.
To participate in ACSA, additional requirements must be met:
- Business must be based in New Mexico; and
- Business cannot have won a SBIR/STTR from NSF in the past two years.
Timeline
Informational Webinar
April 8, 2021
Application Deadline
April 30, 2021
Acceptance Notices Sent
May 7, 2021
Required Project Pitch Workshop
May 12, 2021
Required Project Pitch Working Session
May 24-28, 2021
First Day of ACSA
June 9, 2021
Last Day of ACSA
August 27, 2021
Application Deadline
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does ACSA cost?
What is the time commitment for participation?
Does participation in ACSA guarantee me a SBIR award?
I don’t live in Las Cruces – can I still participate?
I don’t have grant writing experience – can I still participate?
Do I have to participate in the Pitch workshop if I am accepted?
What happens if I don’t have a Project Pitch?
This accelerator is an initiative of the NM FAST program, which is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration
