NIH vs NSF SBIR/STTR Showdown - Mastering the Right Choice for Your Innovation Journey

All right guys, we're duking it out today by addressing a controversial question I get all the time for founders, especially in the healthcare space. Time and time again I get asked, should I apply for an NIH SBIR or an NSF SBIR? And this is a pivotal decision for any healthcare founder because making the right choice can impact the trajectory of your project as to whether or not you get SBIR funded. So join me in this video today as we dive into the nuances within the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation SBIR programs. We'll compare and contrast their focuses, eligibility criteria, funding mechanisms, and a successful SBIR application. So whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, my goal in this video is to provide you with clarity and direction to help you decide which program is best aligned to you and your startup's journey. So let's get into it. Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. I'm Stacy Chin from keepyourequity.co, and our mission is to help startups secure non-dilutive funding. We specialize helping science and tech startups to secure funding from federal programs such as those from the SBIR and the STTR. If you're interested in learning more about those programs, I'll leave a link in the description to another video below. We also advise public and private companies as well as NGOs to help them secure non-dilutive funding by advising how to navigate the complex federal grants and contracting landscape. The NSF and NIH SBIR and STTR programs share a unified mission, and that is to foster scientific excellence and to propel new technologies and innovation forward. They both want to catalyze groundbreaking technologies and have goals to satisfy the U.S. government's research and development initiatives by trying to amplify new commercial and innovative developments stemming from federally funded R&D projects. Now, both the NIH and NSF SBIR and STTR program were organized based on a phased funding approach. Here, Phase 1 is all about overcoming early-stage technical R&D hurdles so that you can demonstrate the proof of concept or that your solution is better than the current golden standard out there. And once you proceed to Phase 2, your goal is to take that innovation and then redefine your scope in order to position that innovation or technology towards commercial success by preparing for market entry. Given the similarities between the objectives and processes, it's no wonder why choosing between NIH or NSF programs can be a very challenging decision for many healthcare founders. Both demand a thorough peer review process of these applications where the review panel are assessing the scientific rigor, the technical soundness, and the commercial viability of your innovation. So because of this competitive landscape, it's important to understand the subtle differences between the two, which can be important for startups looking for non-dilutive funding opportunities so that they can align their innovation and startup goals with the most suitable federal agency. And so in the next part of this video, I'm going to share 3 strategies I use with my healthcare clients all the time to help them decide whether or not to pursue NIH or NSF SBIR or STTR funding. But before we get into it, I have one huge favor to ask you. We've recently learned that 90% of you viewers are not subscribed to this channel, and so my goal is to get that down to 70%. So if you find any of these videos or tips helpful, I would greatly appreciate if you can like and subscribe to this channel. And by doing so, in exchange, I promise you that we'll continue to work work hard to provide you founders with all the necessary resources, templates, tools, and advice to support you in your non-dilutive fundraising journey so that you can bring your innovative ideas towards commercial market. Do we have a deal? If so, fantastic! And now let's jump into it. So my tip number 1 is to understand the different missions and focus areas of the SBIR and STTR program within the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. So let me break it down for you. In my opinion, the SBIR and STTR program for the NSF focus on funding broad industry-centric innovations, while that of the NIH program focuses on specific disease targets and health-related issues. Now, the best way to learn which of these programs are a good fit for you and your startup is to check out the different topics and subtopic areas of interest in the NSF SBIR/STTR program and also the different SBIR/STTR study sections for the NIH. Let's first chat about the NSF SBIR/STTR program. If you go to seedfund.nih.gov/portfolio, you will see all different areas and subtopic areas of interest that the agency wants to fund. And some of these are health-related ones like biomedical technologies, digital health, medical devices, and pharmaceutical technologies. Now, if you hover your cursor over one of these topics, you can then see the subtopic areas that breaks it down even further. Now let's pivot and talk about the NIH SBIR/STTR program. And here you'll see that this list is very different for this particular agency. Now, if you go to this website— and I'll leave everything and these links in the description below— you see all the different study sections that are broken down by different clinical and research expertise, whether it's drug discovery, cancer therapeutics, retinal sciences, aging, and so much more. So these are two different ways that founders can use to identify which of the federal agencies might be best aligned to their startup's missions and project initiatives. So for example, if you're developing a healthcare innovation that's more technology-oriented, then maybe the NSF might be a better fit for you. However, if you're developing a new innovation technology that's more health-related focused, on targeting a specific health issue or disease, a cancer, then the NIH might be a better fit in that regard. Now, my tip number 2 to figure out whether or not the NIH or NSF might be a good fit for you and your healthcare startup is to prepare a small summary, share with the agencies, and then see who's interested. So for healthcare founders who are kind of on the fence about which SBIR or STTR program to go for, I usually recommend taking 2 preliminary steps before committing to a full Phase 1 application. First is to pursue an NSF project pitch application, and second is to shop around a 1-page specific aims document to the different NIH SBIR program officers. So the NSF Project Pitch application is the initial step of their SBIR and STTR program. It serves as a preliminary screening tool designed to provide founders with quick informal feedback as to whether your project fits and is aligned to the NSF SBIR and STTR scope. It is composed of 4 questions that takes a while to prepare responses to. Either way, pursuing an NSF Project Pitch application can be an excellent start to determine whether or not the NSF is interested in you, in having you submit a full Phase 1 application. We have a great template and a course we just launched that will help you walk through step by step on how to go about preparing a really strong project pitch application to improve your chances of getting that approved. Make sure to check out our website at keepyourequity.co to check it out. Second, you can kind of do a similar thing with the NIH SBIR and STTR program by preparing a one-page specific aims document, and you can take this draft and shop it around to the different NIH program officers at the different SBIR and STTR funding institutes to learn whether or not they'll be interested in supporting your application if recommended for funding by the study section. And this one-page specific aims document is meant to serve as a summary of your SBIR an SBIR/STTR proposal that outlines the problem, the technological need, the innovation, the proposal efforts, and the future direction. If you decide to pursue a full Phase 1 or Direct-to-Phase 2 or a Fast-Track application to the NIH, this is not a mandatory step, but I always strongly recommend founders to engage with program officers in this manner. By doing so, this is a great way for founders to get introduced to different program officers within the NIH and put a name to a face, because they can serve as great resources for you to walk you through the whole SBIR and STTR program, and they're going to be your best friend if you were to get funded. Make sure you subscribe to this channel because we have a video coming up to walk you through how to prepare this one-page specific aims document, and you don't want to miss out. So in conclusion, for founders trying to figure out whether or not to go for the NIH or NSF SBIR program, these are two great proactive tips to get some clarity and direction. And although it does take some time to prepare those summaries, in my opinion, the commitment is well worth it before committing the full efforts to prepare a full Phase 1 application. And my tip number 3 is for founders to consider applying for both programs anyway. Exploring both the NIH and NSF SBIR and STTR programs can be a strategic move to support your healthcare innovation and its early development. Given the competitive nature of these programs, applying to both might increase your chances of getting SBIR funding, especially if you're a first-time pursu— pursu— and that's because each of the agencies have their unique preferences and strengths. However, if you decide to go on this dual journey, you have to be very careful to make sure each application is tailored to their respective goal. Now, the NIH and the NSF have very distinct processes for preparing application and then for submission, including different document formats, registration requirements, and other supporting efforts. So it is crucial to particularly review each of these different solicitations so you can understand these differences and to best tailor your SBIR STTR application for these agencies. On our website at keepyourequity.co, we have lots of great templates to help support you in your SBIR and STTR applications, both for the NIH and the NSF, to help make sure that you're complying with all the recommendations. So make sure to check those out. However, in the fortunate but very rare event that you can secure SBIR STTR funding for both NIH and the NSF, it is important to remember that overlapping projects are not permitted. Double dipping, or receiving funding for the same projects from both agencies, is illegal and against this ethical standard. So therefore, if you find yourself in this position, it is critical to differentiate your technical objectives for each application so that you can benefit from both grants if awarded while maintaining compliance with the legal and ethical standards of both agencies. As a best practice, I often advise clients to carefully tailor their project goals and milestones to be best aligned to each of the agency's focus. And this is a great way to maximize your funding potential without risking the pitfalls of double dipping. And so with that, thank you so much for watching until the end of this video. I hope you found these tips helpful as you navigate whether to pursue the NIH SBIR and STTR program or that of the NSF, or even both, to help support you in your healthcare startup's journey. And if you haven't done so, I would greatly appreciate if you like this video and subscribe to this channel so that you can learn new ways to keep your equity throughout your fundraising journey. And as always, don't forget to check out our website at keepyourequity.co where you find lots of other resources, templates, and advice to help you to secure SBIR funding. Thank you so much for joining me today, and I'll see you in the video very soon.