Actually, pretty hard. What you don’t know could hold up your application. There are THREE required registrations that must be completed to submit your #NIH #SBIR proposal.
Even companies who have a consultant to guide them have to navigate the multiple systems involved in registering for an application. That’s right: Just to register so that you can submit your proposal and be considered, your organizational representatives will have to create accounts on no less than THREE complex government websites. Some of those accounts require multiple user profiles.
The main systems for #NIH #SBIR are Sam.gov (required for all federal funding applications, no matter the agency), Grants.gov, and eRA Commons/ASSIST.
To register, read the solicitation and follow the instructions. The funding agency provides detailed instructions on how to ensure that all required registrations are completed. If you have any questions about this process – we always recommend that you reach out to the program officer at the agency listed in the program solicitation. We can provide some guidance to you, but we always defer to the program officer’s guidance.
You should know that in some instances, the activation of your required accounts can take up to 30 days to activate. As a result, we have set into place best-practice protocols in place regarding the timeline of for potential applications which may seem arbitrary to the untrained eye but have an important purpose:
Registrations that are not set up at 30 or more calendar days away from a funder’s deadline may be a barrier to submitting your proposal on time.
In addition, we strongly recommend to all of our clients that their proposal is ready for submission to the funding agency at least 7 calendar days in advance of the deadline. This will provide a window to address any hiccups that may arise with the application submission process.
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.