Possibilities for Change has received funding and support from Ann Arbor SPARK. After being introduced to SPARK through the U of M Office of Tech Transfer, they have received several Phase III business engagements from SPARK. This type of engagement typically offers consulting, connections to executive and technical talent, marketing and business development services, as well as entrepreneurial educational programs, to name a few. 

Last year, Possibilities for Change participated in one such education program, SPARK’s Entrepreneur Boot Camp. During this program they made a key connection with Ted Dacko, an Ann Arbor entrepreneur best known for rescuing a small, near-death company called Health Media and growing it into an enterprise so successful it was bought by Johnson & Johnson. Ted continues to work with them today.

The company is led by Dr. Jennifer Salerno, a nurse practitioner who directs the University of Michigan Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools’ School-Based Health Center Program. Her work with adolescents spans 15+ years and led to the creation of the survey, called Rapid Assessment for Adolescent Preventive Services (RAAPS). For more information about the assessment and Possibilities for Change, please see the announcement on their webpage.

Tangent’s history with SPARK dates back to 2009, when they participated in Entrepreneur Boot Camp program. Tangent was named “Best of Boot Camp” the year they participated. Many graduates of Boot Camp take the knowledge they gained and go on to win business plan competitions or secure funding.  In this case, Tangent went on to receive funding through SPARK’s Pre-Seed Capital program in 2010 to help their innovative technology move beyond proof of concept. Funding for this program is provided by the Michigan Strategic Fund and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and is focused on moving companies forward to commercialization.

With the support of this 4.5 million venture capital investment, Tangent will be able to once again take the next step forward in growing their business.

Since accepting the position as the Director of the SBIR/STTR Programs Office at DOE in December, 2010, I have been pleased to see that there is a very talented community of small businesses that are active in the DOE SBIR and STTR programs and that interest continues to grow every year.   To continue to improve the program, we are planning to implement significant changes, beginning this year, fiscal year 2012 (FY 2012). 

 The primary motivation for these changes is to improve the commercialization outcomes for DOE’s SBIR and STTR programs and also to improve the administration of the programs.  This email will highlight some of the important changes, but I would encourage you to read the FY 2012 SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) which will have more detailed information. 

 Here is a listing of the important changes that are discussed more fully below. 

• Issue two annual SBIR/STTR Phase I FOAs beginning in FY 2012

o   Early posting of topics

o   Letters of Intent required

o   Limits on the number of applications

• Increased emphasis on commercialization plans in Phase I and Phase II applications
• Increase in the STTR maximum award amounts for Phase I and Phase II

Issue two annual SBIR/STTR Phase I FOAs:  The biggest change for FY 2012 is that we will begin to issue two annual SBIR/STTR Phase I FOAs.  We will split our topics into two FOAs.  The first FOA, designated Release 1, will have topics funded from the Office of Science and will be posted in early August and close in mid-September.  The second FOA, designated Release 2, will have topics funded from the remaining DOE program offices and will be posted in early December and close in mid-January.  The primary purpose for splitting our topics into two FOAs is to enable DOE to process applications more efficiently thereby reducing the time between the close of the FOA and the start of the grant period for awardees. 

• To provide applicants with additional time to develop solutions to the opportunities presented in our topics, we will begin posting topics early on our website in advance of the FOA being posted on grants.gov.  The topics for FY 2012 Release 1 are available now and can be found here:  http://science.energy.gov/sbir/.    After the topics are available and before the FOA is posted, you may directly contact the program managers listed in the topic descriptions.  After the FOA is posted, you will be required to use FedConnect to communicate your questions about individual topics. 
• To speed up application processing we will also require Phase I applicants to submit letters of intent in advance of their full proposals.  Applicants will be asked to include a technical abstract and list of collaborators in the Letter of Intent so that DOE program managers can begin the process of identifying reviewers for your proposal.   This will enable us to begin the review process soon after the close of the FOA. 
• Finally we will impose a limit of 10 applications by a small business to each Phase I FOA. 

Increased emphasis on commercialization plans:  DOE requires that commercialization plans be submitted with both Phase I and Phase II proposals.   Although this requirement occurs very early in the development cycle, we want to insure that applicants are committed to commercializing the technologies they develop under DOE SBIR and STTR awards.  Beginning with FY 2012 FOA Release 1, Phase I applications that lack a commercialization plan will be administratively declined without review. 

 Beginning in FY10, DOE also instituted a more rigorous commercial potential review of Phase II applications.  These reviews, independent of the technical merit reviews, focus exclusively on the Phase II commercialization plans and are conducted by reviewers experienced in technology commercialization.  Beginning in FY 2012, Phase II applications with commercialization plans that are rated poorly, independent of their technical merit review scores, will not be eligible for funding.  It is therefore important that applicants provide compelling commercialization plans to support their applications.  Please note, all DOE Phase I awardees are eligible for commercialization assistance from DOE’s commercialization consultant Foresight S&T and should give serious consideration to participating in the DOE commercialization assistance program soon after award.  

 STTR award amounts:  Beginning with FY 2012 FOA Release 1, DOE will increase the maximum size of STTR award amounts to $150,000 for Phase I and $1,000,000 for Phase II.  This will make the SBIR and STTR maximum award amounts equivalent. 

 Sincerely,

 Manny Oliver

Director, SBIR/STTR Programs Office

US Department of Energy

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Talent, entrepreneurs, employers, universities, funding, incubators = JOBS.

Ann Arbor SPARK’s Entrepreneur Boot Camp is a biannual event that offers two days of business planning and preparation designed to help early stage technology businesses increase their chances for attracting additional funding, finding resources and achieving success. A unique combination of hands-on learning and one-on-one mentoring, the event features nationally noted speakers on entrepreneurship, successful local entrepreneurs and investors.

Applications are due October 1.  Click Here for the Entrepreneur Boot Camp Application Form.

Topics planned for Business Law & Order include:

• Business structure
• Intellectual property
• Doing business overseas.
• Compensating founders
• Hiring employees versus contractors
• Understanding commercial agreements

Business Law & Order will meet at SPARK Central from 5-7 p.m. on the third Monday of every month except December, July and August.

There is no cost to attend Business Law & Order, but registration is encouraged.  Click here to register for the Business Law & Order kickoff.

The purpose of “Shifting Gears” is to increase the success of individuals who want to leverage their career experiences and education to help small businesses grow.

Check out SPARK’s first Social Media Press Release for video and photos from past Shifting Gears Programs!