Resources for Awardees

Use this information to learn more about the program and guide you through the EPA SBIR Phase I & Phase II resources.

On this page:

Monthly & Final Reports for Phase I
Monthly Invoices for Phase I
Required Forms for Phase I
Changes to Project Phase I
Cybersecurity Requirement Phase I
Applying for Phase II
I-Corps
Monthly & Final Reports Phase II
Commercialization Option Phase II
Foreign Disclosure Requirement Phase II
Required Forms for Phase II
Changes to Project Phase II
Cybersecurity Requirement Phase II

Monthly & Final Reports - Phase I

Additional requirements as follows:

By the 2nd Monthly report
- Proof of cybersecurity requirement (described below)
Final Report
- Full final report
- Non-proprietary executive summary (for EPA SBIR website)
- Signed Lifecycle Certification Form (form provided below)

Format: Monthly and final reports should be submitted using the following formats.

Monthly Report (2-3 pages)

Date of report
Period covered by report
EPA contract number
Project title (from proposal)
Principal investigator
Small business name
Summary of monthly progress (1 paragraph)
Technical progress
Commercialization progress
Subcontractors
Difficulties encountered during reporting period
Activities planned for next reporting period

Final Report (no page limit)

Executive summary (Nonproprietary) (2-3 pages)
Date of report
EPA contract number
Project title
Principal investigator
Small business name
EPA contact
Project period
Research topic
Project description
Summary of findings
Conclusions
Publications
Commercialization
Subcontractors

Monthly Invoices - Phase I

Invoices should be submitted monthly through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). A copy of the invoice should be emailed with your monthly report. You may use the SF1034 Voucher below for your invoice, but other formats are allowable. You must bill at a rate of 85% leaving a 15% holdback to be paid with your final deliverables. IPP Customer Support is available to assist users of the system and can answer your questions related to accessing IPP or completing the registration process.

Resources:

Required Forms - Phase I

Lifecycle Certification – This form should be completed, signed and submitted with the final report.
- On Required Forms Page

Changes to Project - Phase I

Change of Principal Investigator (PI) - A change of principal investigator requires a modification to your contract. Please email your request to the CO and the EPA SBIR Program Manager (PM) with the reason for the change and the resume of the new PI.

Scope changes - Changes in scope from your original proposal may or may not require a modification to your contract depending on the scale. Please email your scope changes and justification to the CO and PM to determine next steps.

Time extension (no cost extension) - EPA only offers one cycle of Phase I and Phase II awards annually meaning you must apply for Phase II with your Phase I cohort. For this reason, EPA is highly unlikely to extend Phase I contracts.

Cybersecurity Requirement - Phase I

As part of the new foreign due diligence, all EPA SBIR awardees must attend/watch at least one cybersecurity training. Awardees shall include who attended, the name of course, and course completion date within your first or second monthly report.

Here are some other cybersecurity resources that may be useful to your small business:

52.204-21 Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems. | Acquisition.GOV.
Cyber Essential Guide: This guide from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is for small businesses and outlines how to develop cybersecurity best practices.
Top 10 Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities: This document from CISA and the FBI outlines vulnerable software and products to avoid and/or update.
Cyber Essentials Toolkit: This resource from CISA provides cybersecurity best practices that leadership of businesses should implement.
Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals: This document from the National Institute of Standards & Technology provides concrete information on how small businesses can understand and mitigate cyber-attacks; this is a useful resource for SBIR awardees.
Cyber Incident Reporting : This is the CISA website for SBIR awardees to report any cyber incidents.

Applying for Phase II

The Phase II solicitation will be posted in FedConnect and a notification will be sent directly to all Phase I awardees. The Phase II solicitation typically opens near the end of the Phase I period of performance (May) and proposals are typically due about 45 days later (July). Proposals must be submitted through FedConnect (as they were for Phase I).

I-Corps

All EPA SBIR awardees are able to participate in the I-Corps Program at George Washington (GW) University. GW's National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps training can help participants identify their first customers, build the right product initially based on market feedback, and increase the teams' potential for success in the next phase of development. The program accepts participants on a rolling basis to their two-week Regional Short Course.

Monthly & Final Reports - Phase II

Monthly reports and invoices should be submitted via email by the 15^th of the month to the Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and the Alternate COR (ALT-COR). Include your Company name and Contract # in the subject line. Submit your monthly report and copy of IPP invoice as one PDF document with the following naming convention: Contract number_2 digit month_2 digit year (e.g., 68HERC24C0001_01_24 would be for a monthly report submitted in January of 2024).

Additional requirements as follows:

By the 2^nd Monthly report
- Proof of cyber requirement (described below)
12^th Monthly report
- Signed Lifecycle Certification Form
- Foreign Due Diligence Form
Final Report
- Full final report
- Non-proprietary executive summary (for EPA SBIR website)
- Signed Lifecycle Certification Form

Format: Monthly and final reports should be submitted using the following formats.

Monthly Report (1-3 pages)

Date of report
Period covered by report
EPA contract number
Project title
Principal investigator
Small business name
Summary of monthly progress (1 paragraph)
Technical progress
Commercialization progress
Justification of budget expenditures
Difficulties encountered during reporting period
Activities planned for next reporting period

Final Report

Executive summary (Nonproprietary) (1-2 pages)
Date of report
EPA contract number
Project title
Principal investigator
Small business name
EPA contact
Project period
Research topic
Project description
Summary of findings
Conclusions
Publications
Commercialization

Phase II Commercialization Option

The Phase II Commercialization Option provides additional funding to expand the SBIR Contractor’s R&D efforts beyond the original Phase II requirements. The purpose of the additional funding is to accelerate commercialization of the EPA SBIR-funded technology. It encourages commercialization through a partial match of third-party investment. EPA federal funds will be designated strictly for advancing the research related elements of the project. The additional work shall be an expansion of the technical work being performed in the basic Phase II project.

Applying

The EPA SBIR Contractor shall provide evidence of having received funding of at least $100,000.00 from a third party.
Eligible investments can come from many sources including angel investors, venture capital firms, another company under partnership, licensing or joint venture, revenue/sales and others. Eligible investments do NOT include self-financing, in-kind, loans or other forms of debt obligations, or other SBIR awards.
The investment must be made after the conclusion of the Phase I Period of Performance (POP) and up until 90 days prior to end of the Phase II POP.
The documentation is due to the Contracting Officer no later than 90 days before the end of the Phase II POP.
The required documentation includes:
- A letter documenting that at least $100,000.00 has been received by the Contractor from a third party.
  - The letter should specifically state that “$ ________ has been transferred to (SBIR Firm Name) from the following third-party investor(s): (List names and itemized amounts if more than one) in accord with the SBIR Phase II contract procedures, and for purposes related to work being performed under EPA SBIR Contract Number _________.”
- Deposit or credit transaction showing that the funds were deposited to the Contractor (e.g., a bank statement).
If approved, the EPA may unilaterally exercise the option. The EPA will match up to $100,000.00. The Contractor may extend the Phase II contract period up to one year maximum if exercised.

If Awarded

Exercise of the option will increase the total contract price by up to an additional $100,000.00 and may extend the Phase II contract period up to one year maximum.
The Contractor will be obligated to implement the Phase II Option Work Plan as proposed.
Monthly reporting:
- The Contractor shall continue to submit monthly reports and invoices.
- The reports shall address expansion of the basic R&D performed using the option and third-party funding.
- The reports shall clearly report costs from progress made.
- Monthly progress payments will be allowed for SBIR Phase II contractors at a maximum rate of 85% of total costs incurred for each reporting period. The remainder shall be paid upon receipt and acceptance of the final report.
  - The 15% holdback applies to the total value of the contract. For example, if the Commercialization Option is exercised and as a result the total value is increased to $500,000.00, $75,000 will be paid to the Contractor once the final report documents are received.
EPA federal funds will be designated strictly for advancing the research related elements of the project.
The third-party investment funds can be used as the Contractor deems appropriate.
The Contractor can submit their final deliverables when they complete their SBIR project, even if the additional year has not concluded. If the project is complete before the end of the period of performance, the Contractor should inform the EPA SBIR team. Then the Contractor shall submit the final report documents and the final invoice.

Foreign Disclosure Requirement

The SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 reauthorizes through FY2025 and modifies the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, and related pilot programs.

The bill requires agencies with an SBIR program to assess the security risks presented by offerors with financial ties or obligations to certain foreign countries. The programs may not make awards to businesses with certain connections to foreign entities. To comply with this requirement, the program will require all offerors being considered for award under this solicitation to complete the Foreign Disclosure Form at time of award (already completed!) and at after completion of year one of the Phase II contract. See online form below.

Required Forms for Phase II Awardees

Lifecycle Certification – This form should be completed, signed and submitted with the 12^th monthly report and the final report.
- Find on Required Forms Webpage
Foreign Disclosure - This form should be completed, signed and submitted with the 12^th monthly report and the final report.
- Find on Required Forms Webpage

Changes to Project - Phase II

Change of Principal Investigator (PI) - A change of principal investigator requires a modification to your contract. Please email your request to the CO and PM with the reason for the change and the resume of the new PI.

Subcontractor changes - Changes in subcontractors from your original proposal or during the course of your project period may or may not require a modification to your contract depending on the scale. Please email your subcontractor changes and justification to the CO and PM to determine next steps.

Time extension (no cost extension) – EPA may allow a single one-year no cost extension to a Phase II contract if there are unusual or compelling circumstances. Awardees must provide a written request to the CO and COR at least 30 days prior to the contract expiration date. If approval of a contract extension is granted, the Contractor shall continue to report contract progress monthly, at no additional cost to the Government. This does not change the due date for the commercialization option documentation.

Cybersecurity Requirement - Phase II