91990024R0010 SBIR Phase IA Questions and Responses 1.6.24.docx

Phase IA 91990024R0010 pg. 1

1. <REDACTED> are minority owned in the US with wider international seed investment; we are registered in the US, our CEO is a US resident, we have our HQ in the US, employ most of our staff in the US and deliver our product/services in the US too. Despite this, we wouldn't fulfil the "at least 51 percent owned by U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted residents" criteria. However, I noticed in the regulations linked within the solicitation (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2020-title13-vol1/pdf/CFR-2020-title13-vol1-sec121-702.pdf ) that it also says:

(2) No single venture capital operating company, hedge fund, or private equity firm may own more than 50% of the concern unless that single venture capital operating company, hedge fund, or private equity firm qualifies as a small business concern that is more than 50% directly owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States."

Does this mean that as long as non-US based venture capital/hedge fund/private equity owners do not individually own 50%+ of the company then this type of ownership is acceptable? i.e. a US-location and operating business which has mixed nationality seed-funded ownership (including but not limited to the US), all of which is under 50% stake.

1. The ED/IES SBIR program provides awards to U.S. Small Business Concerns. According to the description, the company does not qualify. The section quoted from the CFR is in response to the context of a qualified entity being owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, as opposed to a single venture capital operating company. U.S. ownership must exceed 51 percent as previously described.

11. I have a question about the following: E. PHASE I PROPOSAL PACKAGE CHECKLIST. In Section A. Cover Pages, Has the small business been registered with SAM and provided certification?

I obtained a Unique Entity Identifier number from SAM but I am unclear on what you mean by certification. Is there a PDF that I need to obtain?

11. A small business concern is required to be registered and active on SAM.gov prior to the award being finalized and must self-certify as a small business. Further certification may be required for small businesses that are Veteran Owned, Woman-owned, HUBZone, or 8(a) Small Businesses. More information can be found at https://certify.sba.gov/

12. We are preparing an SBIR proposal for 2024, and I was wondering if there is a formal definition of "education setting" for Letters of Agreement to Participate in Phase 1A R&D. We are building a tutoring app and will most likely be partnering with a corporate tutoring provider and/or nonprofits with a heavy tutoring component. Would they qualify or do we need to partner with a school or district?

12. The Education Setting refers to the place where the education technology will be used by learners, educators, or administrators. The requirement for offerors to include a letter in Section E from an “Education Setting” is to demonstrate to reviewers that the research proposed will be likely to occur if an award is made. A letter can be from a source other than a school or district if it can adequately demonstrate that the research can be conducted there as proposed.

13. I am looking over the documentation for SBIR eligibility. I and a few collaborators have a product/research idea that we believe fits, and know how much time it will take to develop. But I wanted to check: for the PI of the project, are there restrictions on the time per week dedicated to the project? Basically, would one of us have to completely quit our current jobs to pursue this, or could we for instance go to part time in something else, or is it unrestricted?

13. The requirements for the Project Director (PD) are stated in the solicitation, and include that a PD must be employed by a small business a minimum of 51% of the time during the project. There is not a requirement beyond that threshold for how much time a PD would need to commit to the project during that time.

16. My company intends to apply for an STTR grant and this is the first time we have gone through the process. We partner with <REDACTED> so we believe the STTR route is the right one to go (instead of the SBIR), however, I can’t find any information specifically about the STTR application process online.

a. Has the SBIR and STTR been combined for this year? If we apply for Phase IA solicitation #91990024R0010 is this right for the STTR? I realize questions will be answered by January 3, however I have one that impacts whether we apply for Phase 1A or Phase 1B. We do have technology we have deployed and commercialized, however I am not sure if that implies we should go the Phase 1B route. Since the solicitations are different, I want to make sur we pick the right one.

16. ED does not and has never offered an STTR program.

a. Please refer to the Phase IA and IB solicitations for specific guidance on determining project fit for either of the ED/IES SBIR Phase I programs.

17. For my business, I am the only one - I do not have any employees or co-founders. Is that allowed with this grant? I read on Page 20 that "the individual who is listed as the Project Director should not also be listed as the Contractor Security Liaison. Can I be both the Project Director and the Contractor Security Liaison?

a. Can you have a full-time job if you receive the grant? I work full-time for <REDACTED>. Does the awarded money go towards a salary?

b. Do I have a place of business?

c. Do I have to list specific names of the people I would hire as employees or the people I would hire as contractors?

17. The solicitation does not prohibit an individual from submitting a proposal as the only team member. However, offerors can strengthen a proposal based on the guidance in the solicitation. Refer to page 20 for guidance for the Contractor Security Liaison.

a. The requirements for the Project Director (PD) are stated in the solicitation, and include that a PD must be employed by the small business at least 51% of the time during the project. A consultant may be employed by another company during a project.

b. Offerors are required to indicate the place (or location) at which the work will occur.

c. There is not a requirement for a project to have more than one individual. As noted in the solicitation, members of the project team should be listed in the table on page 11 of the solicitation and 1-page biographical summaries of the team should be included in Section C. Such information will assist reviewers in determining if the personnel listed have the expertise to conduct the work proposed.

18. If I miss the deadline for 2024, will there be another RFP for Phase IB?

18. ED/IES SBIR offers only one Phase IA and IB program per year.

19. I also see that on page 5 of the SBIR 1A application, there is mention of a 2024 ED/IES SBIR Solicitation for Direct to Phase II Projects. Since my software application incorporates <REDACTED>, would it make more sense to apply to this Direct to Phase II Grant?

If I apply to the 1A, is it possible to also apply to the Direct to Phase II this year as well? If not, do you have a sense of which might be the better fit? I hate to postpone applying to the 1A and then get rejected for the Direct to Phase II funding.

19. Potential offerors must review the current ED/IES SBIR solicitations to determine the best fit for a proposal under Phase IA, IB, or the Direct to Phase II. As noted in all solicitations, offerors are not permitted to submit a duplicate or similar proposals under the FY2024 ED/IES SBIR Phase IA, IB, or the Direct to Phase II solicitations. Any duplicate or similar proposals that are submitted under more than one solicitation will be rejected without review.

https://sam.gov/opp/f56fabf96866497a8a0c32b99af3c9ac/view and https://sam.gov/opp/d7594dbce4f24e559374f3457b5d685f/view

22. On 12/4 I downloaded the PDF of the solicitation as well as a Google Sheet that I assumed would compile user questions for applicants to review as they are posted. When I return to the SAM site to review the question form and go to the Attachments/Links section in order to view the questions form, all I see is a spinning circle indicating some sort of loading. It’s been this way for at least a week. Do I understand the purpose of the questions spreadsheet correctly and if so, how might I access it given my inability to do so via the SAM website (this is the link I am using https://sam.gov/opp/d4b9c2c017b3492690cf48d4388cec89/view).

22. Responses to all questions for the Phase IA program were submitted by January 4, and are posted on this page as an amendment:

https://sam.gov/opp/f56fabf96866497a8a0c32b99af3c9ac/view There is a link below the attachments near the bottom of the page if there are updates to the solicitation (depicted below):

If attachments aren’t showing, it’s recommended trying a different web browser.

26. Is there an online application page or are we expected to download the Phase IA template and fill in our application details? What is the most efficient way to complete the application?

a. Is the a summary of all the questions for the application. The excel file template is blank and I want to be sure we answer all the questions in the application process.

26. Potential offerors download the solicitation at https://sam.gov/opp/f56fabf96866497a8a0c32b99af3c9ac/view and follow the guidelines set forth in the solicitation for preparing and submitting a proposal. There is a link below the attachments near the bottom of the page if there are updates to the solicitation (depicted below):

a. The questions from offerors and responses from ED are posted in this document.

27. Regarding the statement on page 16, which mentions 'eventual commercial dissemination and sustainability of the proposed product in the private marketplace,' I seek clarification on the scope of this requirement. Specifically, does this imply that the proposed product must be exclusively marketed and sold within the private sector? Would sales to publicly funded entities, such as public schools that receive government funding, align with the expectations of this criterion, or are such sales considered outside the intended commercial dissemination and sustainability goals as outlined in the RFP?

a. Referring to Section D concerning the Phase 1 budget, I would like to request clarification on the permissible allocation of funds. Specifically, are we permitted to include budgetary provisions for existing employees within our company who will be actively engaged in the research and development activities outlined in this phase? Or is the budget strictly designated for expenses related to hiring external contractors and other direct costs?

b. In reference to the guidelines on page 26 concerning letters of support, where it is mentioned that offerors may include up to three letters from potential users or purchasers of the product, I seek clarification on the diversity of sources for these letters. Specifically, is it permissible for these letters to originate from different divisions within the same larger organization, such as separate geographic divisions (e.g., the New York division and the Los Angeles division) of a national organization, especially if these divisions operate with distinct budgets and management?

27. Public schools, including government supported schools, are counted within the sphere of private sector commercialization. Private sector commercialization refers to commercialization outside of a Federal government contract, or the Federal government purchasing the product.

a. Yes, a minimum of two-thirds of the SBIR Phase I budget is required to be spent by the Small Business Concern, including for personnel at the small business to conduct the R&D outlined in the proposal.

b. Offerors must determine the letters to include in Section F to demonstrate the pathways to marketplace commercialization should a Phase I and Phase II award be made. There is no prohibition for including multiple distinct letters from a single organization.

28. I am providing economic development support to <REDACTED>. While providing support to a company some basic questions have been raised that are not addressed in the solicitation or on the website.

· It is understood that Intellectual Property (e.g. Patent) costs cannot be in the SBIR budget; please confirm.

· Can TABA support funds and or profit be used for IP development towards a patent or a patent filing?

· https://www2.ed.gov/programs/sbir/faq.html

a. "Will innovations that have been patented or have patents pending be considered under SBIR?

No. SBIR is a program for NEW high tech innovations." Is this true even if the patent is for a concept that is yet to be reduced to practice? Is the existence of a patent acceptable in an SBIR Phase IB?

28. Intellectual Property (patent) development costs can be covered in the budget through TABA (Technical and Business Assistance), see Section I on page 33.

a. While it is correct that innovations that have been already been patented are not eligible for a SBIR award, offerors can still propose to develop a new component to be added to an existing innovation that is already patented under Phase IB.

29. “For SECTION E: what is counted as an education setting? Does it have to be a regular school? Can it be an afterschool program or education non-profit? For instance, we will be working with team at <REDACTED>. They have broad reach to schools. “

a. In addition, person who writes this letter can be part of the project team, right?

29. The Education Setting refers to the place where the education technology would be used by learners, educators, or administrators. Potential offerors are advised to review the Priority Area section in the solicitation for additional information on how education settings is defined more broadly to also include other out of school locations.

a. The representative from the education setting must provide the letter for Section E.

30. I am wondering if I am eligible to be a PI for the following Department of Education SBIR grant https://sam.gov/opp/4fe8d23d93854aeca38de8813c3c4bd6/view Does the PI have to be a US citizen or a permanent resident with a green card? I am a Canadian citizen working in the US on an H1B visa.

30. An individual who is not a US Citizen but who is in the US on an H1B visa is permitted to serve in the role of the PI (now referred to as the Project Director or PD.)

31. Based on some of the regulatory challenges with regards to collecting student data, would gathering feedback from the teachers who use the product qualify as a valid pilot study (from the perspective of the SBIR reviewer)? Or is there an expectation of a quantitative approach involving student data?

a. Is there preference between private and public schools when it comes to participants in the pilot study?

b. Can we allocate funds from the grant to compensate a public school teacher to participate in the pilot study?

c. Would the formatting on the cover page attached to my email be appropriate for the grant application? The instructions said to copy and paste the table from your own template, but I am writing the grant in LaTeX to make formatting easier, which means I wouldn’t be replicating your own table’s format exactly. (The content structure is the same though).

31. Each project needs to propose a design for a pilot study to evaluate the prototype when it is used by the intended end-user of that prototype. If the prototype is intended for use by learners, an offeror must propose a design that includes learners.

a. The solicitation does not provide guidance on the participants that offerors select to participate in their study, whether private or public schools.

b. Yes, the funds can be used to compensate teachers to participate in a study.

c. While it is preferred that offerors use the template for the cover page table to submit a proposal , offerors are permitted to populate the table in a (to assist reviewers in reading the proposals) different formats can be used provided all the information is included and the final submission is in a single PDF or MS Word document.

32. I want to confirm that we do not need to submit this grant through grants.gov portal but as an email attachment (single document)

a. We have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and pdf of SBA Company Registration, as required in the application. We have not yet completed the registration process in Sam.gov. Do we need approval of that application prior to the Jan 18th deadline?

32. It is correct that a proposal to ED/IES SBIR would not be submitted through grants.gov. ED/IES SBIR awards are made as contracts, not grants. Please review the submission instructions in the solicitation for emailing in the proposal.

a. Offerors should attempt to complete the registration in SAM.gov as soon as possible. While an active SAM.gov account is not required at the time of submission, awards cannot be made unless the small business concern is registered and active in SAM.gov.

33. We want to build a new education technology to <REDACTED>. Phase I will be dedicated to the <REDACTED> segment, and in Phase II we plan to scale it to <REDACTED>. We didn’t build a prototype for any of these segments, however, previously, we made a demo and started testing a comparable approach <REDACTED> sectors, and we have users for <REDACTED>. These segments have nothing in common with the new ones we plan to build our technology for <REDACTED>, the technology neither. Still, the approach of using practical challenges and simulations does. We’ll use nothing from these tests and start from scratch with just a landing page. Can we still consider such a new technology for new segments for IA? Or it’s a case for IB?

a. What should electronic signatures for resumes in Section C. ii look like? Are these scans of the signed documents? Or should we use some tools like DocuSign or similar?

b. Which address should be used for the HUBZone check — legal or physical (mailing)? Our current physical address is not in the HUBZone, but we’ll move in the beginning of January, this new address is in the HUBZone, and our current legal address is in the HUBZone. Which one should we use?

33. Offerors make the decision about whether to prepare a proposal for Phase IA or IB. The Phase IA solicitation provides specific guidance in response to this question on Page 4. In the Project Narrative Section on page 16, the solicitation states: “If applicable. For projects that propose to develop a prototype of a new education technology product for which some limited previous development has already occurred, describe the initial prototype that was developed and how and under what conditions it functions. Detail research findings that demonstrate the merit of the approach and insights gained which inform the current proposed project and the new technological approach.”

a. Electronic signature can either be scanned or using tools such as DocuSign.

b. The address that should be used for the HUBZone check should be the one that’s registered/on file with HUBZone/SBA.

34. Our company has interviewed a few research partners and have multiple potential options. Do we have to select one company to work with when submitting our proposal?

a. Once we select a Research Partner for this application, if we are awarded a grant are we allowed to change the R&D Partner before we start the project?

34. While there is no requirement for a proposal to list the name or qualifications of a subcontractor organization or individuals in key project roles – providing the names and qualifications of the organizations and individuals will assist reviewers in determining if the project personnel listed have the expertise and effort to conduct the work proposed.

a. Project personnel can be changed after a contract if award with approval of program officials.

35. The solicitation states that proposed technologies can focus on students up through grade 16, as well as adult education programs. However, no awards in the past two years have funded a technology focused on grades 13-16 or adult education. What are the primary reasons ED is not funding projects for these populations?

a. Historically, have awardees included the optional video portion of their submission?

35. ED/IES SBIR has no preferences or within the scope of topic areas covered in the Priority Area. Each proposal is evaluated on its own merits, based on its potential success and impact within the topic area on which it focuses.

a. Potential offerors are encouraged to include a video as a part of the proposal. No historical information is available on the inclusion of videos in Phase IA proposals at this time.

37. Can the Government provide a template as outlined beginning on Page 9?

a. Can the Government provide the SBC Registration Control ID form as referenced on Page 14?

b. "Page 19. III. CITATIONS All citations should be included on page 11, or the page immediately following the project narrative. Offerors are encouraged to use the formatting citation style of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Does the citation page for the project narrative have a page limit?"

c. Page 22 - Phase 1A Budget Narrative and Spreadsheet. Can the Government please advise whether the requirement is an embedded table or spreadsheet in an attached document (i.e. Excel).

Can the Government provide the template referenced in Section D, Phase I Budget as referenced on Page 23?

d. Page 25. SECTION E: LETTER OF AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PHASE IA R/R&D. The description includes a reference to “education setting”. The most commonly used definition is as follows: “education setting is broad and inclusive, encompassing any space or context where learning, teaching, and educational activities occur. It recognizes that education is not confined to traditional classrooms and can take place in various setting and formats to include workplace training and development programs to meet the diverse needs of learners.” Please advise if the definition above aligns with the intent of this requirement?

e. Page 25. SECTION E: LETTER OF AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PHASE IA R/R&D. If an institution of higher learning is selected and agrees to participate in the phase 1A R/R&D, please confirm if the letter of agreement can be submitted with Instiutional Review Board (IRB) pending approval?

f. Can the Government provide the SBIR/STTR Funding Agreement Certification Form as referenced on Page 34?

g. Can the Government provide the Disclosures Form as referenced beginning on Page 42?

h. Can the Government provide the Certification Form beginning on Page 46?

37. Offerors are encouraged to use the same template in the solicitation as its cover pages for a proposal. The WORD version of the solicitation is available for download on this page: https://sam.gov/opp/f56fabf96866497a8a0c32b99af3c9ac/view

a. Offerors are required to register on SBIR.gov at which time the system will generate the form that is pictured on page 14. This image is to be included in the proposal.

b. The citations on page 11 do not count toward the 10-page limit in the Technical Narrative. There is no page limit on citations.

c. The Phase IA Budget section in the solicitation (that is available in WORD using the above link) includes an embedded spreadsheet and template that offerors can copy and paste into a proposal that is being prepared.

d. Offerors are advised to review the Priority Area within the solicitation for information on the scope of the term education settings. The use of education setting is intended to be broad and inclusive within the guidelines presented in this Priority Area section.

e. Yes, the letter can be submitted with pending Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.

f. The WORD version (linked above) of the solicitation includes the Funding Agreement Certification Form that an offeror can use as a template for the proposal.

g. The WORD version (linked above) of the solicitation includes the Disclosures Form that an offeror can use as a template for the proposal.

h. The WORD version (linked above) of the solicitation includes Certification Form that an offeror can use as a template for the proposal.

38. In Section VI. C(j) of the Solicitation, “Esse. ntially Equivalent Work” is defined as “Work that is substantially the same research, which is proposed for funding in more than one contract proposal or grant application submitted to the same Federal agency or submitted to two or more different Federal agencies for review and funding consideration; or work where a specific research objective and the research design for accomplishing the objective are the same or closely related to another proposal or award, regardless of the funding source.”

In Section H of the Solicitation it states, “Offerors are not permitted to submit similar proposals to both of the 2024 ED/IES Phase I solicitations or to both a Phase I and the 2024 ED/IES SBIR “Direct to Phase II” solicitation for the development of new education technology products to ready existing evidence-based innovations for use at scale. In such cases, all proposals will be rejected without review.

For clarification, is an offeror permitted to submit two proposals under the FY2024 ED/IES SBIR Phase IA solicitation, which (a) are for separate components of the same product and (b) require separate but related R&D efforts – in so far as the two components would eventually be integrated into the commercial (Phase II) product, thereby requiring some degree of integration during the two Phase IA projects?

If permitted, should an offeror duplicate responses to certain sections in the second proposal (e.g., Section I. Significance, Section III. Citations, and Section F. Letters of Support) or should an offeror reference the first proposal in response to such sections?

38. Offerors are not permitted to submit two proposals to the Phase IA competition for the development of the same education technology product that is proposed as the Phase I and II concept in the Significance section. In such cases, both proposals will be rejected without review.

39. I am collaborating with two groups that both have SAM.gov IDs. However, I do not. Since at least some members of our collaboration are registered, are we safe to apply?

39. The Small Business Concern that submits the proposal is required to be registered and active in SAM.gov. Small Business Concerns that do not have an active SAM.gov account will be ineligible to receive an award.

40. We have several individuals on the project team who are from other countries. All will be working for our US owned and based company. They each have relevant, specialist knowledge in math, educational technology, and/or research. One, from Australia, does not yet have an American visa; a second, from India, has a work visa and is living in Chicago; and the third is a U.S. citizen who is living in Canada. Each will be present in the U.S. if they are doing any research. We do not rely upon non-citizens to meet the eligibility requirements for this grant; however, would the reviewers have any concerns about any of these individuals serving in the Project Director role given what is said on p. 35, #5? Can non-US citizens with US working visas be involved with the data collection at schools? Is it ok for someone living outside the United States to participate in pre- or post-research activities? For example, preparing a plan, analyzing data, etc., as long as all actual research with participants is conducted in the US?

a. With regard to the certification statement on page 2 of each resume, we are unclear as to what is meant by "Each employee of the offeror with the authority to bind the offeror must certify..." Is it sufficient to include those people who are most knowledgeable of the individual's resume references, such as hiring manager, supervisor, and/or contracts specialist? What makes an employee have the authority to bind?

b. Do letters of support need to follow the same 12 pt. font/1 in. margin, etc. requirements as the rest of the proposal?

c. Do resumes need to follow the same 12 pt. font/1 in. margin, etc. requirements as the rest of the proposal?

d. Our company uses Zoom for much of its communication. Referring to K.11 Representation regarding certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment, are there any concerns about the use of Zoom?

40. All work must be conducted by individuals who are located within the United States who are either citizens or hold a green card. Individuals who are in the United States without a citizenship, visa, or green card, and U.S. citizens working outside the U.S. are not eligible to conduct work on the contract.

a.Each employee with the authority to bind the offeror typically refers to anyone that has authority to bind the company (ie. Owner, CEO, CFO, HR, etc.) and is determined by the company.

b. No, letters of support for the pathways to commercialize the eventual education technology do not need to be in the same font or format as the proposal. Please note that the letters must be legible for reviewers to read.

c. While there is not a requirement, reviewers would appreciate resumes to be presented in the same font and format.

d. There is no apparent problem with a Small Business Concern indicating that it uses a business support product such as Zoom.

41. In the proposal, does it qualify if we are building an education technology product for adult learners that are employees and sell to companies?

a. And is it necessary to include academic research and researchers in the proposal?

41. Offerors should refer to the Priority Area listed in the solicitation for guidelines on proposals for adult learners.

a. Offerors are advised to adhere to all of the requirements presented in the solicitation.

42. I am interested in applying for the "Phase 1A" program and have a question. Am I allowed to use the UEI number for the organization I am affiliated with (a non-for profit), or do I have to use my small business to create a new UEI number to submit the application?

42. A Small Business Concern that submits a proposal is required to be the offeror under this solicitation, hence a UEI for the small business is required for an award to be made.

44. I was wondering if you could let us know the expected timeline for other SBIR/STTR solicitations that should be releasing for the remainder of the year so we can make a decision on whether we should wait or continue to pursue this opportunity. If there are other SBIR/STTR solicitations that are expected to drop, will the requirements and scope change or generally remain the same?

a. Do the letters of support for recommenders need to come from US-based institutions?

b. Can we utilize past performance from partner companies or SMEs that are included in our proposal?

c. Is it a general practice to allocate any of the budget to the school that will participate in the study?

44. ED/IES SBIR releases one Phase IA, IB, and Direct to Phase II solicitation each year. Please see https://ies.ed.gov/sbir/solicitations.asp for information and updates on solicitations through ED/IES SBIR. ED does not offer an STTR program.

a. There is no requirement that the letters in Section F need to come from US-based institutions, although the primary goal of the program is to develop new education technology products to improve education in the United States.

b. Offerors can determine if and how to include information on past performance to support a proposal.

c. A project is permitted to allocate funds to a school or participants in a study for R&D purposes.

45. Should the budget spreadsheet mentioned on page 22 of the RFP be saved as a PDF or as an additional .xls file?

a. What may be included in the labor overhead category on the budget?

b. Is submission of a proposal the only expression of agreement needed at the time of submission for section VI. part B “CONSIDERATIONS FOR OFFERORS WHO WIN PHASE I AWARDS,” or should submission include a statement of intent to comply?

c. How much "profit" can be budgeted within the grant?

d. Does the agency have a recommended percentage breakdown of how costs are expected to be allocated?

45. The budget spreadsheet should be included as part of the proposal, which should be submitted as one single PDF or MS WORD document.

a. Labor overhead category is typical the administrative expenditures incurred by the contractor to support the project (ie. Bookkeeping, facility maintenance.)

b. Submission of the proposal and required certifications/signatures outlined in the solicitation constitutes and expression of agreement.

c. The solicitation indicates that while offerors are permitted to budget for "a reasonable profit," offerors must consider and ensure that sufficient funds are budgeted to successfully carry out the work that is proposed.

d. The only requirement for the budget is that the Small Business Concern is required to spend a minimum of two-thirds of the Phase I budget.

46. Can you please further define what might constitute limited previous research and/or development? Associated to this, how would you like the applicant to demonstrate that the product is an "entirely new education technology product?" If a similar product exists on the market but has differences that we explain, would you still consider the product we are proposing as "entirely new?"

a. How do you determine what is a pressing problem in education? Do we use research and evidence to prove the problem is a pressing problem? How do you define "pressing?"

b. If we were to apply also to the Direct to Phase II” solicitation #91990024R0012, do we need to apply with a completely different concept/idea or can it be related to our proposal for Phase 1A?

c. Can we discuss the focal point of our proposal with a Program Officer prior to the deadline date to confirm eligibility for Phase 1A and that our idea meets the criteria?

d. Do you have a sample of a successful video demonstration? What do you consider a mockup or plans for the development of the proposed product - a chart, storymap, drawings/illustrations, sketches? What kind of information would you like to see in the video in addition to providing "a video presenting a mockup or plans for the development of the proposed product to give reviewers context for the new innovation being proposed."

e. Regarding available concept testing research, do you want to see results of such concept testing research conducted by the Offeror or will you accept other similar research that is publicly available? Should the Offeror demonstrate how feedback from concept testing research (especially those conducted by the Offeror) has been included in the proposal?

f. Will it count against us if we have never won a SBIR before?

g. What if a team member who is bring proposed for a role other than Project Director has been a SBIR Project Director for another company?

46. The Phase IA solicitation provides guidance on what is considered limited previous development on Page 4. An applicant proposing a similar concept to what already exists in the marketplace would need to provide a rationale for why the proposed concept is an improvement on what already exists.

a. An offeror must present data and evidence for why the problem in education is important, or pressing, to solve.

b. As stated in the Phase IA, IB, and the Direct to Phase II solicitations, offerors are not permitted to submit a duplicate or similar proposals under the FY2024 ED/IES SBIR Phase IA, IB, or the Direct to Phase II solicitations. Any duplicate or similar proposals that are submitted under more than one solicitation will be rejected without review.

c. Per a rule of the ED Office of Contracts and Management, ED/IES SBIR Program Officials are not permitted to engage with potential offerors while the solicitations are open. Program Officials are only permitted to provide potential offerors technical assistance prior to the release of the annual solicitations.

d. There is no sample of a successful video for the Phase IA program. (Videos are includes in the abstracts for Phase II awardees which can be linked to on this page: https://ies.ed.gov/sbir/awards.asp) Offerors must determine the appropriate content of a video to assist reviewers in understanding the product concept envisioned, given the nature and stage of the project being proposed.

e. While offerors could include concept testing by a publicly available source, the solicitation indicates that offerors are strongly encouraged to include results from available concept testing research in which users (e.g., learners, educators, administrators) provide feedback after viewing mock-ups detailing the proposed product and its intended implementation.

f. No, offerors will not be penalized for not having previously received an SBIR award.

g. Reviewers will evaluate the prior expertise and experience of team members to conduct the work that is proposed.

47. Do we have to be previously funded and if not does this decrease our point score?

a. Are we allowed to provide Photos of our prototype?

b. How many videos can we submit?

47. A prior record of awards is not a factor in the score a proposal will receive for an offeror that has not previously won an award. Reviewers will consider the outcomes of a past SBIR project in judging the promise of a new proposal by a company that has been previously awarded.

a. Offerors can include images or screen shots within the 10-page project narrative.

b. The solicitation provides a space for one YouTube video in Section A part O which reviewers are required to watch. Reviewers are not required to watch additional videos that may be included.

48. I am reaching out with two questions regarding formatting. First, in SECTION I. TECHNICAL AND ASSISTANCE BUSINESS PLAN (TABA), no instructions are specified if an offeror decides against the TABA. Would you like the offeror to use the heading: SECTION I. TECHNICAL AND ASSISTANCE BUSINESS PLAN (TABA) and indicate the following: No TABA requested.

a. Second, in SECTION J. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION TO COMPLETE AT THE TIME OF THE PROPOSAL, no…