Advancing Your SBIR/STTR Funding During The 2025 Shutdown
The impact of the current governmental shutdown (2025) is hard to ignore for those exploring federal programs for grant support. It may seem like there is nothing for you and your team to do but wait. However, there is still plenty your team can prepare for the inevitable end of the shutdown and the reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR program.
This post outlines the productive research and development activities you can be working on that will set you up for success for a likely hectic post-shutdown funding cycle. With Blue Haven Grant Consultants’ No Risk “BHGC Pay Upon Award”™, you’ll have a partner supporting this work without draining your current resources.
There are three broad categories of activity you can be accomplishing that will strengthen your SBIR/STTR application: Research Activity, Application Documentation, and Commercialization Planning.
Research Activity
Preliminary Data: Including promising evidence that demonstrates the merit and feasibility of your innovation and strengthens your SBIR/STTR application. Now is a great time to gather, collect, and assemble your data for easy understanding. Think of this data as a tool to reduce the perceived risk of investing in your innovation, both for reviewers and potential investors. It also demonstrates your team’s technical proficiency in the science your innovation is rooted in.
Research Plan: Specific aims and milestones will guide your production of a product-focused research and development plan. Now is a great time to generate or review your current research plan. Focus on specific aims that are succinct statements of technical objectives necessary to advance your project. Connect these to your milestones, which are metric-driven, quantifiable criteria that serve as benchmarks to achieving a specific aim.
Fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO) services are one of the many advantages of working with BHGC. Resulting from our deep understanding of your project, we are positioned to assist your team in planning, executing, and presenting research activities that advance your innovation toward commercialization.
Application Documentation
Significance-Innovation Analysis: Our proprietary process, developed from years of successful SBIR/STTR grant writing, helps your team delve deep into the core problems and questions your project is addressing to articulate a precise and compelling solution. The results of this process align well with the significance and innovation sections of an SBIR/STTR application. More importantly, this process helps drive your team toward clearer milestones and identify compelling inflection points.
Literature Review and Narrative Building: A strong narrative is crucial for clearly explaining the motivations behind your innovation and the evidence supporting your solution. Our teams will collaborate to develop a cohesive and thorough narrative that showcases your technical expertise, research-based solutions, and ability to achieve ambitious goals.
Biosketches: Principal Investigators (PI) and all Key Personnel are required to produce these mandatory, standardized application documents. A biosketch details the qualifications and professional accomplishments of your team, assuring reviewers that the team can successfully execute the project. Now is a great time to refine these documents to emphasize the contributions to science that directly address your team’s scientific and technical expertise, which will propel your project’s success.
Letters of Support: Letters of support are crucial for demonstrating the viability and potential impact of your project. These letters can be gathered at any time and can come from research partners, potential commercialization partners, or investors, all of which highlight the scientific merit, collaborative potential, market demand, clear path to commercialization, financial attractiveness, and long-term growth prospects of your project. Strong letters of support show reviewers that your project has a solid foundation, market potential, and a clear vision for the future.
Commercialization Planning
Market Analysis: A strong commercialization plan demonstrates to reviewers that a viable market exists for the product resulting from the proposed research. This section requires quantitative proof of the market opportunity. Crucially, you must identify your target customers, detail the competitive landscape by listing current and emerging substitutes, and articulate your unique competitive advantage. This analysis validates that the technical problem you are solving aligns directly with a clear, profitable, and accessible market need.
Budget Preparation: The budget is divided into three main components: Direct Costs, Indirect Costs, and a Fee/Profit discretionary component. Every item must be reasonable, allowable, and directly justified by the proposed work plan. This document is not only critical for compliance but is also strong evidence of your ability to manage grant funds efficiently and ensure the project is sustainable and likely to be completed.
During this shutdown, why not make significant progress toward readiness? Unlike typical grant writing services and consultants, BHGC and our No Risk “BHGC Pay Upon Award”™, you’ll make progress without having to pay fees up front. Are you ready to get ahead and chart a pathway toward federal grant success? Schedule a free consultation with us.