SBA Handbook for SBIR Proposal Preparation
Chapter I - Using the SBIR Program to Further Business Development
C. Using SBIR To Establish Scientific/Technical Leadership
By viewing the SBIR program as one part of your overall business strategy, you can use the program to build scientific and technical leadership in your area. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, such leadership is a key to continual innovation and the sales that innovation brings to small firms.
Modern science and technology is frequently described as comprised of a series of specialties. Small firms can establish technical leadership in one of these specialties through a systematic sustained R&D effort. Success in winning SBIR awards provides vital funding and recognition for your company.
View the beginning stages of your SBIR proposal planning process as an opportunity to talk with various representatives from federal, state, and local government, from companies, from universities and non-profit institutions and with independent consultants. The people you meet and talk with in even the first stages of proposal preparation can prove to be valuable contacts in the future.
The SBIR proposal process provides an opportunity to establish ties with experts in your field. By approaching these experts in the context of your SBIR project, you are likely to find that they have valuable insights to offer your company. Working closely with eminent scientists and engineers provides opportunities for your staff to benefit from the knowledge and experiences of others, thereby shortening the learning curve in moving to the frontiers of your field.
Award and successful completion of Phases I and/or II provides a federal government stamp of approval for your experience. Don't be shy - let people know about your success. Your firm should actively promote any award that you receive. Publicity should be directed towards the professional, trade, business, and mass media; towards relevant trade and professional associations and their members; and towards downstream users of your products or services.
As SBIR awards give you or your scientists and/or engineers a substantive project to talk about, encourage them to publish in professional literature. As it makes you a member of the "user community" for federal programs, seek to participate on federal agency advisory boards and peer review committees.
