Description

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Applicant Assistance Program (AAP) is designed to assist small businesses with an interest in preparing and submitting a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) application to any of the following Institutes and Centers:

• The National Cancer Institute (NCI SBIR)
• The National Institute on Aging (NIA SBIR)
• The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI SBIR)
• The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS SBIR)
• The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR SBIR)
• The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH SBIR)
• The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS SBIR)
• The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS SBIR)
• New this cycle! The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD SBIR)
• New this cycle! The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA SBIR)

The application portal will open on August 30th, 2021 and close on September 22nd, 2021 5 PM ET. 

The goal of this program is to increase the number of applications submitted by underrepresented small businesses and to increase the number of these applications that are free of errors or omissions and are deemed complete, compliant, and responsive to the review criteria.

Please note that a for-profit company must be established prior to applying for AAP.   The AAP is NOT available to companies who have a current SBIR/STTR application under review with the same scope of work or to support preparation of a Fast Track or Phase II application. You may be removed from the program if deemed ineligible.

Requirements

You must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The company has not received an NIH SBIR/STTR award.*
• The company does not have a current NIH SBIR/STTR application under review with the same scope of work.
• The company intends to submit a Phase I NIH SBIR/STTR application for January 5, 2022.
• The research area of interest aligns with the mission of the participating Institutes and Centers (see list above).
• The company is seeking support for the preparation of a Phase I SBIR or STTR application only. Fast Track and Direct-to-Phase II applicants are not eligible.
• The company must be established in the US prior to applying for AAP.
• Each company may submit only one application to the AAP.

* Companies who received their most recent SBIR/STTR award prior to 2011 may be considered for the AAP.