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Innovative Concept Award

Notice Number: 75N91025R00005
Deadline for Receipt of White Papers: Friday, July 11, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Deadline for Receipt of Proposals: Friday, October 17, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Informational Webinar: Monday, June 30, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET [Register Here]

 

Episode 12 | NCI SBIR Innovative Concept Award

Listen to this podcast episode to hear the NCI SBIR Team Leader Monique Pond and Program Director William Bozza discuss how Innovative Concept Award supports biotech innovations focused on pediatric and rare cancers.

The NCI Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Innovative Concept Award offers $300,000 to small businesses developing highly innovative and transformative technologies that have the potential to create new scientific paradigms and establish entirely new and improved approaches to significantly improve research, prevention, detection, and care in pediatric and rare cancers.

This award is a contract funding opportunity, so applicants must submit their proposal through the Contract Proposal Submission website. Review criteria is heavily weighted for innovation. Preliminary data is not required, expected, or used as a review criteria. Projects are expected to have a high risk of failure with concomitant high reward. This award is issued relatively quickly following proposal submission.

 

Eligibility

  • Offerors are strongly encouraged to submit a two- to three-page white paper describing their technology and aims for programmatic feedback before submitting a final proposal.
  • Offerors will be expected to participate in the NIH I-Corps program to receive entrepreneurial training and assistance. Additional funds will be provided for participating companies.
  • Only proposals from eligible small businesses will be considered for the award. The business size standard for SBIR program eligibility is established by law regardless of the NAICS Code assigned. To be considered a small business, the business concern must have no more than 500 employees, including the employees of its affiliates. See 13 C.F.R. § 121.702. Other requirements apply, as well—see the U.S. Small Business Administration’s SBIR Policy Directive for further eligibility requirements: SBIR-STTR_Policy_Directive_2023.pdf.

 

Program Contact:

Tanya Renwick (ncioasbir@mail.nih.gov) 

  • Updated:

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