Autonomous Vehicle Consultant

SBIR CONSULTANT BULLETIN – Issues on Unsolicited Proposals

There may be merit in submitting an unsolicited proposal only if you have made previous contact with someone that understands your innovation, seriously wants to promote it and has available funding to do so. I suggest that you check the website of the Government agency of interest, locate an organizational chart, and find out what programs key individuals have funded. If any of these individuals have awarded contracts to develop technology that resembles yours, then give them a call with a few prepared “talking points.” Find out if they have funding. If the answer is yes, then prepare a 6-7 page White Paper that explains why your innovation is useful, what kind of R&D program you would recommend, along with a milestone chart. If the response to your White Paper is positive, then you might be asked to submit a full proposal.

As for solicited proposals, you have two options for, say, SBIR proposals. Check the latest solicitation and look for problem topics that resemble your innovation and consider writing a proposal based on that topic. The second option is to visit someone in, say, the Army, establish a relationship with this person and convince him/her to insert a problem topic in the next solicitation that closely resembles your innovation (i.e., otherwise known as ‘wiring’).