Q. I was wondering what your policy is on self nominations. I could not
find information regarding whether companies can self nominate or not on
the web site.
A. Yes, self nominations are accepted. We look forward to receiving yours.
Q. I noticed that an individual can win only once in their lifetime but it didn't say anything about companies winning more than once - I just wanted to confirm that a company can win more than once -we won in 1997 - are we ok to submit again?
A. Yes a company can win more than once. In the instructions, it says that it has to be on new activities. The ones used to win the prior award don't count. Make sure you mention that the activities in the current nomination are different that those in the prior award.
Q. In reference to Supporting Documentation, can you clarify what kinds of sources you are looking for? Would you prefer general commercial, government, media, and so forth for sources of support? Or are you looking for a specific kind of letter of support for our products or business?
A. Support should be for the nominee (business/individual/organization etc.) and its accomplishments using the SBIR technology. Sometimes its local officials that talk about job creation, sometimes its Congressmen, and sometimes its academics talking about how the SBIR technology helped improve or advance science.
Letters should address the contribution the nominee has made to science and the community-jobs created or retained, benefits of the technology, etc.
Newsletters are appropriate but other support is more common. Anything you think the judges might be impressed by.
Q. How many Support Letters do you need or recommend?
A. Several
Q. Several of our senators and congressmen are sending letters of support on our behalf. Where should they send these letters, and who should they address them to? The Selection Committee for the Tibbetts Award, perhaps?
A. The letters of support should be scanned in and included in your PDF submission. If this is not possible, send via email to help@tibbettsawards.org
Q. Under General Information, what goes in the Contact block. Are you looking for the nominator's contact information or something else? And does the phone and email information requested pertain to the person listed in the Contact block?
A. Under General Information, all data is relevant to the company or person nominated. In our early nomination form we inadvertently left the "Nominated By:" field out. That form was replaced and there is now a separate line for the name and phone of the nominator ("Nominated By:").
Q. In the Award Type on the Cover page, what is the difference between Organization and Business as an award?
A. Organization means non-profit/state organizations that support SBIR. Business awards are for the SBIR winners.
Q. I am developing my companies nomination statement and I was wondering if there were any layout guidelines to follow. (Font type, size, spacing) Any information would be appreciated.
A. It is best to keep things simple so that all the reviewers will be able to easily read the submissions. We recommend common fonts such as Arial/Helvetica, Time New Roman, etc that are displayable on most computers. The font size is somewhat dependant on the font face, so the bottom line is keep it large enough for the reviewers to read. Keep in mind that reviewers often suffer from eye strain because of all the reading they have to do in the evaluation process.
We also highly recommend that you embed the fonts you use in the PDF file. A reviewer who can't display the submission is likely to give it the pitch. In this case the marketing is in the substance of the success story and not in the glitz or panache of how it is displayed in the submission.
Q. I don't know what to put under Advocacy Activities and Organizations; please advise or give some examples.
A. If you have done anything to advocate the SBIR, list it. If not, leave it blank.
Q. Do you have a sample application for the awards that can guide us re: the Nomination Statement? Or can we write use an earlier application from a few years ago as our guideline? We won an award earlier.
A.See previous Tibbetts awards for sample [Awardee Profiles - 2002]. You may also use your previous winning application as a guide.
Q. When photos are requested, are you looking for pictures of the
technology or of our engineers/scientists?
A. Technology is better. Engineers and scientist all look pretty much the
same especially in a 2X3 inch space.
Q. For what purpose do we need to provide Media and professional contacts?
A. The Tibbetts Award program is of multi-dimensional benefit to the entire SBIR community. Award winners help to raise the profile and awareness of the overall SBIR program thereby strengthening it so as to increase participation as well as local, state and federal support for the program.
The Tibbetts Award Program Support helps to increase the visibility of the awardees by assisting in the public relations efforts to highlight the winners of these prestigious awards.
Q. Where do I find the media contact info for local newspaper reporter, business journal reporter, and TV reporter for small business or technology?
A. See which reporters covers small business and technology in your local newspaper.
Q. Could define the category of New/Young SBIR Winner? Does it have to do with the age of the company? If so, would a five year old company be considered young?
A. New means new to the SBIR program and five years in the program would be considered young or new.
Q. I have a question that has not been answered here. How can I get my question answered?
A. Send your questions to help@tibbettsawards.org
