Prizes

Tibbetts Award (24)

All Tibbetts Award winners will be selected by the SBA based on the recommendations of a panel of judges. A maximum of 60 awards may be given to eligible Tibbetts Awards nominees. There is no monetary value to the Tibbetts Award. All awardees are invited to Washington DC at their own expense to attend the Tibbetts Awards ceremony.

About the Challenge

Winners announced (view all dates)

The Tibbetts Awards are presented to those small businesses and individuals judged to exemplify the best in the SBIR program. The award is named for Roland Tibbetts, acknowledged as the father of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and is presented to companies and individuals that promote the mission and goals of the SBIR program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR):

  • to stimulate technological innovation;
  • to use small business to meet federal research and development needs;
  • to encourage diverse participation in technological innovation; and 
  • to increase commercialization of Federal research.

Judges

Leisa Moniz

Leisa Moniz

DoT SBIR Program Manager

Matthew Portnoy

Matthew Portnoy

HHS/NIH SBIR Program Manager

Mary Clague

Mary Clague

NIST SBIR Program Manager

Rick Shindell

Rick Shindell

President at ZYN Systems

April Richards

April Richards

EPA SBIR Program Manager

Ed Metz

Ed Metz

DoED SBIR Program Manager

Joseph Grant

Joseph Grant

NASA SBIR Program Staff

Lisa Younger

Lisa Younger

Program Analyst at Office of Technology, SBA

Shawn Patterson

Shawn Patterson

DoD SOCOM SBIR Program Manager

Richard Leshner

Richard Leshner

NASA SBIR Program Manager

Judging Criteria

Technical Innovation

Technical innovation – e.g., how the technical innovation has advanced national priorities in R&D, how the technical innovation has benefited the federal government or private citizens

Business Impact

Business impact - e.g., job creation and retention, revenue growth, successful acquisition or financial exit

Broader Societal and Economic Benefit

Broader social and economic benefit – e.g., encouraging women and minority participation in R&D, supporting regional economic development, creating connections to local universities

How to Enter

Tibbetts Award Nomination Process

Nominations will be accepted starting December 15, 2011.  The nomination period will close on January 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM ET.  Anyone can nominate a business and/or individual for a Tibbetts Award – including self-nominations.  Nomination packages must be submitted through the Challenge.gov portal using the “Enter a Submission” tab.  Please note, you will need to establish a free account with Challenge.gov in order to submit any nominations.   

Nomination packages must contain all the elements listed below, be uploaded in either MS Word or PDF format  and must not exceed the page or word limits identified below.

  1. Business or individual profile, including (as applicable): (1 page)
    • Select award: SBIR Recipient or Individual
    • Business Name
    • Name of Business Owner/Operator or Individual
    • Mailing address
    • Email
    • Phone number
    • SBIR Award Year
    • SBIR Award Title
    • SBIR Award Phase
    • SBIR Awarding Agency
    • Name of Nominator (if not self)
    • Nominator’s Affiliation
    • Nominator’s email 
    • Nominator’s phone number
  2. 500 word (or less) description of the business or profile of individual who supports the SBIR program for public release – in case you win
  3. Five (5) page (or less) narrative answering the question with specific references to the evaluation criteria identified above: “Why does this business/individual deserve to win the Tibbetts Award?”
  4. Photograph of nominee(s) for public release
  5. OPTIONAL - Letters of support (no more than 3 letters may be submitted)