Prizes
- SBIR Hall of Fame (2)
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All SBIR Hall of Fame Award winners will be selected by the SBA based on the recommendations of a panel of judges. A maximum of 5 awards may be given to eligible SBIR Hall of Fame nominees. There is no monetary value to the award. All awardees are invited to Washington DC at their own expense to attend the Tibbetts Awards/SBIR Hall of Fame ceremony.
About the Challenge
SBIR Hall of Fame
The SBIR Hall of Fame, started in 2011, recognizes previous SBIR awardees with a long period of extraordinary success in research, innovation, and commercialization within the SBIR program.
Hall of Fame Eligibility
For the SBIR Hall of Fame, nominees must be previous SBIR awardees that have contributed significantly to the program’s goals over a period of time through their work.
Any individual who owns and operates or who bears principal responsibility for operating a business that received an SBIR Phase I and II award may be nominated. Partners who jointly own and operate a business may be nominated as a “team,” so long as the number of individuals in the team nomination does not exceed four. Nominees must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its territories at least 18 years of age and will be subject to background checks. Businesses owned and operated by nominees must comply with federal civil rights laws. Nominees may have previously received a Tibbetts Award, although receipt of a Tibbetts Award is not required.
Judges
Senior Advisor at Office of Investment and Innovation, SBA
Program Manager for Navy Small Business Technology Transfer at Office of Naval Research
Acting Director of Industrial Innovation Programs at NSF
Past Director of Office of Technology, SBA
Director of Office of Technology, SBA
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 social 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
- Degree of impact
Degree of impact – e.g., a large IPO event, creation of a significant number of new jobs, acquisition by larger firm
- Longevity
Longevity – e.g., the company should be well established and have exited from the SBIR program several years ago
How to Enter
Hall of Fame Nomination Process
Nominations will be accepted starting December 15, 2011. The nomination period will close on January 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM ET.
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.
- Business profile, including (1 page):
- Identification of Award
- SBIR Hall of Fame
- Business Name
- Name of Business Owner/Operator
- Mailing address
- Phone number
- SBIR Award Year
- SBIR Award Title
- SBIR Award Phase
- SBIR Awarding Agency
- Name of Nominator
- Nominator’s email
- Nominator’s phone number
- 500 word (or less) description of the business for public release, if you win
- Five (5) page (or less) narrative answering the question with specific references to the evaluation criteria identified above: “Why does this business deserve to be in the SBIR Hall of Fame Award?”
- Photograph of nomines for public release, if you win
- OPTIONAL - Letters of support (no more than 3 letters may be submitted)
