Dear SBIR Insider,

We'll keep this special edition short and sweet. The DoD's SBIR/STTR web site www.dodsbir.net aka the "DoD SBIR Resource Center" is back on line! This is the DoD's site that accepts the SBIR/STTR proposals, runs the SITIS Topic system, the SBIR/STTR topic search engine and other important support functions.

Below is a portion of the statement the DoD's Office of Small Business Programs posted on their web site. Please notice that there is a new phone number and email address for the DoD SBIR Help Desk:

The dodsbir.net web site is now back online.

• Revised Closing date for Questions in SITIS is February 11, 2015, 6AM EST.
• Revised Closing date for Receipt of Proposals is February 25, 2015, 6AM EST.
• SBIR/STTR Help Desk M-F 8am - 5pm [1-800-348-0787] or Help Desk email: [[email protected]]

Thank you for your patience while we resolved the outage issue.

Now you may ask what all the fuss was about because we got back up within a week's time. The fact is that it was a critical time in the solicitation cycle and it was brought about due to either human error, miscalculation, obliviousness, or some other judgement call (like lack of a transition plan). This could happen to any of us, but in this instance important people (both in and out of DoD and government) were asking questions and not getting answers, and the situation was not getting resolved.

When you and I ask questions (and we did) they (the bureaucrats) can ignore us or tell us to go away. If SBA asks the questions (and SBA did) they (the bureaucrats) become a little more serious. But If congress asks the questions (and they did) it becomes serious and things get done. Thanks to many of you who involved your congressionals (both House and Senate), because once that kicked in, things got done, the web site was turned back on, and you can now submit your proposals and I can get some sleep.

Sincerely,

Rick

Rick Shindell
SBIR Gateway
Zyn Systems
40 Alderwood Dr.
Sequim, WA 98382
360-681-4123
[email protected]
www.zyn.com/sbir

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