Proposed STTR Policy Directive 2003
Draft
Appendix I (Draft) - Instructions - Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria
4. Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria
(a) Standard Statement. Essentially the following statement must
be included in all STTR Program solicitations:
``All Phase I and II proposals will be evaluated and judged on a
competitive basis. Proposals will be initially screened to determine
responsiveness. Proposals passing this initial screening will be
technically evaluated by engineers or scientists to determine the
most promising technical and scientific approaches. Each proposal
will be judged on its own merit. The Agency is under no obligation
to fund any proposal or any specific number of proposals in a given
topic. It also may elect to fund several or none of the proposed
approaches to the same topic or subtopic.''
(b) Evaluation Criteria.
(1) The STTR agency must develop a standardized method in its
evaluation process that will consider, at a minimum, the following
factors:
| (i) | The technical approach and the anticipated agency and
commercial benefits that may be derived from the research. |
| (ii) | The adequacy of the proposed effort and its relationship to
the fulfillment of requirements of the research topic or subtopics. |
| (iii) | The soundness and technical merit of the proposed approach
and its incremental progress toward topic or subtopic solution. |
| (iv) | Qualifications of the proposed principal/key investigators,
supporting staff, and consultants. |
| (v) | Evaluations of proposals require, among other things,
consideration of a proposal's commercial potential as evidenced by:
| (A) | The SBC's record of commercializing STTR or other research, |
| (B) | The existence of second phase funding commitments from
private sector or non-STTR funding sources, |
| (C) | The existence of third phase follow-on commitments for the
subject of the research, and, |
| (D) | The presence of other indicators of the commercial potential
of the idea. |
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(2) The factors in (b)(1) above and other appropriate evaluation
criteria, if any, must be specified in the ``Method of Selection''
section of STTR Program solicitations.
(c) Peer Review. The program solicitation must indicate if the
STTR agency contemplates that as a part of the STTR proposal
evaluation, it will use external peer review.
(d) Release of Proposal Review Information. After final award
decisions have been announced, the technical evaluations of the
applicant's proposal may be provided to the applicant. The identity
of the reviewer must not be disclosed.
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