Explore Topics for 2021 Small Business Omnibus Grants

If you’re an entrepreneur or partner with a small business, don’t miss NIH’s reissued 2021 parent funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants at SBIR and STTR Omnibus Solicitations.

U.S. small business concerns may apply if they meet the Small Business Eligibility Criteria.

NIH hosted an informational webinar discussing the Omnibus FOAs yesterday. If you missed it, keep an eye on NIH's Engage and Connect page for video and presentation slides from the webinar.

Identify a Research Topic

Of the four Omnibus FOAs, NIAID supports only the two that do not allow clinical trials:

• PA-21-259, PHS 2021-2 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44], Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-21-262, PHS 2021-2 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR [R41/R42], Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

If you wish to propose clinical trial research or find other NIAID small business opportunities, refer to the last section of this article.

Find NIAID’s topics of interest for SBIR and STTR grant applications on pages 11 to 24 of NIH, CDC, and FDA Program Descriptions and Research Topics. Understanding the Institute’s scientific priorities is critical, even though your application is “investigator-initiated.”

Request an Appropriate Budget

For the Omnibus FOAs, your total SBIR or STTR funding support (direct costs, indirect costs, and fees) normally may not exceed $259,613 for Phase I awards and $1,730,751 for Phase II awards for the entire project period. However, NIH has a waiver from the Small Business Administration to exceed these total award amount hard caps if your application fits any NIH Topics for Budget Waivers.

Find NIAID’s budget cap waiver topics on page 4. For waiver topics, NIAID will allow:

• Phase I applications with budgets of up to $300,000 total costs each year for up to two years.
• Phase II or Phase IIB applications with budgets of up to $1 million total costs each year for up to three years.

You should propose a project budget and duration that is reasonable and appropriate for your research project. 

Phase IIB SBIR applicants, NIH strongly encourages you to secure substantial independent third-party investor funds to help validate the commercial potential of your proposed project.

Omnibus Application Due Dates

The next application deadline for the Omnibus FOAs is September 6, 2021. Subsequent deadlines follow NIH’s Standard Due Dates, which fall on January 5, 2022, and April 5, 2022. There are no separate due dates for AIDS and AIDS-related applications.

Follow the Omnibus application instructions carefully. They include updates such as the following:

• Revisions to reflect SF 424 version Forms-F
• Expanded and clarified guidance on requests for Technical and Business Assistance

You must apply electronically using NIH ASSIST (preferred), Grants.gov Workspace, or a System-to-System alternative. We encourage you to start the registration and application process promptly as described at NIH’s Electronic Submission Process for Grants.  

Find guidance on NIAID’s Small Business Grant Application Process and get application advice from the NIAID Small Business Program Team. 

Additional NIAID Small Business Opportunities

Beyond the two Omnibus FOAs we covered above, NIAID supports the following for small businesses:

• For grants, check the Small Business search results from the overall list of NIAID Funding Opportunities.
• For clinical trial research in NIAID’s scientific areas of interest, use our SBIR Phase II Clinical Trial Implementation Cooperative Agreement (U44) FOA. Follow the instructions at Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial Resources.
• For a contract, consider the HHS SBIR R&D Contract Solicitation.

As you plan your NIAID-related small business application or proposal, contact the NIAID Small Business Program Team for answers and advice.

Learn more on our NIAID Small Business Programs webpage. You can also Subscribe for NIAID Email Updates and choose the Small Business category under Research Funding Opportunities.