Is One SBIR Grant Enough?

If you use the right strategy, your life sciences organization doesn’t have to go through funding one grant application at a time.

Writing a grant application takes time, but it’s worth it to get the funding you need and the valuation and impact that comes along with successfully using a grant to gain results. Writing several grant applications over time yields a synergistic effect on fundability (‘win-rates’) and greater level of actual funding amounts.

The Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program funds applied research for innovative products for a business. They are ideal for companies in the earliest of stages or those working on a new product. SBIR recipients have to show both the potential to improve the standard of care and a potential benefit to society at large. Because the result should be something tangible in terms of a product, these are different funding models than academic grants for publication.

This means that if you’re working on different projects, you could potentially take advantage of several SBIR grants at the same time, or an SBIR grant alongside something from another funding program.

Of course, there are few things to consider when applying for multiple grants:

Distinctiveness
You can’t just send the same grant application over and over. Each grant wants to be for a distinct program, although multiple submissions can be warranted for a given product.

Strength of the Project & Application
Grant writing takes time. If your project is not strong enough to win, you might want to wait until additional prelim data is available or collaborators are aligned with your company and product.  Applying for a Phase 1 SBIR grant gives you more leeway as you will be starting from an earlier point in the project, but it still has to show enough promise for a funder to give you the money.  For a FastTrack, the bar is even higher. 

The Best Use of Your Resources
We’ll say it again: grant writing takes time! With Grant Engine, however, you are not mired in every detail of an application. We do much of the work to create a strong contender.  Our process is intensive and very rigorous. We are very detailed in our work and this thorough research, expert writing & grantsmanship delivers winning applications.  We have written hundreds of these grants over many years.  Our longitudinal experience provides you with an understanding what works, what does not, and what is needed to secure funding.  To date, this experience is greater than what any given client has accomplished in their own business.

If you are considering just one application, it may be worth to see how a multi-faceted program can help fund your multi-generation roadmap.  On your own, too many applications at once will spread your business thin.  If you decide to go it alone, focus on one strong application instead. However you choose to apply, we’re here to help.

Please visit funding programs for further information.