March 21, 2024
This guidance applies to the Notices of Funding Opportunities below and all of their subsequent released equivalents:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
The information in this Notice supersedes information contained in NOT-HL-22-036 and NOT-HL-22-065.
The purpose of this notice is to inform potential applicants of the new National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) SBIR/STTR programs policies regarding total funding support (i.e., the sum of direct costs, indirect costs, and fee) for grant applications that exceed the NIH-wide budget guidelines set by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The current NIH-wide budget guidelines for the SBIR and STTR programs may be found at https://seed.nih.gov/small-business-funding/small-business-program-basics/understanding-sbir-sttr#Budget-and-timelines-for-funding.
NIH has received a waiver from the SBA to exceed the above NIH-wide budget guidance for specific topics. The NHLBI will consider funding applications beyond the above-mentioned guidance if they address the SBA-approved waiver topics. The current list of NHLBI SBA-approved topics may be found at:
https://seed.nih.gov/sites/default/files/HHS_Topics_for_Budget_Waivers.pdf. It is strongly recommended for applicants who have a project that falls under one of the SBA-Approved Waiver Topics to reference the corresponding topic in their Budget Justification document.
For most projects falling under one of the SBA-approved waiver topics, the NHLBI does not generally fund applications with budgets that exceed the current SBA-mandated NIH budget guidelines. However, the NHLBI may occasionally consider funding projects above these guidelines for proposals with strong justifications and falling under one of the approved waiver topics. In addition, the proposals should fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
Applicants with budget requests exceeding the SBA caps should be prepared to negotiate their budget down if their proposal does not fall into one of the above categories. Furthermore, all applicants with budget questions or considering requesting a budget greater than the current NIH-wide budget guidelines are strongly encouraged to contact the NHLBI SBIR office at nhlbi_sbir@mail.nih.gov at least one month prior to applying.
Please direct all inquiries to:
Stephanie Davis, Ph.D.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-496-8412
Email: NHLBI_SBIR@mail.nih.gov