Nicole from VentureWrench here. Before I was a reviewer for SBIR and STTR panels (both Phase I and II), I thought that every proposal had an "even shot" at being funded. Boy was I wrong. Now I don't mean there's any funny business - every proposal is given an equal chance to prove itself. But in that process, proposals certainly do not have the same odds of being funded.

I always thought that reviewers were wrestling with a big chunk of the proposals, maybe half or more, and then had to argue about which were the "highest quality" and "most deserving" of funding. I imagined a complex prioritization system!

More commonly, on a panel of 10 proposals, a common review structure, each proposal receives the specified number of individual reviews by reviewers. Then each proposal is discussed by the panel. After the discussion and identification of pros and cons, each proposal is either literally or figuratively assessed as to its fundability (different Program Directors do this phase differently).

In my experience, on a panel reviewing 10 proposals, there are usually 1 or 2 that are “fundable”. VERY rarely are there 3. All of the rest of the proposals, written by capable innovators just like you, are in the category of "Do Not Consider". These proposals are not even in the running, and the reasons they are out of the running are almost always unnecessary.

If you think you could use some helping staying out of "Do Not Consider", I would like to help. In my online course Help Improve your SBIR Proposal , I walk you through the review process, help you understand how reviewers work through your proposal, what they read, and what they might NOT read, and how to write to help them be able to support your proposal.

And remember, we've dramatically dropped the price to make sure everyone can access this helpful content! 

I've you've any questions, just reply to this email and I and my team will get you answers ASAP.

Happy proposing