"According to an informal SBA study, the single most significant correlator in winning Phase I SBIR awards has been the participation of a university scientist on the proposal team."
 - David P. Metzger, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP

Mr. Metzger assisted in drafting the original SBIR Policy Directive for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and participated in the (unpublished) SBA study of SBIR success factors.

  This is a powerful statement from one of the top SBIR advocates and legal experts in the nation.   But what does it mean to you, in your specific circumstances?  From before you even start a proposal, to long after the award and project completion, collaborating with a university can have tremendous benefit and advantages for you and your company.  Take a quick look at the topics below, and see if any of these might be applicable in your situation:

 
"You can't win if you don't submit!"

• Writing a proposal can be a very difficult, and very intimidating task, especially if you haven't had much practice in doing so.  It's so easy to let the urgent requirements of day-to-day business take precedence, with the thought that perhaps under the pressure of approaching deadlines, "the Muse will come" and allow you to create a decent effort.  Unfortunately, the Muse, or the opportunity to devote the time to write, seldom come through, and even a "decent effort" is far from sufficient in today's highly competitive environment.  University scientists have plenty of practice in writing competitive technical proposals,as they have to do so to survive in academia.  By collaborating with a university scientist, you can tap into that practiced expertise in proposal writing, something you may not be able to do on your own.  (Be sure that you write the Commercialization Strategy, and give the scientist the key business business perspective, before he/she works on the technical proposal, in order to focus them on the central tenet for winning in SBIR: Commercialization. ) 
  
• You've found an SBIR topic, you understand the problem, and you recognize the business/market opportunity, but you aren't sure about a viable and innovative technical approach.  Much of the brainpower behind technology innovation resides in U.S. universities - it just hasn't been focused often enough on real world problems and opportunities.  You may be surprised at the enthusiasm you can help to generate when a university scientist focuses on a real, solvable issue close to their interests.    
  
   

 
"I've got a great idea, and know the technology, but..."

• "...how do I convince the agency reviewers I can do this?"  Having a published scientist at a known research institution greatly enhances your overall credibility with reviewers - and most federal agencies use the "peer review" process, where scientists, usually at various universities, will review the proposals.  What better way to convince them than to have "one of their own" on your team? 
  
• "...can I be certain I'm not missing something on the science part of this?"  You obviously can't be an expert at everything, especially if you've been focused on building a business in recent years.  Adding a university scientist with the right area of expertise to your team will add the insight and perspective you need to ensure you cover your bases technically, and that reviewers recognize this as well.

 
 "It looks like a good opportunity, but I just don't have time for it ..."

• It's certainly regrettable having to miss a future business opportunity, because you don't have the time to devote to a proposal when it's required.  But by working with a university, you can leverage the time and skill of a university researcher to generate most of the proposal.  It's an opportunity you can scarcely afford to pass up.

• Perhaps you don't even have the time to do the work if you did win.  Under SBIR, you can subcontract up to 1/3 of the Phase I, and up to 1/2 of the Phase II, to a university (or anyone else), as long as a company employee is the Pricipal Investigator (PI).  Under the STTR program, you can subcontract up to 60% of the Phase I, and for certain agencies (e.g. DoD, NIH, DHS/HSARPA), the PI can even be the university researcher, if you wish.

 "But I'm concerned about Intellectual Property when working with a university..."

• In general, collaborative research agreements with universities should boil down to: "What you invent remains yours, what the university invents belongs to the university, but may be licensed to you, and what is invented together can be negotiated."  It's true that some universities can be more difficult to deal with in negotiations than others, and some are great to work with.  You should contact the university's Technology Transfer office to discuss, or visit the Association of University Technology Managers website to find different university contacts, and review some of their surveys.  Universities that have good success in technology licensing often are more experienced and easy to work with.     

• What about future products and IP?  Once you've established a working relationship with a university, you may find that there are additional opportunities for future collaborations and product development.  Smart companies nurture their university relationships, as a great resource for future company growth and success through new ideas and products, as well as employees.