“Red Team Review” is an innovative program that provides professional guidance and a final review of a company’s SBIR/STTR proposal prior to submitting it to the participating federal agency.

The “red team” of SBDC specialists, led by Stephanie Amend, managing partner of Arrowhead Solutions, a govIRG company, first provides guidance on proposal preparation, offers tools and templates, and finally, takes the perspective of the agency and apply evaluation criteria that is articulated in the agency’s Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) through a red team review. This allows the proposal to be seen with fresh eyes—from a new perspective. After reviewing the team’s comments, the applicant has one last chance to edit his or her proposal prior to the agency’s final deadline.

In 2023, the Red Team Review program will  focus on three separate agency solicitations—National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE).

2023 Agency Focuses:

Round 1: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Round 2: Department of Defense (DoD)

  • April 24: RTR applications open
  • May 4, 1 pm: Proposal prep webinar (open to everyone, required for RTR participants)
  • May 4, midnight: RTR applications close
  • May 8: Selected RTR applicants notified 
  • June 8: DoD proposal drafts due to the red team
  • June 14: DoD final proposals due to agency

Round 3: Department of Energy (DoE)

Proposal Preparation Workshop
This one-hour webinar will cover agency-specific information including registration, FOA content, a checklist of what to prepare, strategies on budgeting and more. This webinar is required for all program participants (but it open to small businesses across the country).

Tools & Templates
After the webinar, participants will receive agency-specific tools, templates and guides in order to prepare their proposal.

Red Team Review
Participants will submit their proposal draft and will receive a thorough “Red Team Review” by SBDC specialists. The specialists will review the team’s comments with the participant during a one-hour virtual meeting.*

*SBDC specialists will not provide further assistance through this program after the Red Team Review meeting. However, participants are welcome to contract directly with the specialist for additional assistance, should his or her schedule allow. Program participants are under no obligation to contract with any SBDC specialists, and SBDC specialists are under no obligation to take on program participants as private clients.

In order to apply for this program, your company must:

  • Be headquartered in the State of Colorado
  • Be in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State
  • Have less than 500 employees
  • Meet the SBA’s SBIR/STTR Program Eligibility Requirements
  • Not be a previous participant of the TechSource Red Team Review program
  • Not hire an outside company to write its SBIR/STTR proposal
  • Disclose if it has a current client relationship with Arrowhead Solutions, Pantheon Solutions or govIRG (If it has a past client relationship, contact us to confirm eligibility.)
"I was initially uncertain about the benefit of having someone review the wording of my grant, because, hey, I'm technical, I know how to write proposals. Well, that's not really the point. What Stephanie and the program provided was a thought process from the perspective of the reviewers. She pointed out important aspects that the reviewer would care about and how they would judge your proposal in relation to other teams and to the agency's current goals. Her ability to hone in on the important aspects in your technical work and its value to the agency was spot on! Also having someone hold you accountable to writing a full draft before the due date is always a plus for procrastinators like me."
Christine Fanchiang
CEO, The Space Research Company

Application

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