Mike Dempsey

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"Lessons Learned What to Avoid and What
Defines a Successful Application

• Mike Dempsey
• miked_at_CaduceusWireless.com
• [phone]

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Agenda

• Highlights of the Review Process
• Preparing to Apply
• The Application Itself
• Questions

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About Me

• Founder and CTO of Radianse
• Active RFID system for healthcare
• Founded in 2000
• Over 2M in SBIR grants
• Raised 20M in VC money after SBIRs
• Scientific Reviewer for NIH in TeleHealth
• Principal at The Sims Lab at MGH a medical
  products incubator for Partners Healthcare
• Grant Reviewer for various Partners grants (IS,
  CIMIT, etc.)

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An Opening Thought.

• How much would you pay to the undisputed top 20
  experts in your field give you advice about your
  business or technology?

That is what the SBIR application process is
the monetary award is almost secondary
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Highlights of Review Process The Big Picture

• 2 leaders the geek and the administrator
• 20 30 reviewers theoretically, but 4-5
  (hopefully) read your application in depth
• Conflict of interest and confidentiality are
  taken very, very, seriously
• Primary Reviewer
• Chosen by chair based on fit with application
• Hopefully, your advocate
• 3 or 4 additional readers

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Highlights of Review Process Streamlining

• Primary Reviewer and readers review application
  before meeting and assign a score between 1 and 5
  (5 is worse)
• Other reviewers may look at application too, if
  it appeals to them
• Before the meeting, preliminary scores are sent
  in and the bottom half are streamlined not
  reviewed at meeting
• At start of meeting, any reviewer can ask for any
  application to be discussed

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Highlights of Review Process The Review Team

• Truly the top in the field - generally brilliant,
  opinionated and maybe egotistical
• Part of the system many are academics who
  make a living from grants
• Tend to be idealistic the goal of this work is
  to change the world
• Tend to be very fair and give the benefit of the
  doubt they want you to succeed
• Typical humans can fall victim to group think
  or digging in

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Highlights of Review Process Scoring Heat
Scale
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Key Point

• Your fate is in the hands of 2 or 3 people your
  Primary Reviewer and Readers - who read your
  application while riding to work on the train
  you need to connect with them!

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Highlights of Review Process Evaluation Criteria

• Significance
• Innovation
• Approach
• Investigator
• Environment

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Highlights of Review Process An Example
Evaluation Summary
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Preparing to Apply

• Spend time on www.grants.gov
• Learn the process (DUNS, ERA Commons, Tpins,
  Mpins, Edision, etc.) when you arent applying
• This doesnt happen quickly
• Give yourself 2 months if youve done it before,
  4 months if you havent
• Make sure you have other sources of money

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Preparing to ApplyGetting Help

• Decide who will help you, not if you will get
  help
• Technical collaborators in the application are
  critical line them up early (in many cases its
  free money for them)
• You probably need administrative help to be in
  compliance after the grant has been awarded

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Preparing to ApplyThe Granting Agency

• Get to know the principals at the granting agency
  (i.e. National Institute of Aging)
• They will not review or approve your application,
  but they will likely be in the room while the
  review is happening and may give you unofficial
  feedback
• Consider it a long-term collaboration the more
  you know about what they need, and the more they
  know about what you can do, the better

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The Application ItselfRule 1 Be Clear

• Biggest complaint The reviewer doesnt get
  it.
• Make your application an OUTLINE
• Clarity of your aims is critical
• Repeat yourself a lot!
• Your mother should be able to understand the aims
  that you outline
• Put in a summary table of the aims and timeline

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The Application ItselfExample
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The Application ItselfRule 2 Be Compelling

• You and your reviewers probably share a common
  goal to change the world
• You need to convince your reviewers that they are
  playing a pivotal role in helping you to change
  the world and if they stand in the way they are
  doing the world a disservice
• Emphasize making a difference, not making money
• BUT, dont over reach

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The Application ItselfExample
Note that the aims are given in the background
the first of many, many repetitions
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The Application ItselfRule 3 Collaborate

• It will be very obvious very fast what you dont
  know and you probably dont know what you dont
  know
• Therefore, add collaborators to cover any
  potential weakness (statistics, human studies,
  etc.)
• Add in money to pay collaborators
• But be careful of Key Personnel these should
  really only be the key people

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The Application ItselfRule 4 Review

• This is a resume worth 1M take the time to
  review it
• Follow the (ridiculous) type, spacing and kerning
  rules
• Review in three stages
• mentors, advisors and other experts
• investors
• spouse (if he cant understand it, neither will
  the reader)

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The Application ItselfMiscellaneous Stuff

• The perfect team clinician, technologist,
  business person
• Shorter is generally better
• Pay attention to children and minorities
  inclusion vs. exclusion 18 vs 21, etc.
• Reapply

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Key Take Aways

• You need to connect with your reviews
• Start early and prepare
• Be Clear
• Be Compelling
• Collaborate
• Review

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Questions?

• Mike Dempsey
• miked_at_CaduceusWireless.com
• [phone]