This is urgent news for anyone planning to submit a summer 2018 NSF SBIR Phase I Proposal.
NSF has pushed back the summer 2018 SBIR Phase I deadline from June 14th to July 10th to allow sufficient time for a new requirement of a notarized letter in order to register with SAM.gov.
NSF cautions,
“If your company hasn’t worked with the government before, you’ll need to register with these systems. You MUST have completed your SAM registration BEFORE you can begin entering your proposal in FastLane. Start as soon as possible!
The problem, as I explain in more detail a previous post, is that Sam.gov has experienced alleged fraudulent activity. SAM.gov is how government contractors, including SBIR awardees, get paid. Each SBIR proposing team is required to register, or have a valid, current registration with SAM before applying.
However, due to the alleged fraud, SAM.gov now requires a notarized letter authorizing the person with the SAM account to act on behalf of the company. This is required of both NEW registrants and RENEWALS. Apparently it is taking up to 1 month to process the letters on SAM’s end.
So, if you don’t have a current SAM.gov registration, visit the NSF checklist or go right to SAM.gov and get started! Remember, you can’t begin to enter your proposal in Fastlane until you have your registration completed.