Navy SBIR DON26BZ06-DV088: Minimally Invasive Remote Blood Collection Device for Free-Ranging Cetaceans
Quick Answer
DON26BZ06-DV088 is a Department of the Navy SBIR Direct to Phase II topic under the DoW 2026 SBIR Broad Agency Announcement, Release 6, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. The Navy wants to adapt an existing capillary blood collection device originally designed for humans into a compact, waterproof, remotely deployable device that can draw blood from Fleet dolphins and free-swimming cetaceans. The award structure is a $1,000,000 base over 24 months plus a $1,000,000 option over 24 months, for a total not to exceed $2,000,000, with the option requiring dollar-for-dollar cost matching from non-SBIR funding. The topic opens September 23, 2026 and closes October 21, 2026 through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal.
The Navy process here differs fundamentally from the Air Force topics in the same release, and getting this wrong wastes the whole effort. Navy Direct to Phase II is a two-step competition. Step One is a Phase I Feasibility Proposal, submitted on a mandatory Navy template, which is what you submit now. Only if the Navy selects you does Step Two happen: the cognizant Systems Command program office contacts you directly with instructions to submit a Full Direct to Phase II Proposal. You are not writing a Phase II proposal in October. You are writing a feasibility proposal that earns you an invitation.
Topic At a Glance
Topic number: DON26BZ06-DV088
Title: DIRECT TO PHASE II: Minimally Invasive Remote Blood Collection Device for Free-Ranging Cetaceans
Solicitation: Department of the Navy, DoW 2026 SBIR Broad Agency Announcement, Release 6, Direct to Phase II Proposal Submission Instructions
Sponsoring Systems Command: Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Program Manager: Ms. Lore-Anne Ponirakis
Program type: Direct to Phase II (DP2). No Phase I awards will be issued to the designated DP2 topic
Process: two steps. Step One is a Phase I Feasibility Proposal; Step Two, only if selected, is a Full DP2 Proposal by invitation
Base award: $1,000,000 not to exceed, 24 months not to exceed
Option: $1,000,000 not to exceed, 24 months not to exceed, requiring 1:1 cost matching with non-SBIR/STTR funding
Total: $2,000,000 not to exceed
SBIR contribution caps: the SBIR Option contribution shall not exceed $500,000 and total SBIR contribution for the total award shall not exceed $1.5 million
Technical volume page limit: 30 pages total, with the Phase I Proof of Feasibility portion not to exceed 20 pages and the Snapshot of Proposed Phase II Effort portion not to exceed 10 pages
Required template: the DP2 Phase I Feasibility proposal template, mandatory, from navysbir.com/links_forms.htm
OUSD (R&E) Critical Technology Area: Biomanufacturing (BIO)
Component Technology Priority Area: Biotechnology
Projected CMMC level requirement: Level 2 (Self)
Minimum work performed by the small business: 50 percent, in the Base costs and in the Option costs
Technical and Business Assistance: up to $25,000 per award, not to exceed $50,000 per Phase II project, included in the Phase II award amount rather than added to it
Cost as an evaluation factor: no. Cost is not an evaluation criterion and Volume 3 receives only a compliance review
Contract types the Navy may use: Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction
Animal use: DoW veterinary review can take 2 to 3 months and proposals cannot be funded until all animal use documentation, permits, and protocols are approved
Topic open date: September 23, 2026
Proposal deadline: October 21, 2026, at the time stated in the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA
Submission portal: DSIP at dodsbirsttr.mil
Keywords: blood sampling, blood collection, minimally invasive, health assessments, marine species health, rapid health assessment
Note on the deadline time. The Navy instructions direct proposing small businesses to the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA for the proposal submission deadline date and time. DoW deadlines are ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern on the close date. Confirm the exact time on the live DSIP topic posting rather than assuming end of day.
How the Navy Direct to Phase II Process Works, Which Is Not Like the Air Force
Two steps, and you are only doing the first one
The DON SBIR Direct to Phase II is a two-step process.
Step One: prepare and submit a Phase I Feasibility Proposal. The purpose of the Phase I Feasibility Proposal is for the proposing small business to provide documentation to substantiate that both Phase I feasibility and the scientific and technical merit described in the topic have been met. The Phase I Feasibility Proposal must demonstrate that the proposing small business performed Phase I type research and development, and provide a concise summary of Phase II objectives, work plan, related research, key personnel, transition and commercialization plan, and estimated costs. Feasibility documentation must not be solely based on work performed under prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR or STTR work. The government will evaluate Phase I Feasibility Proposals and select small businesses to submit a Full DP2 Proposal.
The Navy states the gate plainly: demonstrating proof of feasibility is a requirement for a DP2 award, and the small business must submit a Phase I Feasibility Proposal to be considered for selection to submit a Full DP2 Proposal.
Step Two: if selected, the cognizant Systems Command Program Office will contact the small business directly to provide instructions on how to submit a Full DP2 Proposal.
The practical consequence is that your October submission is a compact, template-bound feasibility document with a 10 page forward-looking snapshot attached. It is not a full technical and cost proposal. Companies that treat a Navy DP2 like an Air Force D2P2 tend to over-invest in the wrong document and then fail the compliance review on template and page structure.
The Navy also notes it reserves the right to make no awards under this DP2 BAA, that all awards are subject to availability of funds and successful negotiations, and that the Government is not responsible for expenditures by the proposing small business prior to award of a contract.
The Navy instructions take precedence
The Navy states that the information provided in the DON Proposal Submission Instructions takes precedence over the DoW Instructions posted for this BAA. Where the two differ, follow the Navy.
This BAA is issued under other competitive procedures
This BAA is issued under regulations set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 35.016, and awards will be made under other competitive procedures. The policies and procedures of FAR Subpart 15.3 shall not apply to this BAA except as specifically referenced in it. All procedures are at the sole discretion of the Government as set forth in the BAA, and submission of a proposal constitutes the proposing small business's express acknowledgement to that effect.
That framing has a direct consequence in the evaluation section: this is not a FAR Part 15 evaluation and proposals will not be compared to one another.
The Award Structure and the Cost Matching Requirement
This is the most commercially consequential part of the topic, and it is easy to misread.
The Base is not to exceed $1,000,000 over not to exceed 24 months. The Option is not to exceed $1,000,000 over not to exceed 24 months. The Total is not to exceed $2,000,000.
Then the footnote that changes the arithmetic. Small businesses should propose an Option not to exceed $1,000,000, with cost matching at a one-to-one ratio using non-SBIR/STTR funding for the Option, to be identified by ONR prior to the end of the Base period. The SBIR Option contribution shall not exceed $500,000, and the total SBIR contribution for the total award shall not exceed $1.5 million.
Read together, that means the Option is a matched option: roughly $500,000 of SBIR money paired with roughly $500,000 of non-SBIR funding, adding to a $1,000,000 Option value. Across the whole award, SBIR dollars are capped at $1.5 million against a $2,000,000 total. So $500,000 of the total has to come from somewhere else.
Three implications for how you plan. First, the matching funding is identified by ONR prior to the end of the Base period, so the source is not something you must have secured at proposal time, but it is something you should be thinking about from the start. Second, a matched option is a strong transition signal, so building your Phase III and commercialization narrative around who would plausibly provide that match is directly useful. Third, the Base and Option costs must be separated and clearly identified on the Proposal Cover Sheet and in the Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate Table in your Technical Volume.
Where the cost estimate goes
The text fields related to costs for the proposed effort must be answered in the Cost Volume of the DoW submission system. However, proposing small businesses do not need to download and complete the separate cost volume template when submitting the Navy SBIR Phase I Feasibility Proposal.
Instead, include a cost estimate in the Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate Table within the Snapshot of Proposed Phase II Effort portion of the Technical Volume. The table has line items for Direct Labor fully burdened for the prime, Subcontractors and Consultants, Material, Travel and other direct costs, General and Administrative, Facilities Capital Cost of Money, Fee or Profit, TABA not to exceed $25,000 included in the total amount, and Total Estimated Costs, each broken into Estimated Base Amount, Estimated Option Amount, and Total Estimated Base plus Option.
Note that TABA appears inside the total amount in that table, not on top of it. This differs from the Air Force treatment, where TABA is additive to the topic ceiling.
The 50 percent work requirement, with the Navy's own calculation
For Phase II a minimum of 50 percent of the work must be performed by the proposing small business. The percentage of work requirement must be met in the Base costs as well as in the Option costs, which is a stricter formulation than a single blended figure across the award.
The Navy gives the calculation explicitly, which is unusually helpful. The percentage of work is measured by both direct and indirect costs. To calculate the minimum percentage of work for the proposing small business, the sum of all direct and indirect costs attributable to the small business represents the numerator, and the total cost of the proposal, meaning total cost before the profit rate is applied, is the denominator. The subcontractor percentage is calculated by taking the sum of all costs attributable to the subcontractor as the numerator and the total cost of the proposal before profit as the denominator. General and administrative expenses, if proposed, will only be attributed to the proposing small business.
That last sentence is worth noting because it helps you: G&A counts on your side of the ratio.
Provide sufficient detail for subcontractor, material, and travel costs. Subcontractor costs must be detailed to the same level as the prime contractor. Material costs must include a listing of items and cost per item. Travel costs must include the purpose of the trip, number of trips, location, length of trip, and number of personnel. Inclusion of cost estimates for travel to the sponsoring Systems Command's facility for one day of meetings is recommended for all proposals.
The Additional Cost Information section of Supporting Documents in Volume 5 may be used to provide supporting cost details for Volume 3.
What the Navy Is Actually Looking For
Why the Navy needs this
Navy bottlenose dolphins are valuable Fleet assets whose health and well-being are essential to sustaining mine countermeasures, port security, and object recovery missions. Medical issues compromise performance and have direct implications for Navy mission readiness, longevity, and reliability.
Additionally, for the U.S. Navy to meet environmental compliance requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act, it is essential to understand the effects of sound and military activity on marine mammals, including physiological, behavioral, ecological, and population-level effects.
While technologies and techniques for assessing marine mammal health are growing rapidly, many barriers remain for these Fleet assets as well as other free-swimming large cetacean species that can be used as biological sensors of the undersea environment. A transformative diagnostic tool will provide unparalleled access to physiological data and biomarkers of health, stress, and disease from free-swimming cetaceans with applications in clinical care, operational biosurveillance, and conservation.
Note the framing of cetaceans as biological sensors of the undersea environment. Blood sampling in free-ranging animals enables their use as sensors for persistent surveillance of the undersea environment, providing early warning of pathogens and other ecosystem stressors in operational waters. That is a distinctly naval framing of what might otherwise look like a veterinary problem, and it is worth adopting in your proposal.
The gap in current methods
Blood sampling of captive trained dolphins and stranded marine mammals enables researchers to evaluate individual and population health, age, genetics, exposure to pathogens and toxicants, and physiological responses to anthropogenic and natural stressors.
However, current blood collection methods in marine mammals are designed for use on stranded or captured individuals and are therefore limited in their capability of rapidly assessing health for larger free-swimming species. The lack of such a tool for health assessments is particularly urgent for Fleet animals and free-ranging animals in the region of deployment, where timely and accurate health assessments are essential for informing recovery efforts and mitigating population decline.
So the unmet need is remote application to an unrestrained, free-swimming animal.
The device requirements, stated precisely
These are the numbers your proposal will be measured against. State your position on each.
Approach: further develop an existing capillary blood collection device initially designed for humans. This is an adaptation topic, not a clean-sheet design.
Remote deployment: the prototype must be remotely deployable using current techniques used for the deployment of suction-cup electronic tags on free-ranging marine mammals, specifically pole-based or drone dropped.
Prototype scope: the prototype will include a blood collection device, a waterproof housing, a delivery device using a suction cup tag carrier, and suction cup-based tag attachment.
Size: target size of the blood collection device, not including the suction cup housing, approximately 3.40 by 2.25 by 1.30 inches.
Weight: between 0.85 and 0.95 ounces.
Fit: the device should sit flush and seal against the skin.
Sample volume: use suction to draw 200 to 800 microliters of capillary blood.
Clotting and orientation: with minimal clotting into an internal reservoir, independent of orientation, and mix the sample with anticoagulants or other stabilization chemicals.
Epidermal thickness: at minimum the Phase II prototype should collect blood samples from species with epidermis less than 2.5 mm thickness, with a plan to successfully collect blood samples from species with epidermal thickness greater than 10 mm.
Incision geometry: during collection the device needs to make a narrow incision, less than or equal to 0.15 mm in width and less than 5 mm in length, such that rapid wound healing is possible.
Detachment: the device needs to account for pressure variations underwater such that it detaches from the animal after a set time, less than 3 minute duration, or when it reaches a critical depth. At a minimum, it must be able to identify samples that may have ex vivo red cell hemolysis.
Seawater intrusion: the device will need to protect the blood sample from seawater intrusion.
Validation standard: blood samples collected via this prototype device need to have comparable blood test values to those collected via standard venipuncture methods through the Peri-Arterial Venous Rete, or PAVR.
The topic then names the three technical challenges directly: to optimize reliable blood collection from the prototype device, development must address challenges including clotting, lancing depth, and anticoagulant use.
That is your risk section, handed to you. A proposal that does not address clotting, lancing depth, and anticoagulant use as named risks with mitigation approaches has ignored the topic's own statement of what is hard.
The value the Navy expects
This minimally invasive blood collection prototype device will result in reliable remote deployment on free swimming cetaceans and significantly improve the capability to assess physiological responses and health measures in cetacean populations across spatial and temporal ranges.
For the Navy Fleet bottlenose dolphins in particular, this prototype device will enhance the ability to detect health changes, reduce unplanned medical stand-downs, and provide more continuous health oversight by providing a minimally invasive diagnostic tool to detect infection and inflammatory markers, as well as subclinical infections.
Reducing unplanned medical stand-downs is the readiness argument. It is the most direct link between this device and Fleet capability, and it belongs in your proposal.
It will offer a novel tool to enhance systemic and organ-specific health monitoring, providing individualized biomarker data that can be applied to preventive medicine, geriatric care, and environmental health. Consistent with the Navy's Clinical Research Pipeline, if this diagnostic tool proves successful, it will be integrated into the Navy's Marine Mammal Program health program to directly improve the health and readiness of Navy dolphins, with potential translational benefits to conservation and human health.
Overall, this device and its resulting data will directly support the warfighter, improve the reliability of Navy biological assets, support environmental compliance needs, and contribute to broader undersea warfare biosurveillance objectives.
Phase I feasibility, which is what you are documenting
Develop concepts and determine feasibility of an existing blood collection device adapted to be suitable for marine species, in a compact, waterproof, remotely deployable, and cost-effective design, capable of collecting capillary blood samples from species with at minimum less than 2.5 mm epidermal thickness. Develop key component technology milestones and conceptual designs for hardware. Develop a plan for a validation study comparing blood collected from this prototype device against blood collected from standard methods.
Note the three deliverable categories: concepts and feasibility determination, key component technology milestones with conceptual designs, and a validation study plan. All three are documentation, which fits a feasibility proposal.
The topic's feasibility documentation paragraph reinforces the standard. Offerors interested in participating in Direct to Phase II must include in their response to this topic Phase I feasibility documentation that substantiates the scientific and technical merit and Phase I feasibility described in Phase I has been met, meaning the small business must have performed Phase I type research and development related to the topic not solely based on work performed under prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR or STTR work, and describe the potential commercialization applications. The documentation provided must validate that the proposer has completed development of technology as stated in Phase I above.
Phase II
Develop prototype payloads and technology hardware based on adapting an existing capillary blood collection device, initially designed for humans, for use in a waterproof, remotely deployable device capable of collecting capillary blood samples from species with at minimum less than 2.5 mm epidermal thickness in a compact, efficient, cost-effective design.
Refine the prototype or plan to re-engineer the prototype device to iteratively test and successfully collect blood samples from across a diversity of species with epidermal thickness greater than 10 mm.
Deliver a prototype device for species with epidermal thickness less than 2.5 mm, and at minimum a plan for species with epidermal thickness greater than 10 mm, at the end of Phase II, ready for integration and testing by the Government.
Prepare and submit a Phase III commercialization and transition plan.
Note the two-tier deliverable. Hardware for thin-epidermis species, and at minimum a plan for thick-epidermis species. That is a realistic scoping decision by the Navy and you should mirror it rather than promising hardware for both.
Phase III and the dual use market
Support transition of the device to the Government and into the wider scientific community.
Businesses that provide marine mammal monitoring capabilities to a wide range of government agencies having equities in marine life issues could leverage the device. The topic names NOAA National Marine Fisheries, the National Ocean Service, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among others, as beneficiaries. A key goal of this phase will be making the technology available to the broader research and Navy communities.
Six named federal agencies plus the research community is an unusually concrete non-Navy market list. Use all of it. Note also the topic's earlier mention of translational benefits to human health, which connects back to the device's human-medical origin.
The references
Four are cited. Balmer, Brian B., et al., "Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in blood and blubber of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at three northern Gulf of Mexico sites following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," Science of the Total Environment 621 (2018), pp. 130-137. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017), "Consensus Study: Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals." Schwacke, L.H. et al. 2024, "An expert-based system to predict population survival rate from health data," Conservation Biology 38(1), p.e14073. And Office of Naval Research, "Marine Mammal Animal Use Protocol."
The fourth reference is not background reading, it is a compliance document. Read it.
Animal Use Requirements, Which Will Drive Your Schedule
This is the requirement most likely to surprise a device company new to marine mammal work, and the Navy flags it directly.
DoW Animal Use Requirements should be taken into consideration when submitting proposals. The DoW Vet review process can take 2 to 3 months. Proposals cannot be funded until all animal use documentation, permits, and protocols are received by the SBIR Program Office and approved by the DoW veterinarian. Some of this documentation can take months to acquire, so investigators need to plan to submit paperwork to the SBIR program office once the proposal has been selected for funding.
DoW Animal Use approval is not required at the time of proposal submission to this SBIR topic. However, the proposer must be prepared to provide all required animal use documentation at the time of proposal selection to ensure that this approval is received before the contract is awarded.
Separately, the Navy instructions state that if the use of human, animal, and recombinant DNA is included under a DP2 proposal, review the requirements at the Naval Research Enterprise webpage on compliance and protections for research protections, which provides guidance and lists approvals that may be required before contract work can begin.
Three practical points. Approval is not needed to submit, but it gates award, so a selected proposal can stall for months. Some documentation takes months to acquire, which means starting the process at selection rather than at award is the difference between a timely start and a long delay. And the ONR Marine Mammal Animal Use Protocol is listed in the topic references, so read it during proposal preparation and describe your compliance approach, including how you would use existing protocols or facilities.
A proposal that shows awareness of the animal use pathway, and ideally an existing relationship with an institution that already holds relevant protocols, is materially more credible on schedule than one that treats this as a post-award administrative step.
Eligibility and Registrations
Each proposing small business must have demonstrated feasibility of Phase I type research and development work, have submitted a Phase I Feasibility Proposal for evaluation, meet the Offeror Eligibility and Performance Requirements as defined in the Proposal Fundamentals section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA, comply with primary employment requirements of the principal investigator during the Phase II award including employment with the small business at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed project where primary employment means more than one-half of the PI's time is spent in the employ of the small business, and be registered in the System for Award Management as defined in the Certifications and Registrations section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA.
System for Award Management
It is strongly encouraged that proposing small businesses register in SAM by the Close date of this BAA, or verify that their registrations are still active and will not expire within 60 days of BAA Close. Additionally, proposing small businesses should confirm that they are registered to receive contracts, not just grants, and that the address in SAM matches the address on the proposal. A small business selected for an award must have an active SAM registration at the time of award or they will be considered ineligible.
Two details there that catch companies out: registered for contracts rather than grants, and an expiration date more than 60 days past BAA close.
Venture capital, hedge fund, and private equity ownership
Proposing small businesses that are more than 50 percent owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, or any combination of these as set forth in 13 CFR 121.702 are eligible to submit proposals in response to DON topics advertised within this BAA.
This is a meaningful contrast with the Air Force BAA Direct to Phase II documents in the same Release 6 cycle, which state that such firms are not eligible. The Navy permits them, subject to certification requirements.
For proposing small businesses that are a member of this ownership class, three things must be satisfied for proposals to be accepted and evaluated. Prior to submitting a proposal, the small business must register with the SBA Company Registry Database. The small business within its submission must submit the Majority-Owned VCOC, HF, and PEF Certification, and a copy of the SBIR VC Certification is available at navysbir.com/links_forms.htm, to be included in Supporting Documents, Volume 5. And should a proposing small business become a member of this ownership class after submitting its proposal and prior to any receipt of a funding agreement, it must immediately notify the Contracting Officer, register in the appropriate SBA database, and submit the required certification.
That third condition matters for any company with a financing round in progress during the evaluation period.
CMMC and NIST SP 800-171
DoW has established the CMMC Program to verify that awardees have implemented required security measures necessary to safeguard Federal Contract Information and Controlled Unclassified Information. CMMC Level requirements are identified within each topic and must be met prior to award. Proposing small businesses should carefully review and consider the CMMC requirements as compliance may impact proposed costs and technical approach. For this topic, the projected requirement is Level 2 with self-assessment.
Separately, and this is a Navy-specific requirement with real teeth, as prescribed by DFARS 252.240-7997, in order to be considered for award a small business is required to implement NIST SP 800-171 and shall have a current assessment uploaded to the Supplier Performance Risk System, which provides storage and retrieval capabilities for that assessment. The platform Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment will be used for secure login and verification to access SPRS.
If you do not have a current NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment score in SPRS, start that now. It is a prerequisite to being considered for award, not a post-award item.
The Proposal: Seven Volumes, Navy Style
Volume 1, Proposal Cover Sheet
As specified in the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA. The Proposal Cover Sheet will undergo a compliance review to verify the proposing small business has met eligibility requirements and followed the instructions for Proposal Cover Sheet as specified in the DoW BAA. Costs for the Base and Option are to be separate and identified on the Proposal Cover Sheet.
Volume 2, Technical Volume, and the mandatory template
The Technical Volume must meet the following requirements or the proposal will be REJECTED.
A submitting small business MUST use the DP2 Phase I Feasibility proposal template for Volume 2. The template is specific to DON DP2 topics and meets DP2 submission requirements, and can be found at navysbir.com/links_forms.htm.
The template requirements are specific. Not to exceed 30 pages, regardless of page content. The Phase I Proof of Feasibility portion is not to exceed 20 pages. The Snapshot of Proposed Phase II Effort portion is not to exceed 10 pages. Single column format, single-spaced typed lines. Standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper. Page margins one inch on all sides, and a header and footer may be included in the one-inch margin. No font size smaller than 10-point.
Additional information: a font size smaller than 10-point is allowable for headers, footers, imbedded tables, figures, images, or graphics that include text. However, proposing small businesses are cautioned that if the text is too small to be legible it will not be evaluated.
Note the phrase "regardless of page content" attached to the 30 page limit. There is no relief for graphics-heavy content. And the internal 20 and 10 page split is a structural requirement, not a suggestion.
The Technical Volume is the only volume that matters for selection. The Navy will evaluate and select Phase I Feasibility proposals using the evaluation criteria specified in the Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA, and the information considered for this decision will come from Volume 2.
Volume 3, Cost Volume
The text fields related to costs for the proposed effort must be answered in the Cost Volume of the DoW submission system. However, proposing small businesses do not need to download and complete the separate cost volume template when submitting the DON SBIR Phase I Feasibility Proposal. Instead include a cost estimate in the Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate Table within the Snapshot of Proposed Phase II Effort portion of the Technical Volume.
The Cost Volume will not be considered in the selection process and will undergo a compliance review to verify that the proposing small business has met the following requirements, or the proposal will be REJECTED. It must not exceed values for the Base and Option. And it must meet the minimum percentage of work, a minimum of 50 percent performed by the proposing small business, with the requirement met in the Base costs as well as in the Option costs.
So Volume 3 cannot win you anything, but it can disqualify you on two grounds: exceeding the Base or Option values, or failing the 50 percent work split in either the Base or the Option.
Volume 4, Company Commercialization Report
DoW collects and uses Volume 4 and DSIP requires Volume 4 for proposal submission. Refer to the Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA to ensure compliance with DSIP Volume 4 requirements. The CCR will not be evaluated by the DON nor will it be considered in the award decision.
Volume 5, Supporting Documents
Volume 5 is for the submission of administrative material that DON may or will require to process a proposal, if selected, for contract award. Supporting Documents will not be considered in the selection process and will only undergo a compliance review to ensure the proposing small business has included items in accordance with the DP2 submission instructions.
All proposing small businesses must review and submit the following items, as applicable: Majority Ownership in Part, meaning the certification described above for VCOC, hedge fund, or private equity majority-owned firms.
Proposing small businesses may include the following administrative materials in Supporting Documents, and a template is available at navysbir.com/links_forms.htm to provide guidance on optional material: Additional Cost Information to support the Cost Volume; SBIR/STTR Funding Agreement Certification; Data Rights Assertion; Disclosure of Information under DFARS 252.204-7000; Prior, Current, or Pending Support of Similar Proposals or Awards; and Foreign Citizens.
Details of a request for Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance, if proposed, are to be included under the Additional Cost Information section if using the DON Supporting Documents template.
Two prohibitions worth heeding. Do not include documents or information to substantiate the Technical Volume, such as resumes, test data, technical reports, or publications. Such documents or information will not be considered. That is the opposite of the Air Force approach, where feasibility documentation and supporting technical material belong in Volume 5 and do not count against page limits. On a Navy DP2, your evidence has to fit inside the 30 page Technical Volume.
A font size smaller than 10-point is allowable for documents in Volume 5, however proposing small businesses are cautioned that the text may be unreadable.
Volume 6, Fraud, Waste and Abuse Training Certification
DoW requires Volume 6 for submission. Refer to the Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA for details. The Navy states plainly that Volume 6 is not evaluated.
Volume 7, Disclosures of Foreign Affiliations or Relationships to Foreign Countries
In accordance with Section 4 of the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 and the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the DoW will review all proposals submitted in response to this BAA to assess security risks presented by small businesses seeking a federally funded award. Small businesses must complete the Disclosures of Foreign Affiliations or Relationships to Foreign Countries webform in Volume 7 of the DSIP proposal submission.
Volume 7 will be assessed as part of the Foreign Risk Evaluation Program to Assess Security Risks. 15 U.S.C. 638(vv) requires the Department of War, in coordination with the Small Business Administration, to establish and implement a due diligence program known as the Foreign Risk Evaluation Program to assess and, when possible, mitigate security risks presented by small businesses seeking a federally funded award. Review the Certifications and Registrations section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA for details on how DoW will assess security risks. The FRE Program to Assess Security Risks will be implemented for all Phases.
How Your Proposal Will Be Evaluated
The process and the criteria
Proposals meeting DSIP submission requirements will be forwarded to the DON SBIR/STTR Programs. Prior to evaluation, all proposals will undergo a compliance review to verify compliance with DoW and DON SBIR/STTR proposal eligibility requirements. Proposals not meeting submission requirements will be REJECTED and not evaluated.
The DON will evaluate and select Phase I Feasibility proposals using the evaluation criteria specified in the Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA, with technical merit being most important, followed by qualifications of key personnel and commercialization potential of equal importance. The information considered for this decision will come from Volume 2.
That is a three-factor structure: technical merit first, then qualifications of key personnel and commercialization potential tied for second. Note that it is a different shape from the Air Force CSO criteria, where commercialization sits third alone.
This is not a FAR Part 15 evaluation and proposals will not be compared to one another. Cost is not an evaluation criterion and will not be considered during the evaluation process; the DON will only do a compliance review of Volume 3.
Due to limited funding, the DON reserves the right to limit the number of awards under any topic.
The practical reading: every point you can earn sits in the 30 page Technical Volume, and cost cannot help or hurt you except through the compliance gates. Spend your effort accordingly.
Notifications, awards, and debriefs
Email notifications for proposal receipt, approximately one week after the Phase I BAA Close, and for selection are sent based on the information received on the proposal Cover Sheet, Volume 1. Consequently, the email address on the proposal Cover Sheet must be correct.
Due to limited funding, the DON reserves the right to limit the number of awards under any topic. Any notification received from the DON that indicates the proposal has been selected does not ultimately guarantee an award will be made. Such notification indicates that the proposal has been selected in accordance with the evaluation criteria and has been sent to the Contracting Officer to conduct cost analysis, confirm eligibility of the proposing small business, and take other relevant steps necessary prior to making an award.
Debriefs. Requests for a debrief must be made within 15 calendar days of select or non-select notification via email as specified in the notification. Debriefs are typically provided in writing via email to the Corporate Official identified in the proposal within 60 days of receipt of the request. Requests for oral debriefs may not be accommodated. If contact information for the Corporate Official has changed since proposal submission, a notice of the change on company letterhead signed by the Corporate Official must accompany the debrief request.
That 15 day window is short and it is a real opportunity. Unlike the Air Force, which provides automated feedback at its discretion, the Navy provides a written debrief on request. Calendar the deadline the day you receive notification.
Protests
Interested parties have the right to protest in accordance with the procedures in FAR Subpart 33.1.
Pre-award agency protests related to the terms of the BAA must be served to osd.ncr.ousd-r-e.mbx.SBIR-STTR-Protest@mail.mil. A copy of a pre-award Government Accountability Office protest must also be filed with that email address within one day of filing with the GAO.
Protests related to a selection or award decision should be filed with the appropriate Contracting Officer for an Agency Level Protest or with the GAO. Contracting Officer contact information for specific DON topics may be obtained from the DON Systems Command Program Managers listed in the topic instructions. For protests filed with the GAO, a copy of the protest must be submitted to the appropriate DON Systems Command Program Manager and the appropriate Contracting Officer within one day of filing with the GAO.
Contracting, deliverables, and program participation
Contract Types. The DON will consider the following for award: Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction. That is a wider range than the Air Force, which primarily uses firm-fixed-price, and a cost-type award has accounting system implications worth thinking about early.
Contract Deliverables. Contract deliverables are typically progress reports and final reports. Required contract deliverables must be uploaded to navysbirprogram.com/navydeliverables/.
Transfer Between SBIR and STTR Programs. Section 4(b)(1)(i) of the SBIR and STTR Policy Directive provides that, at the agency's discretion, projects awarded a Phase I under a BAA for SBIR may transition in Phase II to STTR and vice versa.
Navy SBIR Transition Program. Phase II awardees have the opportunity to participate in the virtual Navy STP Kickoff during the first or second year of the Phase II contract. While there are no travel costs associated with this virtual event, Phase II awardees should budget time of up to a full day to participate. Phase II awardees will be contacted separately regarding this program.
Phase III guidelines and data rights
A Phase III SBIR or STTR award is any work that derives from, extends, or completes efforts performed under prior SBIR/STTR funding agreements, but is funded by sources other than the SBIR/STTR programs. This covers any contract, grant, or agreement issued as a follow-on Phase III award, or any contract, grant, or agreement award issued as a result of a competitive process where the awardee was an SBIR/STTR firm that developed the technology as a result of a Phase I or Phase II award.
The DON will give Phase III status to any award that falls within that description. Consequently, DON will assign SBIR/STTR Data Rights to any noncommercial technical data and noncommercial computer software delivered in Phase III that were developed under SBIR/STTR Phase I or II efforts. Government prime contractors and their subcontractors must follow the same guidelines and ensure that companies operating on behalf of the DON protect the rights of the SBIR/STTR firm.
That is a favorable data rights posture and worth understanding, since it means Phase III work carries SBIR data rights protection rather than losing it.
Technical and Business Assistance
The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act Section 7 mandates agencies offer TABA. The purpose of TABA is to assist awardees in making better technical decisions on SBIR/STTR projects; solving technical problems that arise during SBIR/STTR projects; minimizing technical risks associated with SBIR/STTR projects; commercializing the SBIR/STTR product or process, including intellectual property protections and cybersecurity assistance; and screening for potential foreign involvement in technology development or commercialization activities.
TABA services can be provided through vendors selected by the small business, or the small business may propose use of TABA funding to hire new staff, augment staff, or direct staff to conduct or participate in training activities consistent with the purpose of TABA.
The Phase II TABA amount, if proposed, cannot include any profit or fee by the proposing small business and must be inclusive of all applicable indirect costs. TABA cannot be used in the calculation of general and administrative expenses for the SBIR proposing small business. A small business receiving TABA will be required to submit a report detailing the results and benefits of the service received, due at the time of submission of the final report.
Requests for TABA funding will be reviewed by the DON SBIR/STTR Program Management Office.
If proposing a TABA provider, the following must be included in the request or be subject to denial: the providers; the providers' point of contact, email address, and phone number; an explanation of the provider's unique qualifications to provide the TABA service; the tasks that will be performed by the provider including the purpose and objective of the assistance; and total provider cost, number of hours, and labor rates, with an average or blended rate acceptable.
If proposing TABA funding to hire new staff, augment staff, or direct staff to conduct or participate in training activities consistent with the purpose of TABA, the following must be included or be subject to denial: names and positions, business need to be filled or training to be provided; number of employees to be hired, augmented, or directed to participate in training activities; qualifications of employees hired or augmented, or detailed need for training; tasks that will be performed including the purpose and objective of the assistance; and total staff or training cost, number of hours, and labor rates, with an average or blended rate acceptable.
TABA requests must be included in the proposal as follows. For Phase II, in the DON Phase II Cost Volume provided by the DON Systems Command, the value of the TABA request. And in Supporting Documents, Volume 5, a detailed request for TABA specifically identified as "TABA" in the section titled Additional Cost Information when using the DON Supporting Documents template.
Proposed values for TABA must not exceed a total of $25,000 per award, not to exceed $50,000 per Phase II project, included in the Phase II award amount.
Note again that Navy TABA is included in the award amount rather than added to it, which is the reverse of the Air Force treatment. On this topic, intellectual property protections and cybersecurity assistance are both plausible uses, and regulatory support around animal use documentation is worth exploring against the eligible purposes.
Disclosure of Information and Fundamental Research
In order to eliminate the requirements for prior approval of public disclosure of information in accordance with DFARS 252.204-7000 under this award, the proposing small business shall identify and describe all fundamental research to be performed under its proposal, including subcontracted work, with sufficient specificity to demonstrate that the work qualifies as fundamental research.
Fundamental research means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons, as defined by National Security Decision Directive 189.
A small business whose proposed work will include fundamental research and requests to eliminate the requirement for prior approval of public disclosure of information must complete the DON Fundamental Research Disclosure and upload it as a separate PDF file to the Supporting Documents, Volume 5, in DSIP as part of their proposal submission. The DON Fundamental Research Disclosure is available at navysbir.com/links_forms.htm and includes instructions on how to complete and upload the completed Disclosure.
Simply identifying fundamental research in the Disclosure does NOT constitute acceptance of the exclusion. All exclusions will be reviewed and, if approved by the Government Contracting Officer, noted in the contract.
This is worth attention on a topic with likely academic collaborators and publishable biological results. If publication matters to your team or your partners, complete the Disclosure.
Export Control Considerations
The Navy instructions include an ITAR note. For topics indicating ITAR restrictions or the potential for classified work, limitations are generally placed on disclosure of information involving topics of a classified nature or those involving export control restrictions, which may curtail or preclude the involvement of universities and certain non-profit institutions beyond the basic research level.
Small businesses must structure their proposals to clearly identify the work that will be performed that is of a basic research nature and how it can be segregated from work that falls under the classification and export control restrictions. As a result, information must also be provided on how efforts can be performed in later phases if the university or research institution is the source of critical knowledge, effort, or infrastructure, meaning facilities and equipment.
This topic does not carry a topic-level ITAR restriction paragraph, and the technology area, Biomanufacturing and Biotechnology, is less likely to be export controlled than the Air Force space and seeker topics in the same release. But if your team includes a marine mammal research institution whose facilities or animal access is critical, the segregation guidance above is directly relevant to how you structure the work.
Timeline and What to Do When
The dates
Topic opens: September 23, 2026
Proposal deadline: October 21, 2026, at the time specified in the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA, ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern. Confirm on DSIP.
Proposal receipt notification: approximately one week after the Phase I BAA Close
Debrief request window: within 15 calendar days of select or non-select notification
Debrief delivery: typically in writing within 60 days of receipt of the request
Base period of performance, if awarded: not to exceed 24 months
Option period of performance, if exercised: not to exceed 24 months, with matching funding identified by ONR prior to the end of the Base period
A working backward plan
Before September 23. Download the DP2 Phase I Feasibility proposal template from navysbir.com/links_forms.htm, and the Supporting Documents template while you are there. Read the ONR Marine Mammal Animal Use Protocol, which is cited in the topic references. Confirm your SAM registration is active, will not expire within 60 days of close, and shows you as registered for contracts rather than grants, with an address matching your proposal. Get a current NIST SP 800-171 assessment uploaded to SPRS, since it is a prerequisite for award consideration. Assemble your feasibility evidence for the existing human capillary blood collection device, including any test data, and confirm it has a basis independent of prior SBIR or STTR work. Identify a marine mammal research partner or facility if you do not have one, since animal access and protocol experience are the hardest things to acquire late. If you are VCOC, hedge fund, or private equity majority-owned, register with the SBA Company Registry Database and obtain the SBIR VC Certification. Begin thinking about the non-SBIR match source for the Option.
September 23 through October 5. Draft inside the template. Allocate the 20 page Proof of Feasibility portion to your existing device, its performance data, and why it adapts to the marine application. Allocate the 10 page Snapshot to Phase II objectives, work plan, related research, key personnel, transition and commercialization plan, and the Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate Table. Remember that resumes, test data, technical reports, and publications cannot be pushed into Volume 5, so everything you want evaluated must fit in 30 pages.
October 6 through October 14. Build the Base and Option cost estimate with the 50 percent work requirement satisfied in both, using the Navy's stated calculation. Separate Base and Option on the Cover Sheet and in the table. Answer the Cost Volume text fields in DSIP. Assemble Volume 5: Majority Ownership certification if applicable, Fundamental Research Disclosure if you want the publication exclusion, Data Rights Assertion, Foreign Citizens, and the TABA detail under Additional Cost Information if requesting TABA. Complete the Volume 7 webform and the Volume 4 CCR.
October 15 through October 17. Compliance pass against the template: 30 pages total regardless of content, 20 page feasibility portion, 10 page snapshot portion, single column, single spaced, 8.5 by 11, one-inch margins with header and footer permitted inside them, no font smaller than 10-point except in headers, footers, imbedded tables, figures, images, and graphics, and legible throughout. Confirm no encryption or password protection anywhere in the submission, since the Navy states such proposals will be rejected.
October 18 through October 19. Submit and certify in DSIP. Note that proposals not successfully certified electronically in DSIP by the Corporate Official prior to BAA Close will not be considered submitted and will not be evaluated.
October 20 through October 21. Buffer only.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Navy SBIR topic DON26BZ06-DV088?
DON26BZ06-DV088 is a Department of the Navy SBIR Direct to Phase II topic titled "Minimally Invasive Remote Blood Collection Device for Free-Ranging Cetaceans," sponsored by the Office of Naval Research under the DoW 2026 SBIR Broad Agency Announcement, Release 6. It seeks to adapt an existing capillary blood collection device designed for humans into prototype hardware for use on Fleet dolphins and free-ranging cetaceans of varying epidermal thickness.
How much funding is available?
A Base not to exceed $1,000,000 over not to exceed 24 months, plus an Option not to exceed $1,000,000 over not to exceed 24 months, for a total not to exceed $2,000,000. The Option requires cost matching at a one-to-one ratio using non-SBIR/STTR funding, identified by ONR prior to the end of the Base period. The SBIR Option contribution shall not exceed $500,000 and total SBIR contribution for the total award shall not exceed $1.5 million.
So how much of the $2 million is actually SBIR money?
Up to $1.5 million. The remaining $500,000 comes from the non-SBIR match on the Option. Practically, the Option is roughly $500,000 of SBIR funding paired with roughly $500,000 of matched non-SBIR funding.
Do I need the matching funds identified now?
No. The topic states the matching funding for the Option will be identified by ONR prior to the end of the Base period. But because a matched option is a strong transition signal, building your commercialization and transition narrative around plausible match sources strengthens the proposal.
When is the proposal deadline?
The topic closes October 21, 2026. The Navy instructions direct proposers to the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA for the exact submission time, ordinarily 12:00 p.m. Eastern on the close date. Confirm on the live DSIP posting.
What am I actually submitting in October?
A Phase I Feasibility Proposal, not a full Phase II proposal. Navy Direct to Phase II is a two-step process. Step One is the Phase I Feasibility Proposal on the mandatory Navy template. The government evaluates those and selects small businesses to submit a Full DP2 Proposal. Step Two happens only if you are selected, when the cognizant Systems Command Program Office contacts you directly with instructions.
Do I have to use a specific template?
Yes, and this is a rejection criterion. A submitting small business MUST use the DP2 Phase I Feasibility proposal template for Volume 2, available at navysbir.com/links_forms.htm. The template is specific to DON DP2 topics and meets DP2 submission requirements.
What are the page limits?
Not to exceed 30 pages regardless of page content. Within that, the Phase I Proof of Feasibility portion is not to exceed 20 pages and the Snapshot of Proposed Phase II Effort portion is not to exceed 10 pages. Single column, single-spaced, standard 8.5 by 11 paper, one-inch margins with a header and footer permitted inside the margin, and no font smaller than 10-point except in headers, footers, imbedded tables, figures, images, or graphics that include text.
Can I put supporting technical material in Volume 5?
No. The Navy states plainly not to include documents or information to substantiate the Technical Volume, such as resumes, test data, technical reports, or publications, and that such documents will not be considered. This is the reverse of the Air Force approach. Everything you want evaluated must fit inside the 30 page Technical Volume.
Is cost evaluated?
No. Cost is not an evaluation criterion and will not be considered during the evaluation process. The DON will only do a compliance review of Volume 3. That review can still reject you on two grounds: exceeding the Base or Option values, or failing the 50 percent minimum percentage of work in either the Base or the Option costs.
How is the proposal evaluated?
Using the evaluation criteria in the Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria section of the DoW SBIR/STTR Program BAA, with technical merit being most important, followed by qualifications of key personnel and commercialization potential of equal importance. The information considered comes from Volume 2 only. This is not a FAR Part 15 evaluation and proposals will not be compared to one another.
How much of the work must my company perform?
A minimum of 50 percent for Phase II, and the requirement must be met in the Base costs as well as in the Option costs. The Navy gives the calculation: the sum of all direct and indirect costs attributable to the small business is the numerator, and the total cost of the proposal before the profit rate is applied is the denominator. General and administrative expenses, if proposed, will only be attributed to the proposing small business.
What are the device requirements?
Target size approximately 3.40 by 2.25 by 1.30 inches for the collection device excluding the suction cup housing, weight between 0.85 and 0.95 ounces, sitting flush and sealing against the skin, drawing 200 to 800 microliters of capillary blood by suction with minimal clotting into an internal reservoir independent of orientation, mixing with anticoagulants or stabilization chemicals, making an incision no more than 0.15 mm wide and less than 5 mm long for rapid wound healing, detaching after less than 3 minutes or at a critical depth, protecting the sample from seawater intrusion, and producing values comparable to standard venipuncture through the Peri-Arterial Venous Rete.
What epidermal thickness must the device handle?
At minimum the Phase II prototype should collect from species with epidermis less than 2.5 mm thickness, with a plan to successfully collect from species with epidermal thickness greater than 10 mm. The Phase II deliverable is a prototype device for the thinner case and at minimum a plan for the thicker case.
How is the device deployed?
Remotely, using current techniques for deploying suction-cup electronic tags on free-ranging marine mammals, specifically pole-based or drone dropped. The prototype includes the blood collection device, a waterproof housing, a delivery device using a suction cup tag carrier, and suction cup-based tag attachment.
What are the named technical challenges?
The topic states that to optimize reliable blood collection, development must address clotting, lancing depth, and anticoagulant use. Treat those three as your named risks with mitigation approaches.
Do I need animal use approval to submit?
No. DoW Animal Use approval is not required at the time of proposal submission. However, the proposer must be prepared to provide all required animal use documentation at the time of proposal selection to ensure approval is received before the contract is awarded. The DoW Vet review process can take 2 to 3 months, proposals cannot be funded until all documentation, permits, and protocols are received and approved by the DoW veterinarian, and some documentation can take months to acquire.
What is the practical effect of the animal use requirement?
It gates award, not submission, which means a selected proposal can stall for months. Plan to submit paperwork to the SBIR program office as soon as the proposal is selected for funding. A team with an existing relationship to an institution holding relevant marine mammal protocols is materially more credible on schedule.
Are venture capital backed companies eligible?
Yes. Proposing small businesses more than 50 percent owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, or any combination, as set forth in 13 CFR 121.702, are eligible for DON topics under this BAA. Three conditions apply: register with the SBA Company Registry Database before submitting, submit the Majority-Owned VCOC, HF, and PEF Certification in Volume 5, and immediately notify the Contracting Officer and file the certification if you enter this ownership class after submitting but before receiving a funding agreement. Note this differs from the Air Force BAA Direct to Phase II documents in the same Release 6 cycle, which exclude such firms.
What registrations do I need?
An active SAM registration, strongly encouraged by the BAA Close date, that will not expire within 60 days of close, shows you registered to receive contracts rather than just grants, and has an address matching your proposal. A small business selected for award must have an active SAM registration at time of award or will be considered ineligible. Separately, as prescribed by DFARS 252.240-7997, to be considered for award you must implement NIST SP 800-171 and have a current assessment uploaded to the Supplier Performance Risk System, accessed through the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment.
What contract types might I receive?
The DON will consider Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Firm Fixed Price, Basic Ordering Agreement, or Prototype Other Transaction. That is a wider range than the Air Force, which primarily uses firm-fixed-price, and a cost-type award has accounting system implications worth considering early.
Can I get a debrief if not selected?
Yes, on request. Requests for a debrief must be made within 15 calendar days of select or non-select notification via email as specified in the notification. Debriefs are typically provided in writing via email to the Corporate Official identified in the proposal within 60 days of receipt of the request, and requests for oral debriefs may not be accommodated. If the Corporate Official's contact information has changed, a notice on company letterhead signed by that official must accompany the request.
How does Navy TABA work?
Up to $25,000 per award, not to exceed $50,000 per Phase II project, and included in the Phase II award amount rather than added on top of it. This is the reverse of the Air Force treatment. TABA cannot include profit or fee, must be inclusive of all applicable indirect costs, and cannot be used in the calculation of general and administrative expenses. Requests are reviewed by the DON SBIR/STTR Program Management Office, and an awardee receiving TABA must submit a report on results and benefits at the time of final report submission. The detailed request goes in Volume 5 under Additional Cost Information, identified as "TABA."
What is the Fundamental Research Disclosure?
A mechanism to eliminate the requirement for prior approval of public disclosure of information under DFARS 252.204-7000. If your proposed work includes fundamental research and you want that exclusion, complete the DON Fundamental Research Disclosure and upload it as a separate PDF to Volume 5. Simply identifying fundamental research does not constitute acceptance of the exclusion; all exclusions are reviewed and, if approved by the Contracting Officer, noted in the contract. This matters if publication is important to you or your academic collaborators.
Who are the non-Navy customers?
The topic names NOAA National Marine Fisheries, the National Ocean Service, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among others, as agencies with equities in marine life issues that could leverage the device. A key Phase III goal is making the technology available to the broader research and Navy communities, and the topic also notes potential translational benefits to human health.
What happens to my data rights in Phase III?
The DON will give Phase III status to any award deriving from, extending, or completing prior SBIR/STTR work but funded from other sources, and will assign SBIR/STTR Data Rights to any noncommercial technical data and noncommercial computer software delivered in Phase III that were developed under Phase I or II efforts. Government prime contractors and their subcontractors must follow the same guidelines and protect the rights of the SBIR/STTR firm.
Who do I contact with questions?
For program and administrative questions, the DON SBIR/STTR Program Management Office at usn.pentagon.cnr-arlington-va.mbx.navy-sbir-sttr@us.navy.mil, or the Program Manager for this topic, Ms. Lore-Anne Ponirakis at the Office of Naval Research, reachable at usn.pentagon.cnr-arlington-va.mbx.onr-sbir-sttr@us.navy.mil. For topic-specific technical questions during BAA pre-release, the Technical Point of Contact listed on the topic in DSIP; during BAA open, the DoW SBIR/STTR Topic Q&A platform. For electronic submission issues, DSIP Support at dodsbirsupport@reisystems.com. For Navy-specific BAA instructions and forms, the DON SBIR/STTR Program Management Office.
Positioning Advice for Companies Considering This Topic
Understand you are writing a feasibility proposal, not a Phase II proposal. This is the single most common way companies waste effort on a Navy DP2. Thirty pages on the mandatory template, split 20 and 10, evaluated on technical merit, key personnel, and commercialization potential, with cost excluded from evaluation. Get the template first and write inside it.
You must already have the device. This is an adaptation topic. The Phase I feasibility standard is that you performed Phase I type research and development on an existing capillary blood collection device, and the documentation must validate that you completed the development stated in the Phase I description. A company without a working human capillary collection device to adapt does not meet the bar.
Everything evaluable must fit in 30 pages. Because Volume 5 explicitly cannot carry resumes, test data, technical reports, or publications, you cannot use the page-limit escape hatches available on Air Force topics. Budget your pages ruthlessly and lead with data.
Get marine mammal access sorted before you write. Animal use documentation gates award, veterinary review takes 2 to 3 months, and some documentation takes months to acquire. A partner institution with existing protocols and access to Fleet or free-ranging animals is the difference between a schedule the Navy believes and one it does not.
Address clotting, lancing depth, and anticoagulant use head on. The topic names those three as the challenges development must address. They are also where a human capillary device most plausibly fails on cetacean skin. A candid risk section with real mitigation approaches beats optimism.
Take the incision geometry seriously. Less than or equal to 0.15 mm wide and less than 5 mm long, such that rapid wound healing is possible, on a wild animal you will not see again. That constraint interacts with epidermal thickness, lancing depth, and suction, and it is where the engineering is genuinely hard.
Solve the underwater detachment problem explicitly. Detaching after less than 3 minutes or at a critical depth, while protecting the sample from seawater intrusion, is a mechanism design problem distinct from the collection problem. The fallback the Navy offers, identifying samples that may have ex vivo red cell hemolysis, is a hint that they expect this to be difficult.
Frame the value in Navy terms. Reduced unplanned medical stand-downs for Fleet dolphins is the readiness argument. Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act compliance is the regulatory argument. Cetaceans as biological sensors for undersea biosurveillance is the operational argument. All three are in the topic. Use them rather than writing a veterinary diagnostics pitch.
Build the commercialization case on the six named agencies. NOAA National Marine Fisheries, National Ocean Service, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, BOEM, USGS, and USFWS are handed to you, along with the broader research community and potential human health translation. That is a real market list, not a stretch.
Do the NIST SP 800-171 and SPRS work now. It is a prerequisite to award consideration under DFARS 252.240-7997, and it is not something you can complete in the week after selection.
Calendar the debrief window. Fifteen calendar days from notification, written response within 60 days of the request. Whether selected or not, that debrief is genuinely useful intelligence for the next cycle, and the Navy is more forthcoming here than most components.
