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Phase II reporting

If your Phase II proposal was submitted in the year 2020 or later, please download and follow the instructions in Phase II Interim Report PDF.

If your Phase II proposal was submitted in the year 2019 or earlier, please follow the instructions below.

If the instructions on this website conflict with instructions provided to you by NSF via email or another NSF web page, the instructions on this page supersede all other instructions!

All reporting is administered through Research.gov. Please see Research.gov reporting information for technical guidance and tips on the submission process. Contact the Research.gov help desk by email at rgov@nsf.gov or call 1-800-381-1532. The requirements expected for the SBIR/STTR program are detailed below.

Phase II awardees must submit Interim Progress Reports, and a Phase II Final Report. Interim reports must be submitted within 30 days after each six-month period. Research.gov indicates that the Interim Progress Reports are optional. However, please disregard this statement as Interim Project Reports are a requirement of all Phase II awards. The Phase II Final Report is required to be submitted 90 days following the expiration of the award. Final payments will not be made and pending future proposals will not be processed until any overdue final reports are submitted and approved.

Note: No-cost extensions do not change the requirement for six-month interim reports. For award guidance please reference the appropriate link: Phase I or Phase II.

Note: The Interim Report (IPR) reporting period is autopopulated to include only the date that the report was created (e.g., 05/01/2013 - 05/01/2013). This is a problem with the system that you cannot correct; please proceed with the report as normal.

Interim Report

(Interim Progress Reports are used for reporting progress typically at the 6, 12, and 18-month performance periods). Note: If you receive a Phase IIB supplement, you are required to provide progress reports, typically at six-month intervals until the award ends. Phase II progress reports must be submitted through Research.gov.

Cover page

The report cover page is filled out and signed by the PI and the Authorized Company Representative. Once the cover page is filled out and signed, you MUST attach it as part of the interim report, using the following steps:

  1. Make sure you have Adobe Reader.
  2. Download the Cover Page Document.
  3. Fill out and print the form.
  4. Physically sign the Cover Page in the signature field.
  5. Scan the Cover Page as a PDF file.
  6. Upload this PDF into Research.gov as described below.

Project milestone chart

Milestone Information Template, .XLSX

Each progress report must contain updated Project Milestone Information. A template is provided in .XLSX format but MUST be converted to PDF upon completion in order to be uploaded into Research.gov. This chart should follow the format used in the Phase II proposal document and reflect the cumulative effort and expenditures. The following are required:

  1. Level of effort (in person-months) by the PI and/or key personnel (including subawardees).
  2. Level of effort (in dollars) by PI and/or key personnel (including consultants and subawardees).
  3. Other non-zero expenditures listed on the award budget.

Technical report

  1. A one-page executive summary that highlights key technical and commercial activity/results, and path forward.
  2. Details about technical R&D activities and project progress and percentage completion of milestones during the interim reporting period. (Include a brief description of each task worked on during the reporting period.)
  3. Problems encountered during the interim reporting period. (If NONE, so state.)
  4. Status of commercialization activities and a discussion of any commercialization challenges faced during the interim reporting period. Also provide insight into planned commercialization activities for the next reporting period.

Final report

The report must be submitted via research.gov no later than 15 days after the end of your award. We encourage you to include not only the data you obtained during the project, but also discuss the results and how they may inform your future technical and commercialization plans. Follow the guide to submit your final report.

The final report must show your results and actual data for each research objective and task funded by NSF. You should also discuss progress made by your company during Phase I in other, non-NSF-funded aspects, such as business development, customer and partner engagements, fundraising, and building your team.

Project outcomes report

At the conclusion of the Phase I award, you are also required to submit a brief (maximum-800-word) project outcomes report (via research.gov) which will be made available to the public on the outcomes of your NSF-funded work. The report is public and should not contain confidential or proprietary information. This report is not reviewed or approved by NSF. For more information, view NSF Report Your Progress and Outcomes page.

Research.gov information/submission

  1. Use your FastLane UserID and password to log in to Research.gov
  2. On the Project Reporting Dashboard, select “Annual, Final, and Interim Report” to navigate to the “All Awards” tab. Navigate to the appropriate award.
  3. Once on the award screen, click on “Create IPR” in the upper right hand corner under “Available Actions”
  4. Complete the “Cover” information.
  5. Complete the “Products” and “Participants” tabs. This structured information is vital, and it should be completed via the HTML questions and check boxes (regardless of whether or not it is present in a supplementary PDF!!)
  6. (Optional) Complete the “Accomplishments”, “Impact”, “Changes/Problems”, and “Special Requirements” tabs with information or use the check boxes to indicate that there is “Nothing to Report”.
  7. Upload the COVER PAGE PDF as a supplementary document in the “Special Requirements” section under “Supporting Files”. If “Special Requirements” tab is not visible, please upload the COVER PAGE PDF under the “Accomplishments” tab.
  8. Uploaded the PROJECT MILESTONE CHART PDF as a supplementary document in the “Special Requirements” section under “Supporting Files”.
  9. Upload the TECHNICAL REPORT PDF as a “Supporting Files” in the “Accomplishments” section.

An email must be sent to the Program Director informing them that a report has been submitted via Research.gov.

Progress reports provide information which justifies progress payments. Inadequate content, format, or time expenditure details will delay approval of interim progress payments. Under the standard payment schedule for Phase II awards (typically 24-months), one report is required within one month after the end of each respective progress period.

Phase II/IIB final report

The electronic submission of the Final Report fulfills the NSF reporting requirements for an SBIR/STTR Phase II/IIB award. The Final Report should be submitted within 90 days following the end date of the award. Each Final Report has four components.

Cover page

The Report Cover page is filled out and signed by the PI and the Authorized Company Representative. Once the cover page is filled out and signed; you MUST then attach it as a part of the technical report. To attach the cover page; please follow the following steps:

  1. Make sure you have Adobe Reader
  2. Download the Cover Page Document
  3. Fill out and Print the form
  4. Physically sign the Cover Page in the signature field
  5. Scan the Cover Page as a PDF file
  6. Upload this PDF into the technical report

Failure to submit the SIGNED Report Cover Page as a part of the technical report will delay payment

Project milestone chart

Milestone Information Template, .XLSX

Each progress report must contain updated Project Milestone Information. A template is provided in .XLSX format but MUST be converted to PDF upon completion in order to be uploaded into Research.gov. This chart should follow the format used in the Phase II proposal document and reflect the cumulative effort and expenditures. The following are required:

  1. Level of effort (in person-months) by the PI and/or key personnel (including subawardees).
  2. Level of effort (in dollars) by PI and/or key personnel (including consultants and subawardees).
  3. Other non-zero expenditures listed on the award budget.

Technical report

This section should demonstrate that the research activities were carried out and are consistent with the level of effort originally proposed and the amount of funding received. This section should not exceed 10 pages plus associated reference data, graphics, or tabular data. The technical report will include the following four parts:

  1. Summary description of the research carried out, the results and the extent to which the stated Phase II/IIB objectives were met.
  2. Problems encountered and methods of resolution used.
  3. Problems remaining or unfulfilled research objectives.
  4. Unexpected or serendipitous results, information or events which may have altered the direction of the project. The impact these results may have on the potential transition into similar or related research or products.

Commercialization report

Blank Commercialization Report Format:

The commercialization report section should not exceed 10 pages. The Commercialization Report section has six (6) parts. Awardees are required to prepare the Commercialization Report section in the format shown below:

  1. Company Data (Basic data about the company and the SBIR project.) SBIR/STTR Award Number:
    Name of Company:
    Company Address:
    Telephone Number:
    Fax Number:
    Email:
    Name and Title of the person preparing the report:

  2. Funding Commitment(s) (Status of any Funding Commitment(s)) Was the original FC exercised?

    If yes, provide the following information:
    Date:
    Amount:
    Source:

    If no, provide explanation. Possible reasons for not exercising the FC:

    a.) Technical Objectives not met. b.) Technology by-passed in market place. c.) Technology not economically viable d.) Other (Explain)

  3. Were you awarded a Phase IIB supplement? If yes, describe the commercialization activities related to this supplement.

  4. List any products and/or processes currently in the marketplace, or patents resulting from the SBIR project.

  5. Please furnish the revenues received from the commercialization of this SBIR project, include: Sales, Manufacturing, Product Licensing, Royalties, Consulting, Contracts, Other.

    Revenue Breakdown
    Start of SBIR/STTR Award Current
    Number of Employees
    Revenue (Total $'s)
    Percent (%) of Revenue from SBIR's (from all agencies)

  6. Briefly describe the company’s efforts to commercialize technology resulting from this SBIR award. (This includes customer/potential customer base, overview of marketing and sales strategies, market readiness and/or market window of opportunity and financing strategies for product life cycle.)

Research.gov information/submission

  1. Use your FastLane UserID and password to Log in to Research.gov
  2. Use your Project Reporting Dashboard to navigate to the appropriate award and report. Annual and Final Reports that are due will be listed in the “Reports Due” tab.
  3. Complete the “Cover” information.
  4. Complete the “Products” and “Participants” tabs. This structured information is vital, and it should be completed via the HTML questions and check boxes (regardless of whether or not it is present in a supplementary PDF)
  5. (Optional) Complete the “Accomplishments”, “Impact”, “Changes/Problems”, and “Special Requirements” tabs with information or use the check boxes to indicate that there is “Nothing to Report”.
  6. Upload the COVER PAGE PDF as a supplementary document in the “Special Requirements” section. If “Special Requirements” tab is not visible, please upload the COVER PAGE PDF under the “Accomplishments” tab.
  7. Uploaded the PROJECT MILESTONE CHART PDF as a supplementary document in the “Special Requirements” section.
  8. Upload the TECHNICAL REPORT PDF as a supplementary document in the “Accomplishments” section.
  9. Uploaded the COMMERCIALIZATION REPORT PDF as a supplementary document in the “Special Requirements” section.