UDRI would count as a university
Question: OFRN R7 Solicitation: Attachment 1A subcontract terms) and wanted to validate that this is truly considered a No Fee activity for industry leads (or if that was intended for academic organizations only). I see section 3.9.5 is for exceptions, but wanted to cross-check if fee is something that Parallax will consider for industry led programs.
Response: That is correct, this is a cost reimbursement subcontract. There is no fee.
Your entire team does not need to be formed by the training.
There should be at least 1 student participating in the project's SEE.
The leading PI can be from academia or industry.
Question: OFRN R7 Solicitation: Language on industry organizations in the Eligibility Information section (2.5). The requirement indicates that, “At least one commercial/ industry organization with a physical presence in Ohio (either for-profit or not-for-profit); this organization must be incorporated in the U.S. and be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens.” We’ve participated in previous Opportunities and haven’t seen this requirement before. Is this a flow-down from the Ohio Dept of Higher Ed funding, or is it a requirement imposed by one of the Federal participants in the program? Most of the agencies have recently established some type of requirement with regard to foreign ownership or involvement…They’re all different.
We are US non-profit…We have an affiliation with a Canadian non-profit, but we’re not owned by them. We’ll want to touch on that in our proposal, and it would be useful for us to know that the origin of the requirement is, so we can be as clear as possible. Any guidance you can provide would be helpful
Response: The eligibility requirement regarding U.S. ownership and control is rooted in the guidelines established by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the SBIR/STTR programs, which OFRN aims to mirror as closely as possible. The specific clause regarding 51% U.S. ownership and control is not a flow-down from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, but rather a standard federal eligibility criterion that is typically imposed by the SBA and other federal entities participating in similar programs.
Regarding your affiliation with the Canadian non-profit, we understand that many organizations have international partnerships. As long as your company meets the solicitations requirements for U.S. incorporation and 51% ownership/control by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, you should be eligible to participate. It would be helpful to clearly outline this in your proposal to avoid any confusion, noting the distinction between your U.S. status and the affiliation with the Canadian organization. This ensures entities will be eligible for follow-on SBIR, STTR funds.
You will need to have your team put together for the proposal submission.
Question: OFRN R7 Solicitation: I’m working on a proposal idea for round 7. Our concept might benefit from having a partner who is involved in educating robotics technicians (as opposed to robotics engineers). Therefore, we are wondering if Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs) are considered “Ohio colleges and universities” for the purposes of OFRN Round 7 or not.
Response: OTCs are not considered Universities or colleges but could easily be a partner on the project. If you need help locating two university/college partners, don’t hesitate to use the matchmaking process on the OFRN website.
There is a matchmaking option at the bottom of the round 7 solicitation site ohiofrn.org
Once you complete the partnership form -- whether you are looking for a partner or have capabilities to offer, we will post that to the OFRN Partner Inquiry section in the Matchmaking site.