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As the SBIR and STTR programs are designed to encourage technological innovation and entrepreneurship, it is no surprise that small business applicants are required to submit a Commercialization Plan with their application materials.  The Plan should be no more than 4 pages long and should be uploaded as a pdf in field 7 of the “SBIR/STTR Information” webform in the application package. 

DOE has provided a sample Phase I Commercialization Plan and it is recommended that applicants carefully review and follow the format of this document.  If applicants are unsure about the market research necessary to make the required revenue and opportunity projections, or if they need assistance assessing the current state of the market, the SBIR website (located to the right of this page) includes a list of service providers by state to help these projections.  If you do seek the assistance of a service provider, be sure to reach out to them at least six weeks prior to the submission deadline so that they have sufficient time to gather the relevant information.   

Commercialization Plan Outline 

Section 

Description 

Project Title 

  • Include your Project Title.  This title should be the same title that you use throughout your application materials and the Letter of Intent. 

Revenue Statement 

  • Directly below the Project Title add the following statement and substitute your company name and revenue amounts.  If your business model does not include licensing, it is fine to say that the anticipated licensing revenue is $0. 
  • ABC LLC estimates sales revenue of $____  and licensing revenues of $____ during the first 10 years of commercialization. 

Market Opportunity 

  • Describe the product or service that you plan to bring to market and also describe your competitive advantage or value proposition to the customer. 
  • You do not need to go into detail about the technology in your commercialization plan; that information should already be provided in the Project Narrative. 
  • Indicate what the current state of the market is and the customer base, including specific industries and companies, that you expect to serve.  
  • Estimate the percentage of the market you hope to capture and how it will increase yearly.  Be realistic in your assessment of potential sales and do not assume widespread and immediate adoption of your technology by the entire customer base. 
  • Indicate the current competitors in your prospective market and any barriers to entry into this market that you expect to encounter.   

Company Team 

  • Describe the capabilities of your team specifically as they relate to the commercialization of your technology; there is no need to repeat their technical qualifications which are covered elsewhere in the application. 
  • Highlight your company’s experience with commercialization or your plan to add others to the team who will focus on business development.   
  • Introduce your business model here as it will enable to assess your strengths relative to that model. 

Intellectual Property 

  • Describe the intellectual property that exists in your intended market and plans to protect your intellectual property.   
  • There are multiple methods to protect intellectual property which vary depending upon whether your product is hardware or software.   
  • In this section it is common to mention if you have conducted a patent search. 

Revenue Forecast 

  • Include the exact same statement that you included at the very beginning of the Commercialization Plan:  ABC LLC estimates sales revenue of $____  and licensing revenues of $____ during the first 10 years of commercialization. 
  • A revenue forecast is requested so that DOE can understand the size of the market that you plan to address.   

 

 

Pro tips: 

  • If you seek help from a service provider, contact them at least 6 weeks prior to the submission deadline so that there is ample time to conduct the market research and so that you have time to incorporate that research into your Commercialization Plan. 
  • Be specific where you can in the document regarding competitors, potential customers, and barriers that you may face entering the market.  Specifics will demonstrate that you have done the required research and are well prepared to carry out not only the research but the commercialization of your technology.   

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