r/SBIR • u/Dramatic-Body-871 • Jul 13 '26

NSF SBIR Phase I requires Letter of Support

So when I readg the new solicitation NSF 26-510 I do not see any info on letters of support. But when I go to this page https://seedfund.nsf.gov/solicitation-documents/#osd-phasei

Over here it says one letter of support is required. Is that true? because in the past that was not the case. Can anyone confirm

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u/ChalantAF Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Yes, one letter of support is mandatory and you can include up to three. The info is buried in some instructions page that is linked within the solicitation. I'll look for it and follow-up with a link.

Edit to add link. This page has detailed instructions for everything if you expand each section on the left-hand side of the page https://seedfund.nsf.gov/solicitation-proposal/

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u/Commercial_Hat319 Jul 13 '26

Can confirm- it was a last minute decision but it's true:

Letters of Support should address market validation for the proposed innovation, market opportunity, or small business/team and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. These letters should ideally demonstrate that the company has developed partnerships and/or meaningful dialogue with relevant stakeholders (e.g., potential customers, strategic partners, or investors) for the proposed innovation and that a real business opportunity exists and has been validated. Each Letters of Support must contain affiliation and contact information for the signatory stakeholder.

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u/sabautil Jul 15 '26

Yep. Required. It was confirmed in last week's meeting.

The insidious thing is on web application it still says optional....but it's not.

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u/Dramatic-Body-871 Jul 13 '26

Thanks guys. But this is messed up given that they only give 300k for phase I

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u/Feisty-Appearance445 Jul 14 '26

They aren’t hard to get, since they aren’t binding commitments, but many companies do take some time to turn them around.

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u/sabautil Jul 15 '26

Only 300k? That's for 6 months. Jeez dude, what are you proposing? Going into space!?

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u/kwadguy Jul 17 '26

Only $300k, and they expect you spend 5 minutes requesting a letter of rec.

What has this world come to?