Can investigators at small businesses be considered ESIs?
Yes, but the advantages of ESI status apply only to applicants for traditional NIH research grants (R01s) and NIH Director’s New Innovator Grants (DP2s). The advantages of New and Early Stage Investigator status do not apply to SBIR and STTR grants reserved for small businesses. Information on SBIR and STTR can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm.