Context and the challenge
Reimagining how government communicates opportunity
Background
The NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide non-dilutive seed funding (federal “venture capital”) to help early-stage startups transform scientific discoveries into commercial products.
Challenge
Despite offering game-changing capital, program awareness was low. The original website was filled with dense government jargon, hidden eligibility criteria, and confusing application instructions. First-time founders and underrepresented entrepreneurs often found the program intimidating or assumed they didn’t qualify.
Stakeholder alignment
Our goal was to shift the program from a bureaucratic grant process into an inviting, founder-friendly gateway. I worked within an agile 18F pod—partnering with designers, engineers, content leads, and NSF leadership—to rebuild the brand identity, site architecture, and agency publishing practices.
Research and discovery
Uncovering barriers for tech entrepreneurs
Founder and applicant interviews
Interviewed small business owners and startup founders—both those who successfully applied and those who abandoned the process.
NSF stakeholder alignment
Collaborated directly with program directors to understand application review mechanics and diversity outreach goals.
Key findings
- Jargon and fear of bureaucracy: Founders felt alienated by academic/government language and assumed funding was reserved for major research universities.
- Obscured application steps: Important eligibility guidelines and funding timeline expectations were buried deep inside static PDF documents.
- Lack of social proof: The site lacked human faces or real-world founder success stories to build trust and inclusion.
Design and execution
Strategic rebranding and plain language architecture
Rebranding to “America’s Seed Fund”
Helped transition the program’s public identity from the technical acronym “NSF SBIR/STTR” to America’s Seed Fund, instantly communicating its core mission to startup founders.
Guided “How to apply” experience
Restructured complex multi-step application requirements into an intuitive, step-by-step digital journey with plain-language eligibility checklists.
Visual storytelling and human-centered content
Integrated real founder spotlights, photo stories, and startup portfolio showcases to illustrate the diverse range of industries and entrepreneurs funded by NSF.
Front-end implementation
Wrote clean HTML/CSS layouts, integrated front-end components, and optimized responsive mobile performance to ensure the site met modern web standards.
Leadership and process
Coaching HCD and building in the open
HCD coaching for agency staff
Coached NSF team members and stakeholders on human-centered design principles, helping them adopt user feedback loops to validate content changes.
Open source publishing workflows
Guided NSF staff on using GitHub for site updates, enabling transparent, continuous web maintenance without heavy developer bottlenecks.
Cross-functional alignment
Partnered closely with content leads and engineers to bridge UI design ideas with production-ready front-end code.
Outcomes
Increased applicant engagement
Delivered a modern, accessible web portal (seedfund.nsf.gov) that made the funding application process approachable and transparent.
Broader and more diverse founder pool
Demystified eligibility rules, successfully expanding outreach to first-time entrepreneurs and non-traditional tech startups.
Lasting agency capability
Left NSF with open-source workflows and HCD practices, empowering their team to iterate on content based on ongoing founder feedback.