SBA Announces Grant Funding Available for States to Support R&D, Small Business InnovationThe U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting grant
funding requests from the governors of U.S. states and territories to support
programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses under SBA’s
Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program through May 10,
2010.
FAST provides $2 million in funding (up to $100,000 per applicant) for outreach
and technical assistance to science and technology-driven small businesses.
The program places particular emphasis on helping socially and economically
disadvantaged firms compete in the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Eligible
applicants for FAST grants include state and local economic development
agencies, Small Business Development Centers, and colleges and universities.
Each state, through its governor, may submit one proposal.
“The FAST program is an important catalyst for helping America’s cutting-edge
entrepreneurs continue to drive innovation and create good jobs,” said Karen
G. Mills, SBA Administrator. “The partnerships developed through these
programs will play a critical role in helping high-growth potential small firms lay
a stronger foundation for economic prosperity.”
FAST funding applicants are encouraged to show how they will help support
areas such as:
• small business research and development assistance,
• technology transfer from universities to small businesses,
• technological diffusion of innovation benefiting small businesses,
• proposal development and mentoring for small businesses applying for
SBIR grants; and,
• commercialization of technology developed through SBIR grants.
Companies supported by the SBIR and STTR programs often generate some of
the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. For example, about
25 percent of R&D Magazine’s Top 100 Innovations come from SBIR-funded
small businesses.
More details about FAST grants can be found here:
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/sba_fast_pro
gram_annc.pdf.
Proposals will be evaluated by a committee consisting of small business
owners, state level representatives, federal SBIR program managers and
representatives of the business and academic communities. The SBA, the
Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation will jointly review
the recommendations from the evaluation panel and make awards
based on proposal merit. Varying levels of matching funds are required from
each participating state and territory.
The SBIR program—administered by the SBA—requires 11 federal agencies with
more than $100 million in R&D spending to set aside 2.5 percent of those funds
for competitively-awarded SBIR grants. In Fiscal Year 2007, these agencies
provided about 5,500 SBIR federal grants and contracts for small businesses, a
$2 billion investment.
STTR requires federal agencies with over $1 billion in extramural R&D funding to
set aside 0.3 percent. STTR totaled about 870 awards for $218 million in
Fiscal Year 2007.
For more information about the SBIR and STTR programs, visit SBA’s Web site
at: www.sba.gov/sbir.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
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