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Program support for 22 universities and organizations.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded grants totaling $2 million to 22 state and local economic development agencies, business development centers, colleges and universities. These grants will support programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses under SBA’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program.
The FAST program is designed to stimulate economic development among small, high technology businesses through federally-funded innovation and research development programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR). The project and budget periods span 12 months.
Awardees demonstrated in their proposals how they will 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 commercializing technology developed through SBIR grants.
Proposals were evaluated by a panel of SBIR program managers. Their recommendations were reviewed by the SBA, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation, who chose the award winners based on proposal merit. The grants required varying levels of matching funds from each participating state and territory.
Visit the SBIR website for more information about FAST grants and the SBIR and STTR programs.