The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, often referred to as America’s Seed Fund, is a highly competitive program led by the U.S. Small Business Administration that encourages small businesses to engage in federal research and development that has the potential for commercialization. The SBIR program enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides them with incentive to profit from its commercialization. This stimulates innovation and increases entrepreneurship in the U.S. while meeting specific research and development needs of the nation.
The nationwide network of SBDCs (Find Your Local SBDC here) can provide small technology businesses who are interested in SBIR funding with valuable technical assistance. One of the goals for the SBDC National Blog is to highlight the innovative best practices of SBDCs across the nation so that other programs may explore adoption of such practices or apply the concepts to assist their unique small business communities.
The SBIR Road Tour Stops in Texas
One such example is a program developed by the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network’s Technology Commercialization Center that is bringing a unique SBIR event to small businesses in the southwestern part of the U.S. The SBDC Technology Commercialization Center has collaborated with the national SBIR program to bring an SBIR Road Tour to Texas. This event will allow small business attendees who are interested in or actively pursuing SBIR funding to engage directly with federal agencies, schedule one-on-one meetings with federal program managers, and receive personalized assistance and resources. The event will also include engaging panel sessions related to the SBIR program, SBIR proposal development, and new federal opportunities for small businesses. Agencies represented include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health, NASA, NSF, NIST and many more.
Small businesses from Texas and the surrounding states that are pursuing SBIR opportunities, as well as SBDC programs across the country that are interested in developing a similar program, can find more information on the event here.
Additional Resources
To receive free professional business advice and free or low-cost training, connect with your local Small Business Development Center today! Our site is rich with small business resources, information and tools as well.
- View small business reports here: Small Business Snapshots
- View industry-specific research here: Market Research Links
- View small business help topics here: Small Business Information Center
About the SBDC National Blog
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