National SBIR Road Tour Coming to Portland August 24
Please excuse that this month’s blog is essentially a repeat of my April blog but today’s MTI eNews is exclusively focused on an upcoming event that is being presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration and MTI and will, undoubtedly, be of great interest to you. The SBA is bringing its 18-state SBIR Road Tour to Portland on August 24. We are honored that they selected Maine for one of the coveted visits as the Road Tour will provide a valuable opportunity for Maine small businesses to learn how to win federal grants.
This will be the fourth year of the SBIR Road Tour, led by the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, with participation from 11 federal agencies. Each SBIR Road Tour stop is hosted by a local organization committed to supporting technology-based entrepreneurship, and provides attendees an opportunity to meet directly with federal agency Program Managers and decision makers. The Maine visit is being hosted by the Maine District Office of the SBA and MTI.
Why should you care about it? Well, each year, the federal SBIR/STTR program offers $2.5 Billion in grants for early-stage, high risk, technology-oriented research and development leading to the commercialization of new products and services. I encourage you to register soon to reserve your seat at the table to glean important insights on how to win federal grants. The event
will take place from 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the Clarion Hotel, 1230 Congress Street in Portland. The following federal agencies or departments will be on hand to assist potential applicants:
- Department of Defense – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Department of Defense – Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
- Department of Defense – Navy (DON)
- Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
- Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
- Department of Defense – Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
- Department of Defense – Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Department of Health and Human Services – National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Department of Commerce – Nationals Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Maine companies have traditionally competed well for this federal grant funding and MTI has long helped play a role in assisting them. Throughout the year, we provide free technical assistance to Maine small businesses to help them develop competitive SBIR/STTR proposals. MTI’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP) is an ongoing program that provides 10-20 hours of support to applicants submitting proposals. The TAP team consists of experienced consultants who provide the following assistance:
- Introduction to the SBIR/STTR program
- Proposal strategy and planning meetings
- Government accounting assistance in preparing overhead rates and budgets
- Agency specific workshops
- Critical technical editing and reviews of proposals
Helping Maine small businesses secure critically-needed research and development funding from the federal government to help drive and grow innovation in our state is a core competency of MTI. The federal grant process is a tremendously complicated one so MTI is always pleased to offer no-cost assistance and funding to help Maine applicants put their best foot forward.
Again, I encourage you to mark August 24th on your calendar and register soon for the event. Space is filling up fast so make sure to reserve your spot so you can meet the experts and trainers that will be present to help companies navigate funding opportunities and learn more about how to win a federal grant.
Please plan to attend to make sure your company is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity. There are 2.5 billion reasons why you should.
Best,
Brian