SBA Awards Grants to 21 Universities and Organizations To Support R&D, Small Business Innovation

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration will award up to $125,000 in grants to 16 Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program recipients including state and local economic development agencies, business development centers, colleges and universities and up to $200,000 in grants to 5 Small Business Technology Development Centers to support programs for innovative, technology-driven small businesses.

"We're excited about partnering with these organizations to help entrepreneurs around the country learn about and compete for SBIR/STTR awards," said John Williams, SBA Director of Innovation.  "The main goal of FAST is to provide more boots on the ground in local communities through our partner organizations to increase awareness about SBIR/STTR's early stage funding and level the playing field for entrepreneurs, especially those in underrepresented communities."

FAST is designed to stimulate economic development with outreach and technical assistance to science and technology-driven small businesses, with a particular emphasis on socially and economically disadvantaged firms, helping them to compete in federally-funded research and development through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. 

The following recipients of the FY 2016 FAST awards are:

FAST funding awardees must demonstrate 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,
• commercializing technology developed through SBIR grants.

Candidates were submitted through each of their state and territorial governors, as each governor may submit only one proposal. After evaluations were made by panels of SBIR program managers, the SBA, the Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation jointly reviewed panel recommendations and made FAST awards based upon the merits of each proposal. Varying levels of matching funds were required, based upon the state and territory location of each economic development agency. The FAST award project and budget periods are for 12 months, beginning September 30, 2016.

About FAST
The program is a competitive grants program designed to strengthen the technological competitiveness of small businesses and improve the participation of small technology firms in the innovation and commercialization of new technology. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the American Samoa's are eligible to receive funding for providing services such as outreach and technical assistance in support of the SBIR/STTR Programs. Additional information about FAST can be found at https://www.sbir.gov/about-fast.

About SBIR/STTR
The programs represent the nation's largest source of early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, which collectively supported more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funding in fiscal year 2015. Companies supported by the SBIR and STTR programs often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. Additional information about each program can be found at www.sbir.gov.

Contact:  Tiffani S. Clements  (202) 401-0035
Release Number: 16-53
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration