Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today awarded FAST 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 and development programs like the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR). The project and budget periods are for a 12-month period.
“The FAST program is an important tool of the SBIR/STTR program. The mission of the SBIR program is to support scientific excellence and technological innovation by investing federal research funds in small businesses. STTR focuses on partnerships between small businesses and America’s premier universities and nonprofit research institutions. It helps ensure that the world’s greatest academics and inventors have the resources they need to transform their ideas from the lab to the marketplace,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.
“SBIR and STTR are a win-win. Federal agencies are able to meet their R&D needs. Small businesses get the support they need to turn innovative new ideas into job-creating new businesses and these programs strengthen America’s competitiveness and global economic leadership.”
This year’s recipients include:
State - Advertisement -  | Entity |
Alabama | Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation, Inc. |
Alaska | University of Alaska Anchorage |
Arizona | Commerce Authority, Arizona |
Arkansas | Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas |
California | The Regents of the University of California |
Connecticut | Connecticut Innovations Incorporated |
DC | DC Department of Small and Local Business Development |
Idaho | Boise State University |
Illinois | Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois |
Kansas | Wichita State University |
Louisiana | Louisiana State University and A&M College |
Minnesota | Metropolitan Economic Development Association |
Mississippi | Innovate Mississippi |
Nebraska | Board of Regents, Univ. of NE dba Univ. of NE at Omaha |
New York | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York |
North Dakota | University of North Dakota |
Oregon | Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center |
Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company (PR Trade) |
Tennessee | Tennessee Technology Development Corp d/b/a Launch Tennessee |
Virginia | Center for Innovative Technology |
Wisconsin | Board of Regents of the UW-System |
Wyoming | University of Wyoming |
FAST provides over $90,000 per award to pay 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 SBIR and STTR programs.
FAST funding awardees demonstrated in their proposals 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.
Proposals were evaluated by a panel of SBIR program managers. The SBA, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation jointly reviewed the panel’s recommendations and made awards based on proposal merit. The grant required varying levels of matching funds from each participating state and territory.
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.
For more information about the FAST grants and the SBIR and STTR programs, visit www.sbir.gov.
