Agency awards 33 state, local grants to support small business innovation, research and development
COLUMBIA, Md. (September 7, 2021)—TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, received a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to further enhance the organization’s success in stimulating economic growth throughout the state. TEDCO received $125,000 as one of 33 awards granted by the SBA under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program.
FAST funding exists to improve outcomes for women-owned, rural-based, and small disadvantaged businesses in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs by increasing participation. The support FAST provides helps these small research and development firms compete in the SBIR/STTR Program—which for 2022 will have more than $4 billion in non-dilutive, early-stage seed capital.
Selected by the Governor as Maryland’s FAST team, through the support of the SBA, TEDCO will continue working with OST Global Solutions, Inc. (OST), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to help small businesses write competitive proposals that win federal SBIR/STTR awards.
With the FAST grant, the TEDCO team will continue to offer the Maryland SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab, developed with the goal of improving proposal quality, submission rates, and win rates for women-owned, rural-based, and small disadvantaged businesses. The Maryland Proposal Lab has an established track record of doubling the award rate of Phase I SBIR/STTR applications through a series of training workshops, mentoring, expert proposal reviews, and targeted consulting culminating in proposal submission. The Maryland Proposal Lab uses the National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR/STTR solicitation as a teaching tool because of its broad applicability in a variety of industries. Rural, women-owned, and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs that have never won an SBIR/STTR Phase I award are especially encouraged to apply.
“At TEDCO, we pride ourselves in being a one-stop shop for collaboration, coaching and capital for Maryland’s entrepreneurs,” said Troy LeMaile-Stovall, TEDCO’s CEO. “These companies will gain significant benefits from the value TEDCO brings to the table. We’re looking forward to seeing the future growth and impact they will have on Maryland’s start-up community.”
A cohort of approximately 25 companies will be selected to participate in the Maryland SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab. The workshops will guide the cohort from SBIR/STTR solicitation issuance through proposal submission. The Lab will also provide the cohort with the skillset to win with other government and commercial proposals for the businesses’ long-term success. Interested companies should apply early for best consideration. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis and will close on December 15, 2021. To apply, visit https://www.tedcomd.com/funding/tech-transfer/federal-tech-transfer/sbirproposal. Watch the Proposal Lab video to learn more by clicking here.
“In collaboration with our partners, we’re taking a holistic approach to educating companies that sometimes get left behind,” said Kimberly Mozingo, director of federal programs, TEDCO. “We’ll teach skills that provide a lifelong benefit and introduce them to TEDCO resources such as the industry experts who review their proposals and connect them with the broader Maryland ecosystem of support. Thus far, we’ve increased the win rate for women-owned businesses almost sevenfold, and I’d like to see us do that for everyone in the cohort.”
The FAST award grant provides one year of funding to assist in implementing statewide programs to increase the number of proposals and awards and to prepare awardees for success beyond the program. TEDCO will use the funding to conduct virtual on-line workshops, pop-up in person events, and ad hoc after-hours sessions.
To be awarded, candidates had to be endorsed by their state governor as only one proposal was accepted from each state or territory. Proposals were evaluated by panels of Federal reviewers led by the SBA.
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About SBIR/STTR
SBA coordinates the SBIR/STTR programs, also known as America’s Seed Fund, which for FY 2020 will have more than $4 billion in early stage seed capital which will result in over 7,000 awards to small businesses. Eleven participating federal agencies announce funding opportunities as either grants or contracts to address their research and development needs. Companies supported by the SBIR/STTR programs often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. Additional information about the programs, as well as past and current topics can be found at www.sbir.gov.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.