Columbia-based TEDCO 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.
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 Dec. 15.
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.