The state’s science and technology entrepreneurs have an opportunity to meet with leaders of the $2.5 billion Small Business Innovation Research federal funding program when the SBIR Road Tour visits Arkansas on April 19.
The tour is coming to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to promote the federal SBIR program. SBIR and its sister program, the Small Business Technology Transfer, provide $2.5 billion annually to small companies for state-of-the-art research and product development. In 2015, $7 million of that went to companies in Arkansas.
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will host the event at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development at UALR.
SBIR program managers from nine federal agencies will speak and then meet one-on-one with entrepreneurs. Agencies scheduled to participate include the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and military branches.
Scheduled to visit 15 states, the tour is returning to Arkansas for the first time since 2002. According to Rebecca Norman, innovation consultant and SBIR specialist at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet is expected to fly in from Washington, D.C. to kick off the event since Arkansas is the first stop on the tour.
“The SBIR program is a real unsung hero,” Norman said. “SBIR funding supports early-stage projects that just aren’t ready for angel or venture funds. Without the SBIR program, many of these game-changing technologies would never make it out of the lab.”
The day will begin with breakfast and networking followed by a presentation from Contreras-Sweet and presentations by agency representatives. Participants will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with program managers during scheduled 15-minute sessions.
Attendees can anticipate meeting with two to six agency representatives at this tour, depending on available time slots for a given agency, according to Norman.
Lunch will be provided followed by question-and-answer panels from state funding agencies, past award winners, and tech transfer representatives.
“This is a very valuable event for participants,” Norman said. “It is very uncommon for an entrepreneur to meet face-to-face in a one-on-one setting with a program manager or agency representative and get immediate feedback about their innovation and opportunities for funding their projects.”
Preregistration is required and available online. In order to participate in meetings with program managers, participants must fill out quad charts, which the program managers use in the initial evaluation of each applicant. The registration fee of $50 includes breakfast and lunch. The form to register for the event is available here.
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