On January 28-39, Lisa Kurek of Biotechnology Business Consultants (BBC) (www.bioconsultants.com) from Ann Arbor, MI presented a seminar on SBIR/STTR Grant Writing hosted by Bell, Boyd & Lloyd and sponsored by iBIO Institute, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and University of Chicago.  Lisa, her team and partners provide business consulting services, including assistance with grant writing.  Attendees at the seminar came from all over Illinois and from as far as California.

SBIR, Small Business Innovation Research, is a program that was created in 1983 to promote science and technology business in the USA.  The complexity of the application process can be daunting. Applicants can often get lost in the maze of websites and forms involved in the application process. SBIR is an important non-dilutive strategy for small businesses to bring innovative technology solution to market. 

Through the SBIR program, many small businesses developing innovative technologies with commercial potential receive the non-dilutive funding they need to bring their products to market. Funding is allocated in two phases.  Phase I awards generally provide $100,000 over a period of performance of 6 months. The objective of Phase I is to determine the scientific or technical feasibility and commercial merit of the proposed research or R&D efforts and the quality of performance of the small business concern, prior to providing further Federal support in Phase II. Phase II awards usually do not exceed $750,000 and are funded over 2 years. Small businesses responding to special solicitations by the NIH can receive higher funding rates. 

Additionally, the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) offers a program to match successful Phase I proposals with $50,000.  DCEO also provides funding for small businesses to receive one-on-one proposal preparation assistance from the BBC.

The beauty of SBIR awards is that they are the marriage of business and science; and it takes a strong relationship to have a successful marketable innovative product. Persistence, practice and diligence are required to write, apply for and be awarded an SBIR grant.  The training seminar offered by iBIO Institute or one of the national SBIR training sessions held each year provides a good foundation on the SBIR / STTR grant process. Participants leave the workshop with an improved understanding of SBIR and STTR grant writing and armed with new materials for tackling SBIR proposal writing.  Many thanks to Ann Reed of the iBIO Institute and Lisa Kurek of BBC for the opportunity to learn about SBIR/STTR programs.

For more information about the next SBIR seminar contact Ann Reed at iBIO Institute (ann.reed@ibioinstitute.org) or BBC (info@bioconsultants.com). For more information on DCEO’s matching program, contact John Barr john.w.barr@illinois.gov. The next iBIO Institute SBIR workshop will be held in Chicago this April. National conferences coming up are on July 22-23 in Atlanta, GA and Nov 12-14 in Hartford, CT (http://www.sbir.gov/events/). 

Wanda Hartmann
Chemistry Consultant and Science Writer
www.wkhchemconsult.com

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