Supplier - April 2015

SBA Promotes Innovation and Technology with
National Road Tour
News
February 11, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S.
Small Business Administration
(SBA) will launch an 18 state road
tour, joined by 11 fellow federal
agencies in the SBA’s Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
and Small Business Technology
Transfer (STTR) programs.
The SBIR Road Tour “Seeding America’s Future Innovations,” is a nationally focused outreach
initiative targeting advanced technology communities, including women-owned and minorityowned
small businesses in states that have underutilized funding opportunities through these
programs. Today, the agency is launching information on the tour through www.sbir.gov and
will also launch a blog that will be active up through the end of the tour in late August.
“The SBA oversees America’s largest seed fund for small businesses in the STEM fields. The
SBIR and the STTR programs—allocates $2.5 billion a year to small innovators. By reserving a
specific percentage of federal R&D funds for smaller firms, Uncle Sam encourages domestic
small businesses to engage in high-growth priorities and build a strong national economy. SBIR
recipients have created breakthroughs in nanotechnology, robotics, mobile communications,
genetic therapies, clean energy and space,” said Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.
“The President’s 2015 budget embodies the Administration’s ongoing commitment to
investments in job creation and economic growth, specifically through targeted investments in
science, technology and innovation. Through this tour, we will educate more small business
innovators on how to take advantage of these programs, so that their entrepreneurial spirit and
our investment drives the next new big technological breakthrough,” said Contreras-Sweet.
SBIR and STTR programs bring together several federal agencies to promote innovation and
research around many different areas of priority. For example, current awards support the
Administration's commitment to Alzheimer's disease and other neuroscience priorities and Brain
Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.
Each SBIR Road Tour stop will be hosted by a local organization committed to supporting
technology-based entrepreneurship, and will provide attendees with a face-to-face opportunity to
talk directly to federal agency program managers and decision makers.