From Innovation to Market
SBIR/STTR Grant-Writing Workshop
Every year, the federal government sets aside more than 2 billion dollars for small businesses to perform cutting-edge R&D for a product or process that would solve or meet the needs of a vital problem that the government deems of “national interest”. The Phase I grant-writing workshop will include a complete overview of the SBIR/STTR program and covers aspects such as how to produce a competitive proposal and SBIR/STTR “do’s and don’ts”.
This full day workshop is only open to Idaho-based companies and specifically to support those who are seriously considering the SBIR and STTR programs as a part of a diversified funding portfolio. It will help businesses improve the quality of their proposals that can lead to higher company win rates. There will also be opportunities for discussion and questions.
Workshop instructor:
The course will be taught by Mark Henry, a nationally recognized expert with 30 years of experience helping small, innovative businesses gain seed capital through government grants and contracts. Mark has developed a proposal preparation methodology that has helped his clients' achieve five times the success rate of the national average. He has also held seminars and workshops on the subject in more than 30 states over the past 26 years.
Who would the workshop benefit?
- Anyone planning on submitting an SBIR/STTR proposal in the next 12 months.
- Technology based entrepreneurs and companies that want to expand scope and operations using SBIR/STTR federal grants to fund R&D.
- Individuals with a strong research background who want to learn more about the SBIR/STTR programs to decide whether to pursue future submissions.
- University research faculty who want to partner with a small business or want to start their own companies.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Location: DoubleTree Hotel Boise – Riverside
2900 West Chinden Boulevard
Registration fee: $50 (includes continental breakfast and lunch)
For questions: call 208-334-2650 ext. 2128
SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal Preparation Workshop Agenda
7:30 – 8:15
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Registration, continental breakfast, and signup sheet for one-on-one meetings with Mark Henry after the workshop
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8:15 – 8:30
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Welcome—Brian Dickens, Commercial Innovation Division Administrator, Idaho Department of Commerce |
8:30 – 10:00
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Proposal Preparation—Mark Henry
The nuts and bolts of program rules and eligibility requirements; differences between grant and contract agencies; solicitations and topics, opportunity assessment. |
10:00 – 10:15
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Break |
10:15 – 12:00
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Pre-qualification questions: Is SBIR/STTR right for your firm? Do you have a true innovation? Does your idea really have potential IMPACT? Will your team be seen as credible to a contract agency? To a grant agency? What is a good starting point for a project at NASA? DOD? NIH? NSF? |
12:00 – 12:30
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Lunch—catered |
12:30 – 2:30
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Getting ready to write (often 80% to 90% of the entire process). Introduction to Mark Henry’s tools and templates. Honing the story theme and approach and testing your ideas before investing in a full proposal effort—with hands-on exercises. The in’s and out’s of producing a competitive Phase I SBIR/STTR proposal. Critical do's and don'ts—including the challenges of electronic registration and submission. |
2:30 – 2:45
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Break |
2:45 – 3:30
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Review and discussion of sample proposal sections |
Next Steps
3:30 – 4:00
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Mark Strait, Department of Commerce—Rick Vycital, SBDC
Proposal development and commercialization help available |
3:30 – 5:30
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Interested participants begin 10 minute one-on-one meetings with Mark Henry |