Pennnsylvania’s Innovation Partnership Announces Receipt of $100,000 U.S. Small Business Administration Federal and State Technology Partnership Program Grant

The Innovation Partnership today announced it has received notification that it is the recipient of a $100,000 Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

HARRISBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Innovation Partnership today announced it has received notification that it is the recipient of a $100,000 Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The FAST Program is designed to stimulate economic development among small, high technology businesses through federally-funded innovation and research and development programs like the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR).

“The partnerships developed through these programs will play a critical role in helping high-growth potential small firms take those next steps to help drive our local economies.”

"The FAST program is an important catalyst for helping America's cutting edge entrepreneurs continue to drive innovation and create good jobs," said Karen G. Mills, SBA Administrator. "The partnerships developed through these programs will play a critical role in helping high-growth potential small firms take those next steps to help drive our local economies."

Companies supported by the SBIR and STTR programs often generate some of the most important breakthroughs each year in the U.S. For example, about 25 percent of R&D Magazine's Top 100 Innovations came from SBIR-funded small businesses.

The Innovation Partnership is comprised of 12 business assistance organizations situated across the Commonwealth that offer prospective SBIR/STTR applicants workshops and training seminars, preliminary proposal reviews, and small grants for proposal writing assistance and travel reimbursement. Since its inception, the Innovation Partnership has assisted 338 distinct companies, 70 of which have won $18.2 M in federal SBIR/STTR awards. Innovation Partnership clients, each of whom has an individual from among the partner organizations serving as client manager to help support them throughout the Innovation Partnership and SBIR/STTR application process, have achieved a SBIR/STTR win rate that is 33% higher than the national average. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners administer the program on behalf of the Innovation Partnership.

“SBIR and STTR grants represent an important source of capital for the commonwealth’s emerging technology companies and entrepreneurs,” said Austin Burke, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. “As a founding partner and ongoing financial supporter of the Innovation Partnership, we are thrilled that they received this award. The Innovation Partnership’s unique collaboration of partners is a vital part of Pennsylvania continued success in an innovation economy.”

The core service component of the Innovation Partnership is an on-line, expert feedback mechanism for small businesses proposing SBIR/STTR projects. Applicants receive a no-cost technical evaluation of their SBIR/STTR proposal concept by independent professional reviewers. For those applicants who demonstrate a strong fit between their project and a specific federal funding opportunity, as well the potential to effectively commercialize their research, the Innovation Partnership awards matching funds up to $3,000 (Micro-Grant/ Micro-Voucher) and up to $8,000 (Federal Marketing Assistance) to offset the cost of final proposal preparation.

About Innovation Partnership

The Innovation Partnership is a consortium of Pennsylvania economic development organizations, university partners, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). It was created to assist Pennsylvania’s small, high-tech companies, researchers, and technology-focused entrepreneurs in securing federal grant dollars to develop and commercialize innovative technologies. The participating organizations are: Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP); Ben Franklin Venture Investment Forum (VIF); Bio Advance (The Life Sciences Greenhouse of SE PA); Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR); Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA (LSGPA); Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED); Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA); Pennsylvania’s Industrial Resource Center (IRCs) Network; Pennsylvania’s Small Business Development Centers (PA SBDCs); Pennsylvania State University (PSU); Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP); Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG); University City Science Center (UCSC); University of Pittsburgh Office of Enterprise Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

For more information on the Innovation Partnership, contact Kelly S. Wylam at (717) 948-4318 or kelly@benfranklin.org, or visit http://innovationpartnership.net/.


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