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The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced programs that will provide financial support to help states and regions assist key industries and small businesses compete in the global economy through the development of regionally focused workforce development and export assistance programs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced 44 FAST awards, including 12 new awards,  totaling over $5.4 million, with each up to $125,000 for specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance for research and development.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill to extend the SBIR, STTR and related pilot programs through Sept. 30, 2025. The House is expected to act on the legislation next week, just ahead of the current expiration at the end of this month.

During the SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, the U.S. Small Business Administration hosted a keynote session titled, “SBIR at 40 – What’s Next?” Panelists, moderated by SBA’s Erick Page-Littleford, discussed the impact that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have had over their 40 years of existence, and what the future may hold.

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program is now accepting applications for the FY 2022 competition. The FAST program provides matching funds to organizations to execute state/regional programs that increase the number of SBIR/STTR proposals leading to an increase in the number of SBIR/STTR awards from women, socially/economically disadvantaged individuals, and small businesses in underrepresented areas - typical

This month, President Joe Biden announced the final rule of his Buy American initiative, which includes increasing the mandated U.S.-made content for federal contractors from 55 percent to 75 percent over seven years and strengthening domestic supply chains for critical goods.

A research team including members from MIT and the Federal Reserve Board assessed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to determine if the initiative was able to keep businesses from closing and people from becoming unemployed.

In an effort to bring together entrepreneurship and innovation leaders from around the country and raise the collective success potential of American small businesses, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) hosted its first innovation ecosystem summit last month. In her welcome message, SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman reinforced the Innovation Ecosystem Summit’s goal of reimagining the economy, leveraging the nation’s diversity, removing inequities, and building an economic future where ideas have a chance to flourish.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting its first innovation ecosystem summit, a free virtual event that is open to all. The summit is expected to connect entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) that work with startups and small businesses — particularly those serving underrepresented communities — that are trying to build out and commercialize their technologies. The three-day summit takes place next week, Nov. 15-17.

Last week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced $100 million in grants for the Community Navigator Pilot Program that will be distributed to 51 organizations to connect entrepreneurs with government resources to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a combined total of $5.4 million in awards to innovation-focused entrepreneur support organizations with programs to support entrepreneurs researching and developing STEM-related innovations. The 2021 competition included two prize tracks with 84 winners for the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) and eight winners for the new SBIR Catalyst competition, which aims to spur investment in underrepresented communities within the innovation economy.  

Yesterday, the U.S.

Last week, SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council chair Ben Johnson (also of BioSTL) testified before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Small Business about the role that innovation plays in job creation and how the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Regional Innovation Clusters (RIC) and Growth Accelerators Fund Competition (GAFC) support these efforts.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is soliciting nominations of qualified former and current small business owners, community leaders, officials from small business trade associations, and academic institutions to serve on the Council of Underserved Communities (CUC). The CUC is being restored to help support the SBA’s prioritization of equity across its programs and initiatives. SBA seeks candidates representing both urban and underserved communities.

The House Committee on Appropriations advanced its first FY 2022 funding bills this week. Included in the financial services bill was $10 million for each of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s three main innovation programs: Regional Innovation Clusters, Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST), and Growth Accelerators Fund Competition.

This week the Small Business Administration (SBA) released several funding opportunities to support and promote equitable and inclusive economic recovery for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The new Community Navigator Pilot Program will award $100 million to support regional “hub and spoke” networks in providing technical assistance, training, direct financial assistance, and other services to underserved small businesses.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the winners of two award programs. The Lab to Market (L2M) competition was launched in September and recognizes organizations, programs and ideas that support R&D innovation ecosytems, particularly those focused on underrepresented communities and pandemic responses. SBA also announced recipients of the annual Tibbetts Awards, which recognizes companies, organizations, and individuals for exceptional success achieved through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

The final FY 2021 budget provides $1.4 trillion in total federal funding, including increases in some programs affecting the innovation economy. Among SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council priorities: EDA’s Build to Scale received an appropriation of $38 million, SBA’s Regional Innovation Clusters received $6 million, and SBA’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) program received $4 million. These are just a few of the federally-funded initiatives that support regional innovation economies and a wide range of federal R&D activities.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced 24 organizations as recipients of the 2020 Federal and State Technology partnership (FAST) program grant awards.

The Lab-to-Market (L2M) subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on the Science and Technology Enterprise is launching a $325,000 prize competition to highlight successful examples of innovation ecosystems, particularly existing resources that support underserved communities or remarkable responses to the pandemic environment. There are three categories for applicants with an informational webinar

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently rolled out a new website for the SBIR/STTR program which SBA administers. Reorganized and including new landing pages for entrepreneurs, support organizations, and federal agencies, the new page provides quicker and easier access to the right information.

SBA began offering a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on April 27, and SBA’s data indicate this round is better distributed across businesses and the states than the first. As of May 8, round two has approved $189 billion across nearly 2.6 million loans, 55 percent more than in all of round one. The average loan size in round two is $73,488, which is a significant drop from the first round’s average of $206,022.

SBA released data on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) this week for all approved loan activity through April 13 and told banks Wednesday night that the program is nearly out of funds. The data show more than 1 million loans worth more than $247 million approved across all states and territories.

The third package of emergency assistance related to COVID-19 is currently making its way through Congress, having passed the Senate last night and being expected to pass the House tomorrow. The legislation includes additional emergency loans and tax credits for retaining employees, as well as near-term aid for individuals, small businesses, and some of the most affected industries. While relatively little assistance is directly relevant to science- and innovation-related business development, many broader small business provisions can still be of assistance to these companies.

The Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) is intended to increase innovation-based small business awareness and participation in the SBIR and STTR programs in places and populations that are underrepresented in the programs’ award portfolios.  Through FAST, the Small Business Administration (SBA) makes small, matching one-year awards to state programs on a competitive basis.