The U.S. Small Business Administration granted 24 awards up to $125,000 per recipient in FY 2019 under its Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. FAST’s objective is to improve outcomes for underrepresented entrepreneurs in SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs and increase participation for women-owned, rural-based, and socially and economically disadvantaged firms.
“FAST partners support an important role in attempting to fill various gaps that R&D-focused small businesses may have to help them win SBIR/STTR awards,” said Acting Administrator Christopher Pilkerton. “They focus on the needs of next-generation high-tech firms and support them through the entire cycle from ideation to commercialization. SBIR funding is one way to do that. Additionally, a number of these awards are going to partners that are located in Opportunity Zones where job creation and investments are moving forward to revitalize communities.”
FAST provides specialized training, outreach, mentoring, and technical assistance for R&D focused small businesses. The program provides one-year funding to organizations to execute state/regional programs that support potential SBIR applicants and awardees. The FAST award project and budget periods are for a base period of 12 months, beginning September 30, 2019.
This year’s recipients hail from several states across the country, and include state and local economic development entities, Small Business Technology Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, incubators, accelerators, colleges, and universities. All organizations will provide support to small businesses developing and commercializing high risk technologies.
Awardees – 2020 Cohort
| STATE | ORGANIZATION |
| Arkansas | University of Arkansas at Little Rock |
| Colorado | The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Innovations, Inc. |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) |
| Indiana | Northeast Indiana Innovation Center(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Kansas | Wichita State University(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Business & Technology Center/LSU(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Maryland | Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) |
| Minnesota | Minnesota High Tech Association |
| Mississippi | Innovate Mississippi(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Missouri | The Curators of the University of Missouri, Office of Sponsored Programs |
| Montana | Montana State University |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Business Development Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Nevada | University of Nevada, Reno(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| New Mexico | Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| North Carolina | First Flight Venture Center, Inc. |
| Ohio | Ohio Aerospace Institute(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Oklahoma | The University of Oklahoma Tom Love Innovation Hub(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| Oregon | VertueLab(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| South Carolina | University of South Carolina |
| Tennessee | Launch Tennessee |
| Virginia | Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)(*located in an Opportunity Zone) |
| West Virginia | TechConnect West Virginia |
| Wyoming | University of Wyoming Small Business Development Center |
FAST Candidates were endorsed by each of their state and territorial governors, as only one proposal can be received per state or territory. Proposals were evaluated by panels of reviewers from SBA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research, and the National Institutes of Health. Varying levels of matching funds were required, based on the number of SBIR Phase I awards in each state.
SBA District Director Karen Friel is excited to announce TechConnect West Virginia has received a SBA FAST grant. “The money from this grant will allow TechConnect West Virginia the opportunity to support small business innovation and R&D commercialization in the Mountain State,” states Friel. “West Virginia has more than 113,400 small businesses that employ more than 49 percent of the state’s workforce; this grant allows TechConnect the opportunity to help them build their businesses and better our state’s economy.”
