The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking nominations for its annual Tibbetts and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Hall of Fame Awards. Nominations can be submitted online at http://www.sbir.gov/news/2014-tibbetts-and-hall-fame-award-nominations. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. EDT, May 2, 2014.
The Tibbetts Awards are presented to those small businesses and individuals judged to exemplify the best in the SBIR program. The award is named for Roland Tibbetts, acknowledged as the father of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and is presented to companies and individuals that promote the mission and goals of the SBIR program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
The SBA administers the SBIR and the STTR programs for small businesses seeking to advance their technological inventions in the commercial marketplace. The SBIR program is a highly competitive three-phase award program that encourages small businesses to explore their technological potential and helps them profit from their inventions.
“SBIR targets the entrepreneurial sector because that is where most innovation and innovators thrive,” said SBA’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Natalia Olson-Urtecho. “The program has been an important resource for commercializing promising technologies and spurring innovation.”
There are two types of Tibbetts awards. One prize goes to any businesses who have participated in the SBIR or STTR Phase I and II award programs. Another award goes to individuals who have not received assistance but supported the SBIR and STTR programs.
The SBIR Hall of Fame, started in 2011, recognizes previous SBIR awardees with a long period of extraordinary success in research, innovation, and commercialization within the SBIR program. Past SBIR Hall of Fame winners include IRobot, Qualcomm, and Symantec.
All Tibbetts and SBIR Hall of Fame award winners will be selected by the SBA based on the recommendations of a panel of judges. The winners will be invited to an awards program held in June during the annual SBIR National Conference at the National Harbor.
