Making the Region a Leader in SBIR Partnerships
Tech Launch Arizona and Startup Tucson Connect to Make Region a National Leader in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Partnerships
Kickoff Meetup for SBIR Tucson Matched UA Faculty and Business Professionals to Collaborate on R&D Funding
TUCSON, AZ. – On April 16, Tech Launch Arizona and Startup Tucson held a networking meetup to bring UA faculty and researchers together with local small business entrepreneurs. By final tally, 89 people participated, the split being just about 50/50: half University of Arizona (UA) faculty and staff, and half Tucson business professionals. The event – a kickoff for a new initiative called SBIR Tucson – was held as a collaboration between Tech Launch Arizona, the technology commercialization unit of the University of Arizona, and Startup Tucson, a group of professionals working to grow a vibrant startup ecosystem of companies, entrepreneurs and talent in Tucson.
SBIR stands for “small business innovation research.” The SBIR Program, a federally funded initiative, encourages small businesses to engage in research and development that has the potential for commercialization. According to the SBIR website at www.sbir.gov, federal agencies with extramural research and development budgets over $100 million are required to allocate 2.8 percent of that budget to these programs, which represents great opportunity for academic and business innovators alike.
The program actively publishes solicitations – funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) – representing areas where funds have been made available for research and development focused on targeted challenges. Funds are granted based on a proposal process; proposals can come from academia, industry, or a combination of the two.
“The goal for Tucson and Southern Arizona is to be among the most competitive in the country for SBIR and other collaboration technology development awards,” said Sherry Hoskinson, director of Wheelhouse Arizona, the unit of Tech Launch Arizona dealing with starting new ventures. “We’re excited about the event and proud of the partnership behind it.”
One of the lead event organizers Eric Smith, business development manager for Tucson tech development company AZTERA, serves as an embedded ambassador at Tech Launch Arizona for Tucson’s Commercialization Network Alliance. He sees the event as a start, but recognizes that success is going to come from the relationships it sparked.
“I saw businesses with SBIR calls in-hand, discussing how faculty can be involved with the research, but the interactions did not stop there,” he says. “I saw faculty conversing with other faculty from completely different departments. Business cards were being given everywhere I turned. Conversations continued way beyond the event stop time. It was clear that an event like this was needed, and all in attendance took full advantage of the opportunity."
That potential for collaboration between the UA and regional businesses represents immense opportunity for Tucson and the region.
From the moment the doors opened at Downtown Tucson’s CoLab workspace, attendees were actively seeking out opportunities to collaborate, and the air buzzed with energy for the full two hours. Participants had the opportunity not only to network across many academic and business disciplines, but they event also provided a bit of structured matchmaking, bringing together people focused on specific domain areas with current open SBIR solicitations: materials science and engineering, engineering and optics, pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics and devices, and computer science and software.
At the meetup, SBIR Tucson unveiled a new SBIRTucson.org website. Along with providing calendars and planning tools to help enhance collaboration across the region, the site’s central feature is an up-to-date listing of open SBIR calls for proposals – a highly useful reference for faculty and businesses alike as they come together to collaborate in pursuit of federal funding dollars for research and development.
Justin Williams, chairman and founder of Startup Tucson, said, “Startup Tucson is excited to partner with Tech Launch Arizona in creating SBIRTucson.org. The site will facilitate the development of the relationships essential to discovering and supporting the critical partnerships needed to secure new funding sources for technology commercialization.”
Currently, eleven agencies take part in the SBIR program, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation. NASA and the National Science Foundation also participate.