By Guest Columnist Pat Dillon, Wisconsin Technology Network News
12 November 2008
Small businesses with innovative ideas don't often make the connection between their technology-based ideas and federal funding sources. They assume federal funds are not available for their idea or technology, or they simply don't know how to get started.
Two federal funding programs, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, make available funding to support small business (1-500 employees) research and development. Yet maneuvering the idiosyncrasies and nuances of these programs can be daunting and overwhelming.