New Jersey Matches Federal SBIR/STTR Funding for Startups
Have you received a federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program grant? If so, the State of New Jersey has matching funds for you.
The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology has just started accepting applications for a $1.25 million round of grant funding through its SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program on Monday, August 16.
The program provides $25,000 to $50,000 in matching funds to New Jersey-based companies that have received federal SBIR/STTR grants within the last two years.
The federal SBIR and STTR programs together provide more than $3 billion each year to small businesses in a variety of technology and life-science areas that propose innovative ideas for meeting specific federal research-and-development (R&D) needs.
The SBIR program enables small businesses to realize their technological potential, and provides an incentive for the commercialization of the technologies they develop. The STTR program funds cooperative R&D partnerships between small businesses and research institutions such as universities, federal R&D centers and nonprofits. The programs are open to U.S.-based, for-profit businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
“Under Governor Phil Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey is quickly recapturing its role as a leader in innovation, thanks to startups such as those involved with the federal SBIR/STTR programs,” said Gunjan Doshi, CSIT chairman. Doshi noted that through two prior rounds of the New Jersey SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program, CSIT awarded a total of $825,000 to 29 New Jersey companies.
This third round of the program will offer grants to small New Jersey businesses in two components. The first, direct funding, will provide $25,000 grants to up to 30 small businesses that have received a federal SBIR/STTR Phase I, Fast-track or Direct Phase II award or contract. These grants are aimed at helping the awardees increase the intensity of their research, strengthen their commercialization plans, cover operational expenses and become more competitive for Phase II funding.
The second component, bridge funding, will provide $50,000 grants to up to 10 small New Jersey businesses that have successfully completed Phase I and have applied for Phase II of the federal SBIR/STTR program. These grants will enable the awardees to maintain operations while waiting for the Phase II awards, and to cover the general operational expenses directly related to the project/product for which a Phase II award is being sought.
“We are pleased to be able to significantly increase the amount of funding we are providing through this latest round, and look forward to welcoming new startups into the program as a result,” said CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft.
Sheft encouraged entrepreneurs interested in applying to the New Jersey SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program to attend a webinar about the application process. It was held on August 19, but a video of the webinar can be found here.
Applications for the CSIT program are available online, and qualifying startups can apply until October 8, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. EST.
