Leveraging SBIR/STTR to Grow Your Business 

The SBIR/STTR Technical Assistance program was established to help Maryland technology and life sciences companies build the expertise needed to access funding from America’s Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR) and grow their businesses. The program targets small businesses with limited experience in securing federal SBIR/STTR investments, helping them navigate SBIR/STTR program requirements, understanding the resources available, and guiding them through the SBIR/STTR proposal process with technical and business resource support.
 

Eligibility
Maryland small businesses who have not been awarded an SBIR/STTR may apply.

Application Review Schedule
This program accepts applications at any time with two major review dates. All applications submitted by 5:00pm EST on the specific dates below will be reviewed and scheduled together for group training.  

  • Feb. 15, 2025
  • May 15, 2025
     

Two-Part Program

The program is divided into several workshops that offer an overview of federal SBIR/STTR programs, along with in-depth sessions on agency-specific processes and proposal writing. It also includes guest presentations from industry experts and individual expert proposal reviews to help participants enhance their capability of proposal writing. 

Part 1: Workshops for SBIR/STTR knowledge and proposal training

  • Federal SBIR/STTR program overview: This session is an overview of federal SBIR/STTR programs, funding agencies, differences between SBIR and STTR, and availability of various related resources.
  • DoD SBIR/STTR program overview: This session is an overview of DoD SBIR/STTR programs, differences from other agencies, program requirements and expectations, and the proposal submission process.
  • NIH SBIR/STTR program overview: This session is an overview of NIH SBIR/STTR programs, differences from other agencies, NIH topic areas, and the proposal submission process.
  • DoE SBIR/STTR program overview: This session is an overview of DoE SBIR/STTR programs, differences from other agencies, program requirements and expectations, and the proposal submission process.
  • Training session 1 - Find the right topics and write good technical proposals: This workshop is a practical training session, focusing on helping companies understand different agency requirements, identifying the right topic based on their technical backgrounds, and preparing a good technical proposal.
  • Training session 2 - Commercialization and TABA support: This workshop is a practical training session, focusing on helping companies understand the importance of technology transition and commercialization, guiding them to write a strong commercialization plan, and obtaining suitable TABA support.
  • Training session 3 - Prepare the budget proposal: This workshop is a practical training session, focusing on helping companies prepare a reasonable cost proposal.

Part 2: Individual proposal reviews

  • This program will provide two rounds of reviews for each proposal by technical and/or business expertise.
  • TEDCO will work with each participant and domain experts to determine the review schedule.

Contact:
For more information about the SBIR/STTR Technical Assistance Program, contact sbir-ta@tedcomd.com.