Release Date:    October 4, 2007
Contact:             Dianne Barlar, Marketing Director (850.473.7809 or dbarlar@uwf.edu)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Florida SBDC Network Encourages Innovation

Pensacola, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is promoting four Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Proposal Preparation Workshops over the next month. All workshops are open to the public.

The workshops will be presented by Jim and Gail Greenwood. The Greenwoods have been active in the SBIR/STTR programs since the programs’ inception and regularly present Phase I and Phase II proposal workshops at national and regional conferences. The goal is to raise awareness—opportunities for small high tech businesses to obtain government funding to research, design, develop and test prototype technologies. During the workshops instruction on how to prepare an effective proposal for these grants is covered.

The first workshop is being held today in Orlando, while the second will be held in Boca Raton October 12. These first two workshops cover the basics of SBIR/STTR programs and will walk participants through a four-step process for developing competitive Phase I SBIR/STTR proposals.

The third workshop is scheduled for Gainesville October 25 and will focus on Phase II of the SBIR/STTR programs. Topics include: differences between Phase I and Phase II, the differences in Phase II programs among the 11 SBIR and 5 STTR agencies, recommendations for preparing the Phase II proposal and how to commercialize your SBIR/STTR project.
 
The last workshop will be a Phase I SBIR/STTR Proposal Preparation Boot Camp in Melbourne on Nov. 8-9. This workshop will cover the same information as the Phase I SBIR/STTR proposal workshops; however, time is set aside for attendees to work on their proposals and receive live feedback from the instructors.

For more information on these workshops or SBIR programs, go to the FSBDCN Network Business Technology Commercialization Program webpage at www.floridasbdc.com/specialprograms/technology.asp. The Florida Small Business Development Center Network is a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development organizations dedicated to providing emerging and established business owners with assistance, enabling overall growth and increased profitability for the businesses and the state. For more information about the FSBDCN, visit our website at www.FloridaSBDC.com or call 1-866-737-7232.


Florida SBDC Network
State Director's Office
University of West Florida
401 E Chase St, Ste 100
Pensacola, FL  32502
850.473.7800 / f 850.473.7813
fsbdc@uwf.edu / www.FloridaSBDC.com

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration