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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, March 10, 2005

IURTC launches statewide SBIR/STTR program

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Research & Technology Corporation has created the Indiana S4 Initiative, a statewide program that will aid small technology businesses seeking federal SBIR and STTR program funding.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are the largest source of early-stage financing for technology start-ups in the nation with about $2 billion in federal grants and contracts given out each year.

"Grants from the Indiana Department of Higher Education and the U.S. Small Business Administration make this initiative possible," said IURTC President and CEO Mark Long. "But we are building a model for delivering assistance that will sustain funding opportunities for Indiana small businesses for many years."

IURTC's partners in the project include inVenture in Bloomington, the Purdue Research Park, the University of Notre Dame, the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, EG&G Technical Services and the IU East Entrepreneurship Center.

More than 80 attendees participated in SBIR/STTR training hosted by the Indiana S4 Initiative last month. Training was available at seven sites located throughout much of the state. Future training dates and locations will be announced in June.

The Indiana S4 Initiative awarded the first SBIR Phase 0 (zero) grant to Schwartz Biomedical LLC in Fort Wayne last week. Schwartz Biomedical LLC also received a 2004 21st Century Fund Technology Grant and was a first-prize winner in the Purdue University Opportunities for Indiana Business Plan competition. The Phase 0 award provides professional proposal preparation assistance to a small technology business that has not successfully pursued an SBIR/STTR award in the past but demonstrates a strong potential for future success in the program.

Throughout this program year, the Indiana S4 Initiative aims to increase awareness of the SBIR program throughout the state and to provide technical assistance to small business owners who express an interest in SBIR/STTR awards.

In October, IURTC received two grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration totaling $150,000 to aid entrepreneurship and small business development throughout Indiana.

For more information, go to https://iurtc.iu.edu/sbir or contact the Indiana S4 Initiative program office at 1-800-624-8315 or SBIRinfo.iu.edu.

To speak with Mark Long, please call 317-278-1901 or e-mail mslong@indiana.edu.

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