Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the federal government can provide critical financial support to ventures wishing to develop concepts into marketable products. The bad news is that these grants are very competitive and therefore difficult to snag.

To help local small businesses with their applications, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at University of North Carolina Wilmington is offering a free workshop at 2:30 p.m. next Thursday.

The session will be facilitated by John Ujvari of the Small Business Technology and Development Center's Chapel Hill office, and held at the CIE facility, located at 803 S. College Road.

Registration is required, as space is limited. CIE director Jim Roberts said Friday that a few spaces remain. To register, email [email protected].

The SBIR program encourages domestic small businesses to engage in research and development of concepts that have the potential for commercialization. According to information on its website, the competitive awards-based program enables small businesses to explore their idea’s technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

The program aims to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in critical American priorities, the website states. The idea is that, if the federal government provides funding to help businesses develop their concepts to the commercialization stage, private sector investors will step in at that point. 

Roberts said that potential investors will look far more favorably on a pitch from an SBIR grantee, because such a grant indicates that the recipient patiently followed the complex application process and has an idea the government is interested in.

“A person presenting his pitch to investors has a one-in-1,000 chance of getting funding from them,” Roberts said. “But someone coming before those same investors with an SBIR grant has a one-in-eight chance.”

The money for SBIR grants comes from federal agencies whose outside research and development budgets exceed $100 million. Such agencies are required to allocate 2.5 percent of those budgets to SBIR grants.  Currently, 11 agencies participate in the program, making grants to businesses with initiatives in their field of endeavor.

The SBIR Program is structured in three phases, according to the website. Phase I grants enable a business to establish the merit, feasibility and commercial potential of a small business’s research and development efforts. Phase II grants help successful Phase I grant recipients continue their research and development. Phase III grants, which are not made from SBIR funds but from other federal or federal-related sources, are made to a few Phase II grantees to help them pursue commercialization objectives.

Program details and eligibility requirements can be found on the SBIR website.