Event Seeks to Boost Support For Small Tech Businesses

The state director of the Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center says the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research Road Tour will allow small tech companies to compete on the same level as larger businesses by securing research and development funding. Shane Springer says the event, being held Friday in downtown Indianapolis, allows entrepreneurs to meet with program managers from 11 federal agencies.

Springer says small businesses can learn about the SBA’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, which are grants awarded to small tech firms to "spur and advance technological discoveries and facilitate the commercialization of innovation." He says the road tour is a chance to stop in states that have been underserved by the SBIR/STTR programs.

"It’s really a way to level the playing field," said Springer. "It’s a fantastic opportunity to continue to support innovation here in Indiana (and) continue to provide our entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to be successful."

Springer adds entrepreneurs can use the road tour to bypass the "bureaucratic barrier" of trying to get a hold of an actual program manager from a federal agency. "This provides that opportunity for those one-on-one, intimate meetings where they can meet and collaborate."

This is the second consecutive year the road tour has made a stop in Indiana. In addition to one-on-one meetings with program managers, small businesses will have the opportunity to showcase their latest innovations and network with other companies from throughout the state. 

The event comes more than a month after Governor Mike Pence unveiled his 10-year, $1 billion plan to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana. You can learn more about the SBIR Road Tour by clicking here.