WASHINGTON – New Brunswick will be one of 16 stops on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) road tour connecting entrepreneurs working on advanced technology to the country’s largest source of early stage funding – the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

“Led by the SBA with 11 participating federal agencies, the SBIR and STTR programs are also known as America’s Seed Fund, and focus on next generation research & development (R&D),” said SBA Region II Regional Administrator Steve Bulger, who oversees all SBA programs and services throughout New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The SBIR Road Tour is scheduled to come to New Brunswick on Wednesday September 18, 2019 and each SBIR Road Tour stop will be hosted by a local organization involved in supporting entrepreneurs in next generation R&D. Program managers from the participating federal agencies will conduct one-on-one meetings with attendees, take part in targeted panels, discuss technology areas, and share insights into how the agencies make funding decisions.

“For 35-years, New Jersey companies have received and benefited from a total of 4,516 SBIR/STTR awards for $1.2 billion,” said Bulger. “Without these two programs and the funding they provide, many of these small firms probably would have had difficulty in further developing their idea into an application. While the U.S. Government is the beneficiary of this R&D, the idea behind both SBIR/STTR is to eventually bring this research to commercialization so that it can be used in every-day applications.”

The SBIR/STTR programs provide over $3 billion in early stage funding to small businesses each year in a wide variety of technology areas such as unmanned systems, advanced materials, health, cybersecurity and defense. The SBIR/STTR programs execute over 4,000 new awards annually, which allow innovators to advance new technologies and have contributed to the creation of thousands of jobs.

Small technology firms, innovators, scientists or researchers seeking more information on the SBIR Road Tour, including site logistics, host organization and participating agencies should visit: www.sbirroadtour.com.

For more information about SBIR/STTR programs, visit www.sbir.gov.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and is a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses, and recover from disasters. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. To learn more about SBA, visit www.sba.gov.