SBIR National Conference Coming to RTP April 30 - May 3, 2007 For the first time ever, North Carolina will be hosting the SBIR National Conference this spring. The Spring 2007 SBIR National Conference will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, conveniently located in Research Triangle Park on April 30 - May 3rd, 2007. The location is within a 5 minute drive from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and within a half-day drive from GA, SC, TN, VA, WV, DC and MD. The theme of this conference is "Leveraging SBIR Funding and Research Partnerships to Develop Tomorrow's Products". The conference agenda, which offers three concurrent tracks, will offer attendees access to over 35 presenters including SBIR/STTR Program Managers from the eleven participating federal agencies, proposal preparation experts, business / commercialization specialists, follow-on investors and companies that have experienced success in SBIR/STTR funding. Information about the conference is available at www.ncsbir.org. The conference planning committee is comprised of members from the NC SBTDC, NC Biotechnology Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NC Board of Science and Technology, Georgia SBIR Assistance Center, VA Procurement Technical Assistance Center, KY Small Business Development Center and the Florida Small Business Development Center. Sponsors NC IDEA Daniels, Daniels & Verdonik Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton Tech Journal South

Solicitations Open and in the Pipeline

NIH (SBIR/STTR): Opens 1/11
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

DoD (STTR): Opens 1/22
http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/solicitations/index.htm

DOT (SBIR): Opens 1/22
http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir/

EPA (SBIR): Opens 3/22
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/sbir/

NC Board of Science and Technology Match Program Update

North Carolina small businesses are now eligible to receive significant follow-on grant assistance in support of their SBIR or STTR projects under the One North Carolina Small Business Program. Under this Program the State of North Carolina issues a grant to eligible companies of up to 100% of the amount that the company receives in a federal SBIR/STTR Phase I award (up to a maximum of $100,000). These matching grants are disbursed in two stages: 75% of the total is disbursed upon proof of Phase I award, and 25% is disbursed upon submission of the Phase II application and acceptance of the Phase I report by the federal SBIR/STTR program agency. These grants are administered by the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

North Carolina's entrepreneurial community has enthusiastically applauded state lawmakers for their innovation and action in creating this program, and, by doing so, for recognizing the importance of entrepreneurial growth companies to the state's economy.

Calendar year 2006 marked the program's first full year of operation. During that year, the program issued a total of 52 Phase I matching grants totaling $3,411,668 to North Carolina small businesses, reflecting an average grant of over $65,000. Approximately 75 percent of grants were associated with SBIR awards, while the remaining 25 percent were with STTR awards.

The Board of Science and Technology is preparing the program's first annual report, to be released in spring 2007. The report will provide detailed information about the program's purpose, development, performance, and grant recipients. Additional information about the program, including application instructions and materials, is available at: http://www.ncscienceandtechnology.com.

SBIR Insider Newsletter: New Edition

Available online at: http://www.zyn.com/sbir/insider/

• Outlook for SBIR Issues in the 110th Congress
• Update on SBA Administrator, Steven Preston
• Confirmation Hearing on New SBA Deputy Administrator
• Changes at DoD SBIR Headquarters
• SBIR Data Rights in Jeopardy as Night Vision Corp. Loses SBIR Phase III Appeal
• What Happened to NIST's FY-2007 SBIR Phase I Program?
• Celadon Laboratories Wins NIH SBIR Protest, or do They?
• Thanks to the NSF for the Many Years of National SBIR Conference Support
• SBIR Year in Review and Person of the Year

NIH Grantsmanship Presentation Available

Dr. Greg Milman of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases has made available a presentation titled "Advice on NIH SBIR & STTR Grant Applications - Grantsmanship". The presentation provides an overview of topics such as reviewers, budget, page limits, electronic submission, etc. The presentation is available for download in .pdf at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/sbir/grantsmanship/grantsmanship.pdf.