Rebecca Todd of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center spoke to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business today.
Todd, ASBTDC’s innovation specialist based at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, participated via Zoom in a hybrid online and in-person hearing about the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
The hearing was the first in a series on SBIR/STTR as Congress prepares to reauthorize the programs before Sept. 30, 2022, when the current authorization expires.
Todd and three others addressed the committee about “America’s Seed Fund” programs and their impact on small business.
Also testifying were Dr. Joyce Tung, vice president of research at 23andMe, Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif.; Pat Keady, the founder, CEO, and president of Aerosol Devices Inc. in Fort Collins, Colo.; and Jere Glover, executive director of the Small Business Technology Council in Washington, D.C.
SBIR and STTR provide crucial early-stage funding to small companies engaged in state-of-the-art research and development, Todd said.
“As the largest source of non-dilutive funding for early-stage research-based companies, the SBIR/STTR program is critical to helping them successfully develop and commercialize new products and services,” she told the committee.
Todd also praised FAST, the Federal and State Technology Partnership program administered by the Small Business Administration. Competitive grant funding through FAST supports ASBTDC’s specialized training, mentoring, and outreach to Arkansas companies pursuing SBIR and STTR grants and contracts.
“The FAST program has enabled us to establish a network of support for small business innovation and provide access for Arkansas small businesses that otherwise wouldn’t have existed,” she said.
“The more that FAST awardees like ASBTDC can cultivate SBIR/STTR success for small businesses across the country, the greater the economic payoff in terms of growth in the number of new innovative companies, high-tech, high-paying jobs that will attract top student talent from our universities, and new solutions for technological challenge areas.”