|
| About WSSI | About SBIR/STTR | Getting Started | Wyoming Award Winners | News & Events |
| 1.0 ANALOGIC ENGINEERING, GUERNSEY WINS USDA PHASE I Congratulations to Analogic Engineering on their recent USDA Phase I. Company: Analogic Engineering, Guernsey Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research: In the U.S. there are 80,000 public and 95,000 private crossings without train-activated warnings. Over $100 million is spent each year to reduce this risk, but this only provides warning systems for about 1,000 crossings. A low-cost solar-powered system based on commercially available technologies (secure wireless networking, solar-powered LED traffic lights, electronic bells and in-pavement hazard lights), combined with a proprietary train sensor being developed by AEI, would greatly accelerate the rate of elimination of these dangerous crossings that represent a disproportionate risk to rural communities. A transmitted train ETA could also benefit HAZMAT trucks, school buses and emergency vehicles. return to CONTENTS |
| 2.0 BASICS OF PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, COPYRIGHTS & TRADE SECRETS WORKSHOP IN SHERIDAN The Wyoming Small Business Development Center is offering a free workshop covering the Basics of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights & Trade Secrets. This workshop will address intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights). Each form will be defined, how they differ from each other, and the requirements to obtain each form. This workshop will be presented by Dawn Rohan, Intellectual Property Librarian, Wyoming State Library. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 24th, 2005 from 1-4:30 p.m. at the Sheridan College, Room 168 of the Whitney Building, Sheridan, WY. Class space is limited so pre-registration is required however, there is no fee to attend. For information or to register please contact the Gillette SBDC office 682-5232 or 1-888-956-6060. The Wyoming Small Business Development Center exists to help start-up and existing small businesses by providing education, workshops, resources and free, confidential business counseling. The Wyoming Small Business Development Center is a partnership program funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council, and the University of Wyoming. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made, if requested at least two weeks in advance. Please contact: Linda Calhoun in Gillette at: (307) 682-5232, toll-free 1-888-956-6060 or email: reg5sbdc@vcn.com return to CONTENTS |
| 3.0 NATIONAL SBIR/STTR PHASE II CONFERENCE - BEYOND PHASE II: READY FOR TRANSITION The Department of Defense, in association with the Small Business Administration and all 11 SBIR agencies, is sponsoring the 2005 National SBIR/STTR Phase II Conference -- a very special event focusing exclusively on transitioning current Phase II technologies into the military and private sector. Where: San Diego, California This conference will provide a forum to bring together scientist, engineers, and technology decision makers from a wide range of disciplines and environments to discuss all aspects of transitioning SBIR-supported research and development into government and private sector commercial markets. The program will include plenary speakers, focused sessions, pre-arranged 20-minute appointments between SBIR small businesses and representatives from government prime contractors, defense acquisition programs, and other potential end users of the technology, poster papers, and exhibits. These sessions provide the opportunity for small businesses, large businesses and government agencies to discuss their capabilities and needs. To participate, invited Phase II firms, defense acquisition programs, prime contractors and other large businesses must register on the conference web site and provide information to facilitate matching small businesses with potential end users of the technology to schedule pre-arranged appointments. There will also be a wide variety of exhibiting opportunities for this event (PH II Technology Poster Sessions, table top exhibits, and full exhibits). The exhibit hall will be a central place of activity during this event. Advanced Phase II areas that will be discussed include: Legal Issues, Accounting Issues, Marketing Issues, Negotiating Issues, Firm Issues for Growing Companies. Who are Invited to Attend and Exhibit: · SBIR/STTR small businesses with at least one Phase II award in the last 4 years · Prime contractors · Defense Acquisition program managers · Other government agencies/offices that acquire technology products and services. Who are Invited to Exhibit only: · SBIR Support Companies · Industry Service Providers (accounting firms, legal firms, etc.) return to CONTENTS |
| 4.0 CHANGES TO ARMY FY05.2 SBIR OFFERING The Army has announced four changes to their pre-release FY05.2 SBIR. They are: 1) A statement was added to Army topic A05-211; 2) Two sentences in the Army 05.2 Instructions have changed; 3) Title Change to Army Topic A05-237; 4) Army Topic A05-200 has been Withdrawn. Changes are posted on the DoD SBIR web site at www.dodsbir.net/solicitation/sbir052/modlist.htm. To receive email notifications of future DoD SBIR changes, visit the SBIR Gateway web site at: www.zyn.com/sbir/bnews.htm#dod05-2. return to CONTENTS |
5.0 SBIR VC ISSUES
Rick Shindell of the SBIR Gateway and ZYN Systems continues to provide insider information on the issue of allowing businesses owned by large Venture Capital organizations to compete with small businesses for SBIR funding...
The SBA has released the public comments received in response to their Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM). These comments include, but are not limited to, the issue of allowing unrestricted access to the SBIR program by companies owned by venture capital organizations. View these comments at http://www.sba.gov/size/anprm_sbir_comments-01.html#assns
A panel of SBA officials will preside over 11 formal public hearings. The purpose of the hearings is to obtain the views of SBA's stakeholders on approaches to simplify and restructure size standards, to identify other policy changes which may make size standards easier to understand and use, and to obtain stakeholder views on the other issues being considered, such as the possible participation of businesses majority-owned by venture capital companies in the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Oral and written testimony will become part of the hearing record for SBA's consideration. Hearings will take place starting June 2, 2005 and end June 29, 2005. The schedule is: June 2, 2005 - Seattle, WA Anyone interested in testifying must pre-register in advance with SBA. Registration requests must be received by SBA at least 5 business days prior to the scheduled hearing date. Please contact the Office of Size Standards in writing at Hearings.sizestandards@sba.gov. Please include the following information relating to the person requesting to testify: Name, Title, Organization Affiliation, Address, Telephone Number, E-mail Address, Fax Number, and which hearing the presenter wants to attend to provide testimony. SBA will attempt to accommodate all interested parties that wish to present testimony. Testimony will be limited to five minutes. Complete details can be obtained from the SBA web site at http://www.sba.gov/size/indexwhatsnew.html
The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship had scheduled a May 24 hearing on a number of issues including participation of VC-owned businesses in the SBIR program. For reasons unknown, the hearing has been cancelled with no information provided on if and when there will be a rescheduled hearing. |
6.0 UPCOMING CONFERENCES/TRAININGS/SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS
When: June 2, 2005, Bozeman When creating a commercial plan for your invention, you will have to decide between manufacturing it yourself or licensing it to an outsider. Do you know enough about licensing to make that decision? Have you considered a strategy that includes both options? Marti Elder will present "Licensing Your Innovation: Why, What & How," a 6-hour workshop sponsored by the Montana Dept of Commerce SBIR Outreach office in partnership with the MSU EPSCOR program. Marti Elder is a seasoned licensing agent and commercialization consultant. Her Bozeman-based business works with clients located in Montana, throughout the U.S., and internationally. She is a member of the preeminent Licensing Executives Society, and her articles can be viewed in the leading national publications for inventing. Material to be covered in the workshop includes: Cost: Pre-registration discount, $75.00 (must be
received before May 27, 2005). On or after May 27, 2005, $100.00
The 7th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR conference dates are now set for July 28- 29,2005. The conference will be held on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. Learn How to Tap into $640 M Reserved Explicitly for Small Businesses Interested in Biomedical/Behavioral Research. This free two day conference, organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will focus on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding opportunities available explicitly to small businesses that have innovative biomedical or behavioral research ideas with commercial potential. This conference will benefit those who are relatively new to the Program as well as those who are more experienced. This is a must-attend conference if you're interested in the NIH SBIR/STTR program. Questions? Contact Mark Brown - ConferenceInquiries@mail.nih.gov or 240-632-5618.
Where: Albany, NY, The Crowne Plaza Hotel Albany City Center Description: The National Science Foundation, in association with the Small Business Administration and all 11 SBIR agencies, is sponsoring this 2005 Fall National SBIR/STTR Conference. Annually, the SBIR and STTR programs provide over $2 billion to small businesses through federal programs to help entrepreneurs take their ideas from conception to reality. This conference will give you the tools you need to obtain part of the $2+ billion available to small business innovators. This conference also provides each participant with multiple opportunities to meet and network with SBIR and STTR Program Managers, and fellow attendees, including SBIR/STTR award winners, speakers, and experts from businesses and the government willing to work with you to move your business ahead. Who Should Attend: Attendees include SBIR and STTR representatives from the Federal Agencies involved in the programs, sales and marketing professionals, small business owners, entrepreneurs, university researchers, scientists seeking commercialization strategies, venture capitalists, and all small businesses seeking to secure federal funding. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. Refer questions to Sharon DelaBarre at sbir@dbamlg.com or 360-683-5742. |
| 7.0 COMPETITION TIP: FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER!!! A goal in SBIR competition is to "sell" the reviewers and agency representatives on the proposed innovation in order to have submitted proposals selected for award. Key to achieving this goal is focusing on and responding to the customer (SBIR agency). This includes understanding the customer mission, requirements, interests, procedures and proposal preparation instructions. Too often there is a disconnect between the "selling" document (proposal) and what the customer will "buy." Rudimentary problems such as not including in the proposal what the solicitation requests can be very frustrating to agency personnel (customer) - and handicap the proposal in the evaluation process. Other examples include failure to fully understand the agency mission and specific end-use applications for the funded research (especially important at "mission-oriented" agencies such as DOD and NASA). Draft SBIR proposals that we review frequently focus too much on material that interests the Principal Investigator and proposing team, and not enough on what is important to the customer. For example, the proposal may have exciting technology, but little evidence how it will help meet the mission and/or needs of the agency. Or there may be extensive background material, but little clarity about the proposed project objectives/aims, and few details about what/how/where/when the work will be executed. SBIR competition teams must focus on satisfying the customer, not themselves, in the proposal preparation process. A time-tested "best practice" for achieving this end is to subject proposal drafts to multiple critical reviews by those experienced with high quality SBIR competition and proposal preparation. So focus on the customers - they really are King!!! This competition tip first appeared in the August 13, 1999 issue of the Wyoming SBIR Newsletter. Follow this link to a complete set of Competition Tips. return to CONTENTS |
| 8.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND PUBLICATION INFORMATION TO BE ADDED TO OR REMOVED FROM THE DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR THIS NEWSLETTER, SEND NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO jillkline@vcn.com. Prepared by: Jill Kline, WSSI Outreach Coordinator, 307.682.2660 or toll free in Wyoming, 866.703.3280, jillkline@vcn.com, and Gene Watson, WSSI Program Manager, 307.742.7162, ewatson@wyoming.com. This newsletter is published every other week as part of the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI). The mission of the Initiative is to increase the number of federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program awards to Wyoming. The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) funds the initiative which is administered by the University of Wyoming Research Office. Please contact Jill Kline (see contact information above) with your comments. return to CONTENTS |
END