How to Compete for Over $150 Million in Federal Funding to Develop and Commercialize Energy-Related

President Obama has talked about developing the technology America needs for a greener, more energy-efficient economy, the role of small businesses has come to the fore. Major sources of R&D funds for firms with 500 or fewer employees are the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs. A primary goal of the approximately $150 million FY2009 SBIR and STTR programs is to unleash innovation into the commercial market, so commercial potential is a significant criterion in proposal review. To help DOE applicants and other energy entrepreneurs better understand the process of commercialization, assess the commercial potential of their technologies, write better proposals, and speed commercialization of their innovations, DOE has contracted with Foresight Science & Technology, a leading firm in commercialization and technology transfer, to provide a Technical Assistance Program commercialization web portal. The portal is free, but you must register at http://doecapreg.foresightst.com to gain access.

Among the tools available are:

— Commercialization 101(TM), an e-learning course on commercialization
and how to do market research and deal-making.
— Market Overviews on markets for over 200 Technical Topics and
Subtopics in the current DOE SBIRSTTR Solicitations at
http://www.science.doe.gov/sbir/newweb/PhaseIOpportunities.htm.
— Foresight’s Go/NoGo(TM) Template and Help File for conducting your own
assessment of your technologies’ commercial potentials.
— The DOE TAP Discussion Group for knowledge sharing and gaining advice
from Foresight and the users of the portal.
— Phyl Speser’s Blog. A multiple SBIR award winner, author of the best
selling textbook “The Art& Science of Technology Transfer” (Wiley 2006), a
former professor of intellectual property law, and an accomplished deal-
maker, Phyl shares tips and tricks of the trade in addition to responding
to questions about how to move your technology to market.
— Tools for Writing a DOE Phase I Proposal. Guides and tips for
SBIRSTTR proposal preparation in general and how to integrate
commercialization into your DOE SBIR Phase I Proposal.

Matt Wool, Foresight Science & Technology’s Vice President of Web Services, stated: “We are very excited to be able to offer the first web portal specifically focused on the commercialization of energy-related technologies as part of our Technical Assistance Program for DOE SBIR and STTR awardees and applicants. The site helps entrepreneurs compete for over $150 million in funding while integrating commercialization into the R&D and proposal preparation processes.”

For more information on the DOE Technical Assistance Portal, please email t2mentor@foresightst.com. Foresight’s website is www.foresightst.com.