For the first time in six years, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Road Tour, representing America’s largest seed fund, is hitting North Dakota. And they are coming to Fargo.

The Road Tour is a national outreach effort to convey the non-dilutive technology funding opportunity provided through the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Approximately, $2.5 billion is awarded to small businesses* through the program each year.

Workshop with the pros

The all day event features workshops on constructing Phase 1 Proposals with Jim Greenwood from Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc., with special guests U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and John Williams, Director of Innovation and Technology.

“When you have all these people come together in a one day event, the experience is very, very beneficial,” said Tyler Okerlund, SBIR Director. “They’re all there to help small businesses succeed and help them move forward in the process. The concept is to bring it all here in one area, so we can help people.”

Normally, Okerlund said, getting in touch with these individuals in Washington D.C. would cost thousands of dollars in flights and accommodation. Instead, they hope to help small businesses by bringing these people to you, to work with one-on-one.

“It brings these entrepreneurs and innovators together,” Okerlund said. “So you can literally talk to the person about your innovation and idea, and say is it worth us applying for this?”

The North Dakota comeback

The Road Tour puts all the managers onto a bus and takes them around the country, from Louisville, Kentucky to Portland, Oregon. It has been six years since the tour stopped in North Dakota, but with the recent growth of the startup community and the fact that ND is 49th when it comes to SBIR awards, Fargo immediately caught their eye.

“North Dakota is one of the most underutilized states in the nation,” Okerlund said. “With the significance of the UAV tech and the oil tech out West, we see that there is going to be a huge influx of innovative tech coming within this next year. With all the action going on in the state, it’s going to take off.”

If you go:

When: April 9, 2015, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Where: NDSCS Skills & Technology Center
Dr. Jerry C. Olson Auditorium
1305 19th Ave. N.

Cost: $25 (includes lunch)

To register, contact Tyler Okerlund, SBIR Director, 701-777-6623, tyler@innovators.net.

More information here.

Agenda for the event here.

*For the purposes of the SBIR program, the term “small business” is defined as a for-profit business with fewer than 500 employees, owned by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States of America. Funds are obtained by allocating a certain percentage of the total extramural (R&D) budgets of the 11 federal agencies with extramural research budgets in excess of $100 million.

Photos courtesy of SBIR and Tyler Okerlund.