This fall the College of Business received some tangible recognition from the Small Business Administration for its efforts to help local small businesses. The recognition came in the form of an award of $150,000 from the SBA’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. This grant award has allowed the ISU College of Business to establish the new ISU College of Business Commercialization Center.

The ISU College of Business Commercialization Center works in collaboration with Elevate Idaho, which is a collaborative partnership of several different agencies across the state. The center aims to help high-tech entrepreneurs pursue Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant opportunities. Services the center will provide include grant writing, market research and technology value proposition development for submitting applications and presentations for Phase I, II and III SBIR/STTR grant opportunities. The center will also offer specialized services to meet the specialized needs of its clients.

The SBIR/STTR program has existed since the 1980s and has played an important role in supporting high-tech companies. The SBIR/STTR program awards federally funded grants designed to help bolster the research and development efforts of American small businesses. The program has been a catalyst for innovation and job creation throughout the United States.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, innovative small businesses over the past few decades have played a vital role in job creation in the United States. Companies that receive SBIR/STTR grants are very often job creators and economic engines in their communities. By supporting SBIR/STTR applicants in Idaho ISU’s College of Business feels that it can serve the state by promoting economic vitality.

The center will draw upon expertise from the ISU College of Business. Dr. Neil Tocher, professor and chair of the Department of Marketing and Management, and Dr. Dan Cravens, clinical assistant professor of management and director of Bengal Solutions, along with a team of graduate assistants, will staff the center.

Elevate Idaho includes ISU’s College of Business, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho (REDI). Idaho over the past few years thanks to the efforts of the organizations which make up Elevate Idaho has seen an increase in SBIR/STTR awards to small businesses in the state. The ISU College of Business Commercialization Center will enhance these already successful efforts. According to Lori Manning, the Idaho director of PTAC, “I believe the commercialization center will become vital in helping our Idaho entrepreneurs secure grant funds. Together as a program, the Fast Grant partnerships will help innovators impact our technological advances for the state of Idaho and our nation.”

Dr. Tocher is enthusiastic about the center’s impact on small businesses in the state. According to Dr. Tocher, “The ISU COB Commercialization Center provides hands-on experiential learning for our students through offering an essential service to high potential entrepreneurs that will help Idaho businesses create and maintain high-paying jobs. The student teams will focus on grant writing, market research and pitch development for high-potential entrepreneurs because those three areas are often the bottlenecks that hinder access to SBIR seed grants. The experience gained by our students working in the commercialization center will greatly enhance their entrepreneurial knowledge, sales skills, writing abilities and understanding of the new venture funding process. This body of knowledge will greatly enhance their employment potential and ability to launch their own successful entrepreneurial ventures.”

Those interested in receiving assistance from the ISU College of Business Commercialization Center should contact Dr. Dan Cravens at 208-282-4694 or via email at cravdan@isu.edu.

Dr. Dan Cravens is a clinical assistant professor of management and director of Bengal Solutions at Idaho State University’s College of Business.