FAST Center at Illinois

Illinois FAST Center

Federal and State Technology Partnership Center at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

The Illinois FAST Center, led by EnterpriseWorks, provides free resources, support, and expertise necessary to submit a highly competitive SBIR/STTR funding proposal. Together, we have helped companies acquire millions of dollars in federal SBIR/STTR funding – at no cost whatsoever to them.

Securing federal grant funding for your innovative idea or technology is a critical step toward commercial success. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, often referred to as “America’s Seed Fund,” are an excellent source of undiluted funding, but are highly competitive.

Why the Illinois FAST Center is at EnterpriseWorks?

Up to 25% of all State of Illinois SBIR/STTR funding is awarded annually to the companies or graduates of EnterpriseWorks in Research Park.

These programs award $2 billion dollars annually to qualified small businesses across the nation for innovative projects that meet specific federal needs. Entrepreneurs receive anywhere from $150,000 to $1 million in capital. Awards are based on small business qualifications, degree of innovation, technical merit and future market potential.

Illinois FAST Center Resources

Office Hours

Office hours are available by appointment to Illinois-based teams seeking quick answers about SBIR/STTR funding.

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SBIR/STTR FAQs

Best Kept Secret! Click here to download your very own copy of this super valuable resource.

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Subscribe to the FAST Center Newsletter to stay up-to-date on programs, webinars, and other resources.

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One-on-One Technical Assistance

Entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors throughout the State of Illinois can apply for one-on-one technical assistance. This includes assistance with more complex SBIR/STTR questions such as insight, guidance, or strategy for selecting an agency or solicitation, review and feedback of proposal drafts, and help with proposal budgets and application process. A limited number of hours are available for per business, per proposal for 1:1 technical assistance and are subject to availability of program funding.

Roland Garton is President and Lead Consultant of Garton Consulting Services, Inc. He has over four decades of experience with grant development, government contracting, program and project management, training and documentation, and program administration.

Roland has written or advised on scores of SBIR proposals worth several million dollars to 9 of the 11 federal SBIR-granting agencies. He has also managed several projects resulting from successful SBIR proposals. In addition, he has set up bookkeeping and timekeeping systems for many SBIR recipients, prepared invoices and Incurred Cost Proposals, and helped navigate multiple companies through federal audits, many of them conducted by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).

Anna Lisa is an experienced medical device consultant, venture capitalist, intellectual property analyst, technology transfer specialist, biomedical researcher, and entrepreneur specializing in early-stage, cutting-edge technology businesses. She has been part of the entrepreneurial community in Illinois for 14 years and has helped drive the formation and raised angel and venture funding for several startup companies while also serving as top management for many of the ventures.

Somera’s advising adds up to over thirty million dollars in grants to date, mostly for Illinois companies. Her multi-disciplinary academic preparation in business, public health, and cell biology, along with her strong ties to the University of Illinois, has aided in her success in the entrepreneurial community. Additionally, Somera serves as an SBIR/STTR grant consultant at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Argonne National Laboratory.

Kristen (Kris) Parmelee is a proud graduate of Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). She started her career at an Indianapolis-based nonprofit in program development and management. After gaining initial experience in fund raising, Kris launched her own venture in 2000 with a focus on private foundation and federal grants. In 2005, she expanded her experience to include SBIR/STTR and for the past five years, has focused almost exclusively on SBIR/STTR and project management services.

Heidi Platt is the Founder and President of Platinum Grants & Proposals. With a Chemical Engineering degree from Purdue University, she has gained more than 15 years of engineering and project leadership experience. Heidi has written and assisted with many winning government proposals and has had the responsibility of managing government contracts.

Before founding Platinum Grants & Proposals, Heidi was the Director of the Proposal Assistance Program at high tech engineering firm Techshot where she assisted businesses with the development of federal and state proposals by providing outlines, guidance, reviews, and technical analysis. One of her main roles was to teach clients the process of preparing and submitting an SBIR/STTR proposal. Heidi also served as Techshot’s project engineer. Through this role, she developed SBIR proposals and managed multiple research and development contracts with NASA.

SBIR/STTR Training Events

Through the FAST Partnership Program, we offer monthly webinars that focus on introductory topics (SBIR 101) and explore opportunities related to specific agencies that participate in the SBIR program. We also offer webinars and workshops that provide a deeper dive on agency SBIR/STTR programs or processes, successful award management, Phase II topics, and updates, priorities, or changes at the federal or state level for SBIR/STTR stakeholders. We collaborate with Illinois ecosystem peers to produce and deliver intensive training workshops designed to help qualified teams to prepare successful SBIR/STTR grant applications for submission.

NEW! Ready! Set! Go!

In November 2024, the FAST Center launched a new Ready! Set! Go! program designed to drive competitive proposal development.

READY!

The Ready! series will help potential applicants understand what it takes to compete (a lot more than just writing text!), assess their current level or readiness, and establish a plan for addressing weak areas. All Ready! sessions will have optional exercises that may be submitted for feedback from a FAST consultant. The exercises will help build a Readiness Portfolio, which is required for participation in the Set! series. Topics include:

Readiness overview and proposal development timeline
Selecting an initial agency and topic
Analysis of funded abstracts
Structuring a team; Collaborators and supporters; Market placement
Developing core/summary documents – outline, pitch, quad chart, abstract, specific aims

These sessions assume a general familiarity with the SBIR/STTR program, but have no entrance requirements. They are not specific to any single agency. Once presented, they will be available on the FAST website for those wishing to complete the exercises and request feedback.

SET!

In the Set! series, participants will establish initial outlines or drafts of key proposal elements. All work will be reviewed by FAST consultants. Sessions will be bi-weekly, and topics will be organized by proposal elements, for example, Technical Objectives, Work Plan, Commercialization, Letters of Support, Budget & Justification. Topics will also include more general guidance in contacting a program manager, registrations, the review process, and formatting & graphics. Sessions may be targeted towards specific agencies and will be scheduled to mesh with agency deadlines.

The Set! Series is open to those who apply and are accepted. Applications will require the submission of a promising Ready! portfolio, which includes exercises from Ready! sessions or the equivalent. Application forms are being developed.

GO!

In the GO! series, participants will successively move towards final drafts of competitive proposals. Each participant will receive extensive feedback from FAST consultants over multiple iterations. Sessions will be organized by proposal section and by timeline (e.g., sketch, initial draft, final draft). Sessions will be agency-specific, held every two weeks, and scheduled to mesh with agency submission deadlines.

Full participation in the Set! series will be limited in number to allow for meaningful interaction with the consultants between sessions. Selection of participants will be based on a review of the Set! portfolio, which includes work from Set! sessions or the equivalent, and an indication of interest from a federal agency. Examples of interest could include an invitation to submit in response to a Project Pitch, or an encouraging agency email.

Exercise Submission for Feedback

1. SBIR/STTR Webinar: Ready! Set! Go! Program Launch

2. Company Team Overview / Gap Analysis & Evidence of Market Demand

3. Proposal Summaries & Tech Objectives

Fast Center Calendar and Newsletter

Subscribe to the FAST Center Newsletter to stay up-to-date on programs, webinars, and other resources for the SBIR/STTR community in Illinois.

SUBSCRIBE TO FAST CENTER COMMS

We post our upcoming events on the FAST Center of Illinois calendar. Want to receive notices about upcoming events? Click the SUBSCRIBE button below.

VISIT FAST CENTER CALENDAR

For more information or questions, please contact il-fast-training@lists.illinois.edu. We love to share FAST Center success stories!

State of Illinois SBIR/STTR Phase 1 matching grant program

- IL DCEO Website for SBIR/STTR Phase I Matching Program
  Learn more about eligibility, restrictions, application process, award process, and reporting requirements.
- IL DCEO Notice of Funding Opportunity for the SBIR/STTR Phase I Matching Program – including links for supplemental documents
- VIDEO: During this session from Oct. 2024, Roland Garton and Jamie Gladfelter led a discussion focused on SBIR/STTR Matching & Supplementary Funds. The video archive may be viewed here, and the slide archives may be viewed here.