Illinois Tech’s Office of Professional Development is offering a one day Grant Writing Workshop on Wednesday, November 7 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Rice Campus in Wheaton, Illinois.
Have a “technically risky” idea or product? Looking for grant funding, and want to learn how to write concisely and present effectively? Learn from an experienced Illinois Tech reviewer and awardee on how to build a strong Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) proposal.
Businesses need to continuously improve their products and leverage new technology to stay competitive and explore new markets. In addition to external investments and revenue-based models, businesses can leverage federal programs to accomplish this goal. In particular, the SBIR and STTR programs can be extremely effective in helping startups and small businesses transform their ideas into marketable solutions.
However, it is important to recognize that writing a grant proposal for funding is quite different from a project report, both in its composition and language. It requires a combination of technical background and strong business skills. This workshop will help small businesses, product developers, software developers, business managers, inventors, scientists, technologists, and anyone exploring unvalidated ideas to enter into a new market. This can also be beneficial for companies considering a spin-off venture with a new product line.
In this workshop, we will go over some opportunities for federal funding and explore relevance for your specific business model. We will discuss the SBIR/STTR funding mechanism, with emphasis on the National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR/STTR program. You will learn how to develop concise technical proposals for federal, private, and internal funding.
Benefits/Learning Objectives
You will get a reviewer and awardee’s perspective on:
- Learning how to read a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to determine if the specific funding mechanism is suitable
- Gauging if your R&D project is challenging enough to be funded
- What questions reviewers often ask in a proposal
- Differentiating between a technical report and a grant proposal
- Presenting and writing your ideas in a concise and cohesive format
- When and how to use an elevator pitch
- Go step-by-step over NSF SBIR/STTR proposal preparation
- Identifying elements that often strengthen (or weaken) a proposal
- How to leverage local partners such as universities and other small businesses
Who should attend
- You have a “technically risky” idea and are looking for an opportunity to explore both the technology and market
- Individuals and small businesses seeking funding without giving away any equity in exchange
- Technical and business team members including project managers, business managers, inventors, scientists and company heads that want to grow potentially marketable, but unvalidated ideas
- Faculty and Staff from academic institutions interested in working with SBIR/STTR applicants as subcontractors and supporting personnel
About the Facilitator:
Mahesh Krishnamurthy has served as a technical panelist for several U.S. and foreign funding agencies including the National Science Foundation (multiple directorates), Department of Energy, NASA, ARPA-e, NSERC (Canada) and several others. His research has received funding from several of the above-mentioned agencies, either individually or as a part of a team. Of particular relevance to this workshop, Krishnamurthy has served on numerous SBIR technical panels and is also the sub-recipient of a phase-I and phase-II SBIR award from the National Science Foundation. Krishnamurthy was the recipient of the 2006–07 IEEE VTS- Transportation Electronics Fellowship Award for his contributions. Since 2015, he has been serving as a distinguished speaker with the IEEE-Vehicular Technology Society after serving as a distinguished lecturer from 2011–13 and 2013–15. He has co-authored more than 85 scientific articles, book chapters, and technical reports. He is also the advisor for the Formula Electric race car team at Illinois Tech, which won the prestigious Fiat Chrysler Innovation award at the SAE Formula Hybrid Competition. He is the recipient of the 2017 Bauer Family Teaching Excellence Award (single award) the 2017 Armour Excellence in Education Award (single award) at Illinois Tech.
Register here. Contact Mary LaFleur at 630.682.6030 or mlafleur@iit.edu with any questions. The cost of the workshop is $395 per person and lunch and a continental breakfast will be provided.
This workshop awards .58 Continuing Education Units.