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Mike Nichols, left, state
director of MU Extension's MoFAST centers, talks with Brian
Alper, founder and medical director of Dynamic Medical Information
Systems. Nichols and MoFAST helped Alper secure a $100,000
grant to launch the company. Jim Curley photo
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Extension
Program Provides Economic Boost
By Jeremy Diener
Greater numbers of start-up technology companies
in Missouri are taking advantage of federal grants and, in turn,
contributing millions of dollars to the state's economy, thanks
to a program operated by University
of Missouri Extension.
The Missouri
Federal and State Technology Partnership (MoFAST) links the
U.S. Small Business Administration and MU Extension and its partners
to bring government research and development awards to Missouri's
small businesses.
The MoFAST program was established in 2002
to help businesses in the state take advantage of the federal
Small Business Innovative Research grant program (SBIR) and the
Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR). In the previous
year, Missouri small businesses had received a total of 16 awards
from the SBIR and STTR programs, resulting in a state ranking
of 46. After MoFAST implementation, Missouri received 40 awards,
infusing more than $8 million in federal money into Missouri's
entrepreneurial high-technology start-up companies.
"Just 30 percent of states nationwide
receive more than 50 awards per year," said Mike Nichols,
adjunct associate professor in the MU College of Engineering and
state director of MU Extension's MoFAST centers. "Thanks
in large part to the MoFAST program, Missouri is now poised to
enter that very select group."
While Nichols and his staff, with offices
in St. Louis, Kansas City and Rolla, work to help Missouri companies
win more than 50 awards in a year, the benefit to the state is
already apparent. From the program's inception through the first
quarter of 2004, Missouri received 103 awards bringing more than
$19 million to the region. Companies that submit proposals using
experienced MoFAST counselors have more than four times the probability
of being funded compared with pre-MoFAST applications.
"The goal of MoFAST is to help Missouri
companies become aware of the SBIR/STTR program and assist them
in preparing successful proposals to obtain grants through that
program," Nichols said. "We provide advice from seasoned
business specialists with specific expertise in SBIR programs,
business assistance and development, corporate management and
federal procurement procedures."
The SBIR program was initiated by the federal
government in 1982. This legislation, designed, among other things,
to stimulate technological innovation, required federal agencies
that meet certain criteria to set aside part of their research
and development budget for SBIR awards. In 2002, the year the
MoFAST program was initiated, the SBIR program made $1.4 billion
available, offering small technology-based companies the opportunity
to obtain seed capital for research and development early in the
innovative process. The STTR program expands that partnership
to include joint venture opportunities for small businesses and
the nation¿s premier non-profit research institutions.
One example of the program's success is Renewable
Alternatives, a Columbia company founded in July 2003. With MoFAST's
assistance, the company received an STTR grant to convert glycerin
to propylene glycol, a liquid used in antifreeze applications,
and an SBIR grant to convert fats and oils into phase change materials,
which use chemical bonds to store and release heat for use in
a variety of applications. The company currently has a $300,000
contract with a Chinese company contingent upon the success of
the SBIR-funded research, as well as potential sales to U.S. clothing
manufacturers.
To make the process as simple as possible,
MoFAST established a Web site that helps outline the application
process, contains previous winning proposals for comparison, and
details the latest news about the SBIR and STTR programs. Prospective
entrepreneurs are invited to visit the Web site.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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