Utah Innovation Center

The Utah Innovation Center serves as a catalyst for technology innovation in the state of Utah. Housed within the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, the center provides a funding roadmap for Utah startups and emerging companies developing innovative technology.

Does your Technology or Innovation Solve a Problem?

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, branded as America’s Seed Fund, provide R&D funding to small businesses through a competitive process to advance novel technologies and products. Eleven federal agencies award approximately $4 billion each year to small businesses to research, develop, and commercialize innovative solutions to today's most challenging problems.

The Essentials

Getting Started

Resources

What are the SBIR/STTR Programs?

Frequently Asked Questions

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants and contracts fund small businesses’ research and development (R&D) projects. Together, they provide $4 billion annually to help small businesses minimize risk so innovative technology can move closer to commercialization.

Currently, 11 federal agencies participate in SBIR and five of those also participate in STTR, both of which are congressionally-mandated programs. These non-equity position dollars pay for a company’s research and development efforts. There is no loss of technology ownership, no loss of intellectual property and no payback of funds.

This non-dilutive funding is offered in competitive phases:

Phase I typically offers $150,000 to $250,000 for a six-month project to prove the feasibility and technical merit of your idea or technology.
Phase II typically offers $1 to $1.5 million for a 24-month project and is meant to expand the Phase I results and evaluate commercial potential.
Phase III takes place as the technology moves from the laboratory to the marketplace. While SBIR-STTR funds do not support this phase, some agencies offer sole-source contracts or follow-on non-SBIR funded research and development to help the small business commercialize a product.

Agencies are mandated by Congress to participate in the SBIR program when their extramural research budget is greater than $100 million and in the STTR program when it is over $1 billion. Currently, 11 agencies participate in the SBIR program and of those, five also participate in the STTR program (indicated in bold below).

You can search for open topics at Open Topic Search. For links and guidance on SBIR /STTR funding, you can go to SBIR.gov or any of the individual agencies participating in the programs:

Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Department of Defense (DoD)
Department of Education (DoED)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Science Foundation (NSF)

The proposed technology must be in the early stages of research and development (experimental and untested technology), not yet commercialized, and directly address a “topic” from one of the participating federal agencies.

Depending on the federal agency, a “topic” may reference a broad mission or a specific problem to solve. Applicants are invited to propose and develop a new technology that directly addresses the topic.

Contact innovationutah@utah.gov to assess if your proposed technology is a good fit under the SBIR/STTR program.

What We Do?

Services

The Center provides:

Proposal review and editing
Training and mentoring
Samples and templates
Topic matching
Business connections
Funding network
Technical and business assistance

Training & Events

Events and Workshops the Center provides:

Monthly SBIR 101 Workshop
Agency-specific trainings
Expert panels
Federal agency webinars
Networking events
Commercialization

Funding Support

Utah Technology Innovation Funding (UTIF) supports Utah small companies in their efforts to develop novel technology and products through the SBIR and STTR programs. Utah applicants and winners can apply for:

Microgrants
Nonrecourse loans

Consultations

Events

UTIF

Getting Started

1. Have a novel technology/product idea

2. Attend our SBIR 101 workshop

Eventbrite

3. Create a business/get a business license

Startup State Initiative

4. Schedule a consultation with us

Schedule now

5. Start your free SAM.gov registrations

SAM.gov

Testimonials & Success Stories

Success Stories

Utah Innovation Center News

Oct / 2024

Wasatch Ionics Wins SBIR Phase II Award for Lithium-Oxygen Battery Development

Sep / 2024

U.S. Department of Energy Awards $12.6 Million to Utah Businesses

Aug / 2024

WETx Secures $1M SBIR Phase II Grant for Groundbreaking Water Management Solution

Utah Innovation Center News

Technical & Business Assistance Resources

Here are technical and business assistance resources available to Utah entrepreneurs. To identify specific resources, perform a general term search or filter results based on specialty and location. The Utah Innovation Center does not endorse firms listed in the directory.

Entity	County	Specialties/Services	Entity Description
Espiritu	Salt Lake	Engineering Services, Prototype Design, Product Design and Development	Espiritu is a product development consultancy that combines design and technology expertise to define tangible results and create lasting impact.
Enclavix, LLC - VentureWrench	Washington (but work all over the state and country)	Business and Commercialization Plan, Customer Discovery/Market Validation, Engineering Services, Financial, Grant Writing, Market Research, Company Building and Entrepreneur/CEO coaching	The VentureWrench Coaches at Enclavix are award-winning serial entrepreneurs, raised millions in Angel and VC funding, and are SBIR/STTR awardees.
Lohman & Associates	Salt Lake	Accounting	Fractional CFO/Controller, from the day-to-day accounting needs through complex financial analyses and technical accounting matters.
Squire & Company	Salt Lake	Accounting, Auditing, Financial, Small Business Innovation Research Grants and Single Audits (Federal Award Audits)	Squire & Company provides audit, tax, advisory and wealth management services, with expertise in a wide variety of industries.
Atomic Jolt	Cache	Grant Writing, Education Technology and App Development	Atomic Jolt provides apps, custom development and curriculum development services for Educational Institutions and companies that serve that market.
Vernal Innovation Hub	Uintah	Incubator Space	The Vernal Innovation Hub is a coworking, incubator center that provides flexible office space, amenities, & a supportive environment.
Christensen Consulting, LLC	Cache	Grant Writing	Ms. Christensen has successfully applied for over $55+ million in grants from federal, state, county, and city agencies, corporations, & foundations
Simple Systems, Inc	Salt Lake	Cybersecurity and/or technology planning and implementation	For the past 16 years Simple Systems has provided IT and cyber security support to local businesses. We offer CMMC, NIST, and other regs.
Business Resource Center at Davis Technical College	Davis	Market Research, Free Business Counseling/Incubation Offices	The BRC is invaluable to entrepreneurs businesses.
Cedar City Business & Innovation Center	Iron	Customer Discovery/Market Validation, Lab Space, Makerspace, Market Research, Prototype Design, Connections with Mentors, Digital Media studio & Textiles room	We support entrepreneurs by hosting events, connecting with mentors, giving access to conference room, office space, makerspace, studio, and more.
Granted Fundraising Consultants	Uintah	Grant Writing	Granted Fundraising Consultants provides the resources and education for clients to obtain grant funding to fulfill their missions.
The Mill Entrepreneurship Center	Salt Lake	Co-working space, idea incubator, and marketing accelerator	The Mill, home to 100+ early-stage companies offering: Co-working space, group mentoring, 10-week Idea Incubator, and a 10-week Marketing Accelerator.
Salt Lake Region Small Business Development Center	Salt Lake	Business and Commercialization Plan, Financial, Market Research	Mgmt consultants helping small business and future entrepreneurs start, grow, and succeed through no-cost counseling, assistance, and training.
Maschoff Brennan	Summit	Legal - Intellectual Property, Other Services	Intellectual property and complex litigation law firm Maschoff Brennan has over 45 attorneys and six offices in Utah, New York, and California.
Julie Warnick Consulting	Utah	Marketing, Branding	I offer three main services: Fractional CMO, Brand Consultant, and Executive Event Producer.
Utah Microloan Fund	Salt Lake	Financial, Business education	Our mission is to empower underserved communities throughout Utah by providing business education and microloans to small business owners.
Tooele Valley Small Business Development Center	Tooele	Business and Commercialization Plan, Customer Discovery/Market Validation, Grant Writing, Market Research, Business Counseling, Training	Established in 2018, Tooele SBDC serves small businesses at any stage in partnership with USU, Tooele Technical College, local governments, and SBA.
Avendium	Salt Lake	Regulatory, Quality Assurance	Avendium provides quality assurance and regulatory services for life sciences, ensuring compliance and excellence in industry standards.

Contact Us

You can reach our team at innovationutah@utah.gov.

The individual members of the Utah Innovation Center can be viewed and contacted on our staff webpage under Business Services.

Staff webpage