The Small Business Technology Council hosted its 2018 membership meeting in Washington in the Senate Small Business Committee Hearing Room on June 12.  We were fortunate enough to hear from staffers from the House and Senate Small Business Committees, who offered our members an inside look into the process of passing legislation to help small businesses and improve the SBIR/STTR programs.

Congressional Staffer Panel

Kevin Wheeler, Renee Bender, Halimah Locke, Jere Glover

Sitting in on this year’s Congressional Panel were Senate Small Business Committee Deputy Staff Director Kevin Wheeler, Senate Small Business Committee Professional Staffer Renee Bender, House Small Business Committee Halimah Locke.  They discussed the fy2019 NDAA, which is under consideration in the Senate, and some of the amendments and provisions that could affect the SBIR/STTR programs, as well as other provisions relevant to small business.  They also discussed the SBIR/STTR Improvement bills, and the section 809 Report on streamlining acquisition at the DOD and the impact that has had on legislation affecting SBIR/STTR.

SBIR/STTR Agency Program Manager Panel

Dr. Charles Cleland, Manny Oliver, Jere Glover

The next panel was our SBIR/STTR Agency Program Manager Panel, which included USDA SBIR/STTR Program Leader Dr. Charles Cleland, and Department of Energy SBIR/STTR Program Manager Manny Oliver.  They stressed the importance of the 3% admin funds set-aside, which has not yet been reauthorized by Congress, and talked of the challenge of issuing commercialization and Phase III awards at grant-based agencies.  They also discussed some of the new initiatives at their agencies, and discussed ways to increase outreach to underserved areas.

SBTC Awards Presentation

In between the panels, SBTC hosted its 4th annual “Champion of Small Business Technology Commercialization” Awards.  This year, our judges selected 14 winners, and 11 showed up to our meeting to participate in our presentation.  These winners represent some of the best and brightest that the Federal Government and the SBIR/STTR program have to offer, and we are incredibly grateful for all their work and dedication to high tech small businesses.  Click on the link below to see a list of all the winners:

2018 SBTC Meeting Agenda & Champion of Small Business Technology Commercialization Winners

2018 Champion of Small Business Technology Commercialization Winners

Beth Atkinson

Lee Ann Boyer

Dr. Charles Cleland

Rodney Couick

Dr. Arden Dougan

David Franck

Tracy Frost

Emily Harman (Ollie Cooperwood accepting)

Craig Owens

Dr. Khanh Pham

James Sweeney

We also handed out two other awards at the presentation.  Champion of Small Business Innovation, which is given to Hill staffers who have shown dedication and worked hard to advance the interests of high tech small business in Congress, and our Lifetime Achievement Award, for individuals who have made significant contributions over their lifetime to helping and advocating for small business causes.

Champion of Small Business Innovation

Renee Bender

Lifetime Achievement Award

Allen Baker

Thanks again to all our award winners, our speakers, and Senate Small Business Committee for letting us use their Hearing room, and all the members who came out and participated for making this meeting once again a success!