DURHAM, N.H. - New Hampshire Inspires Innovation, a collaboration between the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center, the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center and the University of New Hampshire Innovation, will offer a series of workshops around the state to help increase the financing of the state's entrepreneurial initiatives.

Currently, New Hampshire ranks 22nd in total federal dollars awarded to small companies that have early stage and high risk technologies with high potential for commercialization. Through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, New Hampshire companies have received over $425 million since the program's inception. New Hampshire Inspires Innovation was designed to bring SBIR grant information and advice to New Hampshire companies to increase opportunities for growth of federal- and state-funded research partnerships.

"SBIR funding has provided major support for the development of breakthrough methodologies that equip our customers with innovative design tools, giving them a distinct competitive advantage for meeting tomorrow's challenging requirements for interoperability, testability, soft error recovery and lowest power," said Jake Karrfalt, CEO of Alternative System Concepts, Inc., of Windham. "These workshops were invaluable when I first learned how to win these highly competitive SBIR and STTR awards. Each agency has its own rules and evaluation process."

Over the next six months small businesses and researchers can learn how to write a commercialization plan, or write a proposal based on a specific federal agency's technological interest. For a more general overview, attend the SBIR/STTR 101 and Agency Differences sessions to learn the nuances of each agency's requirements.

For more information about the workshops, go to http://www.nhsbdc.org/nh-inspires-innovation

To learn about the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center go to http://www.nhirc.unh.edu/. To learn about the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center go to http://www.nhsbdc.org/