Learning to tap federal research grants

Eleven federal agencies have set aside more than $2 billion this year for grants to finance research projects by small businesses.

A seminar sponsored by the Nevada Small Business Development Center in Reno on Thursday will show business owners how to identify and apply for the grants.

Fritz Grupe, who oversees the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the small business development center, says grants are available for feasibility research as well as development of prototypes. Typically, he says, the agencies don't make grants to carry research into commercial applications.

Among the agencies that set aside the largest amounts of funding for grants to small business, Grupe says, are the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Other agencies ranging from the Department of Agriculture to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also make grants to small companies.

"Nevada companies have not been as aggressive at applying for these monies as have companies in many other states," Grupe says.

This week's seminar at the Redfield Campus in south Reno, is free, but pre-registration is required through www.nsbdc.org or by calling 784-1717.