Sometimes people tend to assume that Alaska is too isolated from the rest of the country for innovations and advanced technologies to emerge out of the cold weather and dark days. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth!
TREND currently serves over 80 clients in all five of the SBDC district regions and anticipates continual growth of innovation-based business development in Alaska.
TREND has the opportunity to work with companies that represent the talent of the small businesses in Alaska that are developing competitive R&D projects through the Small Business innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Starting from zero awards in 1993 and 1994, Alaskan businesses have been increasingly successful in their competition for SBIR money, receiving over $4 Million since 1995.
A key to their success has been putting a tremendous amount of effort into preparing a well-written proposal and developing a well-qualified research team. Program successes are showing that those company seeking assistance from TREND gain a much needed competitive edge as they pursue federal research and development funding. Nationally, every 1 in 7 SBIR proposals submitted will receive funding. In Alaska, those companies that receive TREND assistance enjoy a 1 in 4 success rate. Much of this is contributed to the implementation of TREND’s Phase 0 program and the network of SBIR experts that allow TREND to expand services.
Not all of our clients are SBIR contenders. Another player in Alaska’s innovation cycle is the independent inventor. Did you know that over 275 patents have been issued to Alaskans since 1976? About 70 Alaska companies a year receive help with registering trademarks and filing copyrights and TREND responds to an average of 150 inquiries regarding patents.
Last modified: March 5, 2010.
