Assisted by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, three Arkansas companies have won federal Small Business Innovation Research funding this spring for groundbreaking product research and development.

The awards total $444,999.

GeneCoMe Biotech of Jonesboro and Fauxsee Innovations of Magnolia won SBIR Phase I funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A third company, Fayetteville-based Ozark Integrated Circuits, won two SBIR Phase I grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The agencies issued the award notices in April and May.

SBIR is an important source of early-stage funding for small companies seeking to get new products or technologies from the lab to the marketplace. The highly competitive three-phase award system provides $2 billion annually to American small businesses that propose innovative ideas meeting the specific research and development needs of participating federal agencies. Interested firms apply by responding to requests for proposals from 11 federal agencies.

The ASBTDC, with headquarters in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business, specializes in helping Arkansas-based, research-capable companies pursue SBIR funding and navigate the lengthy and tedious application process.

“For first-time applicants, the average success rate is 15 percent,” said Rebecca Norman, the center’s innovation consultant and SBIR specialist.

“To prepare a winning SBIR Phase I proposal, a company needs to have a highly detailed work plan, a qualified project team and strong interest from the commercial market. By taking advantage of ASBTDC’s free proposal development and market research services, Arkansas entrepreneurs greatly increase their chances of submitting competitive SBIR proposals.”

Officers from GeneCoMe Biotech, Fauxsee Innovations and Ozark Integrated Circuits all expressed appreciation for ASBTDC’s assistance.

“The ASBTDC was a tremendous help in two areas: providing basic market research and by critiquing earlier versions of the proposals. All of this was done in a very timely manner,” said Ozark IC’s CEO Dr. Matt Francis.

“Rebecca Norman of the ASBTDC was essential in the proposal writing process, because of her extensive knowledge and advice,” said Brandon Foshee, president and CEO of Fauxsee Innovations.

GeneCoMe Biotech Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Giuliana Medrano said, “Rebecca Norman of the ASBTDC guided me during the whole process of the grant applications, from registration of the company, to the SBIR application process, pre-award and post-award documentation. I can’t be more thankful for Rebecca’s assistance on this proposal application. She is the best innovation consultant in the state.”

The funded projects have vastly different applications, from poultry production to assistance for the visually impaired to space exploration.