Alaska TREND

Alaska EPSCoR partners with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the University of Alaska Small Business Development Center and the Technology Research and Development Center of Alaska (TREND) to stimulate research and contribute to economic development in the state.

From 2009-10 TREND awarded a total of $117,875 in grant funding to eight different startup businesses, which resulted in the subsequent award of $1,579,997 in federal grant money.

Three businesses were given “Phase 0” grants of up to $5,000, designed to help the businesses put together a proposal for initial federal “Phase I” funding. The companies are working on: an information framework for regulatory permitting; software for management of chiropractic records; and wild berry farming.

Five companies received “Bridge” grants of up to $20,000, which are given to companies which have already been awarded Phase I or II awards by the federal government to develop their businesses. These companies are designing: an underwater gas bag recovery system; a flight deck and hangar cleaner; a project to recycle rural fish waste; a multi-media imagery program for breast cancer survivors; and an unmanned search aircraft.