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Office of Research and Innovation 
NC State Office of Research Commercialization

Spark Plug

Spark Plug is a formalized support process to enable NC State startups who are seeking to leverage SBIR/STTR funding to maximize their chances of success.

The Office of Research Commercialization, in collaboration with the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science at NC State created Spark Plug to provide NC State startups with professional grant writing assistance for SBIR/STTR funding proposals to maximize their chances of success.

If your company has licensed IP from the university in the past 5 years, you are eligible to apply for the Spark Plug Program! This program supports NC State startups as they get support for grant-writing assistance.

The Federal SBIR/STTR programs are a critical mechanism for advancing research commercialization efforts through research-based startup companies to the next phase of technology and business development.

Figure 1. Extracted from March 2020 Overview of SBIR/STTR Programs
Figure 2. SBIR/STTR Tutorials. Extracted from March 2020 Overview of SBIR/STTR Programs

NC State startups have successfully leveraged the Federal SBIR/STTR programs to fund their research commercialization efforts winning 196 SBIR awards and 52 STTR awards totaling $91M in non-dilutive funding to date. The biggest driver of this success has been the persistence and determination of the individual researchers and the companies that they create. The creation of the SBIR/STTR Spark Plug program is a coordinated and formalized strategy to assist researchers in NC State startup companies help write the SBIR/STTR proposals.

The Office of Research Commercialization, in collaboration with the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science at NC State, has established a formalized support process to enable NC State startups who are seeking to leverage SBIR/STTR funding to maximize their chances of success. 

Here is the SBIR/STTR SparkPlug program strategy:

  • NC State startups apply to the SBIR/STTR SparkPlug program, this is a competitive process detailed below.
  • If accepted into the SBIR/STTR SparkPlug program, the startup will receive funding to support grant writing assistance.
  • Additionally, ORC will convene and conduct quarterly roundtable meetings to discuss best practices, tips and tricks, gotchas, and highlight successes from the participants of the SBIR/STTR Spark Plug Program as well as other experienced teams that have won SBIR/STTR awards. Lunch will be provided.

Application will be reviewed by experts in the field of commercialization and entrepreneurship with experience in judging SBIR/STTR applications.

Notifications of award will be within 45 days of submission of the application by the startup to ORC.

The program is managed by Zach Williams, New Ventures Program Manager for the Office of Research Commercialization.

  • NCSU Startup that has licensed NCSU Intellectual Property (IP)
  • Startup company must have been formed within the last 5 years
  • Startup company is not a previous SBIR/STTR Spark Plug winner

If the NCSU Startup company is selected funds will be provided to cover the costs of the Grant Writing program. 

Apply Now!

Application Deadline extended until June 16! If you have questions, contact Zach Williams at zdwillia@ncsu.edu

Apply Here