MELBOURNE, Fla. (March 25, 2010) - Small businesses receive more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts each year through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs - but the road to receiving this funding is filled with competition.

Florida's Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) understands that small business owners need this funding and works to help them receive it. Continuing its assistance, TRDA has put together seven workshops around the state featuring the best SBIR trainers in the business.

The workshops will occur between April and September and will feature nationally renowned SBIR trainers: Mark Henry (president of Grow Emerging Companies in Colorado), Jim Greenwood (president of Greenwood Consulting Group in Sanibel Island) and Sharon Ballard (president of Enable Ventures in Arizona).

"Florida has some of the brightest entrepreneurs across the nation, and TRDA strongly believes in helping these company's get the funding they need to make a difference in their respective sectors," said Chester Straub, TRDA executive director. "These workshops will be the invaluable to small business owners working to achieve that goal."

The schedule of events and locations is as follows:
April 29 - Melbourne (TRDA Business Innovation Center, 1050 West NASA Blvd.)
May 4 - Jacksonville (University of North Florida University Center, 12000 Alumni Dr.)
June 3 - Miami (University of Miami in Coral Gables)
June 10 - Tallahassee (National High Magnetic Field Lab at Innovation Park, 1800 E. Paul Dirac Dr.)
July 15 - Largo (Star Technology Enterprise Center, 7887 Bryan Dairy Rd.)
August 4 - Orlando (Disney Entrepreneur Center, 315 E. Robinson St., Suite 100)
September 16 - Boca Raton (Enterprise Development Corp. Technology Business Incubator at FAU, 3701 FAU Blvd ., Suite 201)

The workshops are scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cost is $49 per person, per workshop and includes lunch. Space is limited, so interested parties must register online at TRDA.org (recommended) or contact Bonnie O'Regan at boregan@trda.org or 321 .872.1050, Ext. 107.

Support for this program was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.