Driving Ohio's Federal R&D Competitiveness

Driven by the requirements of our five federal partners, the OFRN investments are:

Growing federal research spending in Ohio.
Advancing research initiatives aimed at emerging national security requirements.
Enhancing university collaborations with Ohio-based industry to engage in innovation.
Creating and retaining jobs in Ohio.
Having a broad and significant impact on Ohio's economy.

The OFRN program has achieved the following impact across government, industry, and academia:

Supporting small businesses and academia on their Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) application journeys

The SBIR and STTR programs are designed to encourage U.S. small businesses to engage in federal research/research and development with the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR and STTR enable small businesses to explore their technological potential. The STTR program is a collaboration between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. STTR's most important role is to bridge the gap between the performance of basic science and the commercialization of resulting innovations. The program requires the small business to formally collaborate with a research institution in Phase I and Phase II. The Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) provides its network partners, specifically small business and academic researchers and innovators, free SBIR/STTR education, training, and proposal process navigation services, including team matchmaking and collaboration events, throughout the proposal development journey. The following are OFRN's success metrics supporting its network of academic and small business partners in Ohio in their pursuit of SBIR/STTR funding.