Small Business Innovation Research Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D
Golden, CO., Sept. 14, 2020 – Codon Learning Inc. has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $225,000 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on helping college STEM faculty design and teach inclusive, high-structure courses using evidence-based practices.
More than half of all students who start their college career as a STEM major do not complete a STEM degree. This lack of retention disproportionately affects students from historically underserved groups—first-generation college attendees, students from racial and ethnic minorities, and students from low-income families. Codon Learning is creating digital courseware to help faculty teach with evidence-based teaching practices that have been proven to boost student learning, improve student retention, and bridge pervasive representation gaps.
“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”
“We’re thrilled to have received this prestigious award. Our team at Codon Learning is passionate about STEM retention, equity, and inclusion. This award will help us test some of our key ideas about how to digitize and scale essential evidence-based teaching practices,” said Ben Roberts, CEO of Codon Learning.
Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $256,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $1,000,000). Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.
Startups or entrepreneurs who submit a three-page Project Pitch will know within three weeks if they meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/
About the National Science Foundation's Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $1.75 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.1 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.