Tri-Cities Tech Business Update

December 2012 Issue

• Innovate Washington Launches SBIR/STTR Funding Programs
  Innovate Washington has launched its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 0 grant programs. more...
• Tri-Cities Ranked 6th in Nation for Fastest Growing Communities
  The new "Metro Magnets Index" listed the Tri-Cities metro area as the sixth fastest growing in the nation, but also projects growth in the Tri-Cities to slow in coming years. more...
• Developers Start on $9.5M Apartment Complex within the TCRD
  Developers are launching construction of a $9.5M apartment complex in north Richland. Crews are clearing ground for the apartments, which will be part of the Innovation Center development in the Tri-Cities Research District. more...

• Innovation Showcase Accepting Applications
  The Innovation Showcase helps bridge the gap between research and commercialization by highlighting the most promising discoveries and new technologies ready for commercialization in Washington State. more...
• Small Business Development Center
  The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offers free and confidential services to business owners and managers in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. more...
• The WBBA Announces a New SBIR and STTR Match Program for Members
  The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association's (WBBA) SBIR/STTR Match Program will match each selected company with an intern paid by the WBBA--a current graduate student or postdoctoral fellow--who will assist the company with the preparation and writing of an SBIR or STTR grant to be submitted in 2013. more...
• New Mobile Inventory Control Tool Ready for Beta Testing
  Current inventory tools address businesses as a whole, or individuals; they don't address small R&D teams. more...

• Lean Startup Conference Livestream
  December 3. The biggest names in the Lean Startup world and a slew of entrepreneurs will gather at The Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco. more...
• How to Start a Business Workshop
  December 10. The "How to Start a Business" workshop (known as Start Smart) continues to be a big success. more...
• Introduction to Government Contracting 101
  December 11. What does it take to become a successful government contractor? Learn about the services and continuous support that the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) has available to help your company with the contracting process. more...
• Subcontracts: What the Government, Primes, and Subcontractors Need to Know
  December 13. This day-long seminar is presented by the National Contract Management Association, Columbia Basin Chapter, and will be held at the Shilo Inn from 8 a.m. more...
• Holiday Hackathon
  December 14-15. Given 24 hours and a blank screen, what can you code? Join local web development professionals in an informal challenge to build something new. more...
• Women in Business Conference
  January 23. The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce will host the second annual Tri-Cities Women in Business Conference, presented by Washington River Protection Solutions, at the TRAC Center in Pasco. more...

• PNNL Senior Engineer Named to Hall of Fame
  Graham Parker, a senior staff engineer at PNNL, has been inducted into the Association of Energy Engineers Energy Managers Hall of Fame. more...
• Smart Grid Demonstration Project Goes Live
  Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were on hand at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle for the official go-live phase of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project. more...
• Structure Enables Corporations with a Conscience
  On March 31, Governor Gregoire made history when she signed HB2239 and created Washington's first alternative for-profit corporate structure, the social purpose corporation, or SPC. more...

We invite your contributions! We will consider items that fit the mission of this publication, including your tech-related news, awards, and notices of upcoming events. Please send text to Andrea McMakin or call (509) 372-6013.

Tri-Cities Tech Business Update is published by the Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Each month, we send you an e-mail message, giving you the link of news, tips, awards, upcoming events, and other information about local technology-based businesses and organizations that support them. With business and community partners, our goal is to build and diversify the Tri-Cities economy—adding skilled jobs in primary-sector industries that bring in outside dollars. Currently, more than 1,100 tech-related businesses, investors, and economic development stakeholders subscribe to the newsletter, mostly in the Mid-Columbia area and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. This newsletter (RL-P00-009) supports PNSO's vision for the future of the Hanford Site and surrounding area through the creation of research opportunities, new industries, and new business clusters.