New program to help companies obtain federal funding

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The S.C. Department of Commerce’s Office of Innovation has launched 3Phase, a statewide training resource aimed at helping companies obtain specialized, early-stage research and development funding.

The program will provide workshops throughout South Carolina with information on federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer funding programs. It will also manage the funding application process at no cost to participating companies.

The federal programs, designed to provide equity-free funding, require eligible companies to devote a percentage of their budgets towards innovative startups.

“The creation of 3Phase is an example of what's possible when collaboration collides with leadership,” Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said in a news release. “Allowing for the increased commercialization of intellectual property in South Carolina, this new initiative perfectly represents the state's ongoing mission to promote the growth of our knowledge economy.”

In 2013, the commerce department launched the Office of Innovation, which has supported 24 startup programs. Last year, the office established the Council for Innovation Initiatives. The 3Phase program represents the council’s first recommendation.  

“These federal funds provide critical risk capital for new and often unproven ideas that are usually too early to attract prospective investors,” said Matt Dunbar, founder and managing director of Greenville-based early-stage investment firm VentureSouth and a Council for Innovation Initiatives member.