For years we have leaned on technology to assist us in our day to day tasks and to overall make our lives easier. What happens when technology becomes outdated? Well, it depends upon whether you are an individual or business. As an individual we deal with interruptions to our service to “roughing” it for a few days. When a business or industry has technology problems, there is more than the inconvenience or a minor problem – it means profit loss.
Factories, businesses, and individual consumers would gladly update technology, but cannot pay for the improvements to their current equipment and systems. The government and a variety of other funders decided to provide technology grants to businesses as an incentive for technology improvements to be made in some instances.
How do I find technology grants to fund my needed improvements? Well, the first step is identifying technology grant opportunities at a federal, state and local level. The best place to search for federal technology grant opportunities is www.grants.gov. This website is an essential tool for technology grant seekers to use in determining the eligibility of their organization. The first challenge of www.grants.gov is the registration process. Several items of information you must provide is identification numbers from two other agencies. A grant seeker must register with Dunn and Bradstreet as well as CCR (Central Contractors Registration) before registering with www.grants.gov. This process can easily take up to 3-6 weeks. Make sure that all the information you provide to these agencies are correct or you will not be able to complete your registration. Federal agencies utilize this online system because it streamlines the verification process and makes the granting process easier. It is also important to download the technology grant application and instruction packet in a timely manner to assure that all required information is included in the technology grant application.
Many states with industrial backgrounds are technology grants as a way to support the local businesses and cut back on business’ cost due to failed or outdated equipment. If a business is looking to locate within a particular state and wants funds for cutting edge technology, more than likely there are technology grants available to pay for the cost.
It is important to remember that technology grants benefit both the business and the employees. More likely than not the technology improvement being made through the technology grant will also save the company in operational expenses in the long term. It is expensive to invest in upgraded equipment, but over the life span of the new technology you will save money in utility cost, repairs, etc. If you are interested in pursuing technology grants, make sure to document within your technology grant application, not only the need for the project, but also the positive impact the implementation will have on the people who will use the technology every day.