LANSING ? Mark Clevey, the Small Business Association of Michigan?s Vice President for Entrepreneurial Development, has been appointed as a Commercialization Plan reviewer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Clevey, a nationally recognized and award-winning expert in SBIR and entrepreneurial business development, also serves as a Commercialization Plan reviewer for the National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
As a USDA SBIR Commercialization Plan reviewer, Clevey will help evaluate R&D grant proposals from small businesses across the U.S. and determine which projects should receive funding based on their scientific, technical and commercial viability. Grant awards can be up to $1 million each under the SBIR program. Many small firms receive several million dollars each year from multiple grant awards.
?The USDA funds projects that are particularly important to Michigan?s economy,? Clevey said. ?For example, the Industrial Applications topic area provides funding for projects that will lead to new opportunities to diversify agriculture and enhance its role as a reliable supplier of raw materials to industry, including Bioterials.?
Clevey said he hopes his appointment will help Michigan improve its ?embarrassingly below the national average? ranking in SBIR grant awards to the state. If small business entrepreneurs are going to be the instrument to rebuild Michigan?s economy, the state simply must get serious about making SBIR awards for commercially viable projects a high priority.?
