C6.3 Small Business Development Centers

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Introduction

America's Small Business Development Center Network is the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States and its territories. SBDCs were formed by an act of Congress in 1978. Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, was a co-sponsor of the bill that started the SBDC network.

The mission of the network is to help new entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership and to assist existing businesses to remain competitive in the complex marketplace of an ever-changing global economy.

Hosted by leading universities, colleges, and state economic development agencies and funded in part through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, approximately 1,000 service centers are available to provide no-cost consulting and low-cost training. SBDCs are in every state in the U.S. and in many U.S. protectorates, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Islands. The SBDC system is a model for business assistance program throughout the world, including countries in Eastern Europe, emerging markets, and Mexico.

The mission of the Association of Small Business Development Centers is to represent the collective interest of our members by promoting, informing, supporting, and continuously improving the SBDC network, which delivers nationwide educational assistance to strengthen small/medium business management, thereby contributing to the growth of local, state, and national economies.

Small business is the engine of economic growth. There are currently over 22 million small businesses in America, and the number is growing rapidly, with over 800,000 started last year alone. Small business accounts for 99% of all U.S. businesses. It employs 53% of the private work force and contributes over half of the nation's private gross domestic product.

Over 1,200,000 businesses are assisted by ASBDC member programs on an annual basis. A sizeable number are in the dynamic start-up mode, while the majority is comprised of existing businesses searching for stability or planning for growth. 


Intellectual Property Resources

In an effort to offer EDD teachers and students resources for addressing intellectual property concerns and issues, PLTW sought out advice and input from technology transfer experts from the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) of the United States. SBDC offices exist in every region of the country and offer professional advice and services to the public. This advice and access to resources and professional advice includes technology transfer, patent advice, and resource connections. The SBDC offices are extensions of the US Small Business Administration and exist solely to help develop local economies. Intellectual works brought to the SBDC by definition cannot be disclosed beyond the office nor can the work be profited by in any way by these offices.

Download Collaborating with Small Business Development Centers

This tool created for PLTW by Niel Lerner, Director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, was designed to be used to help EDD instructors identify SBDC Representatives in their area that would be interested in helping to provide access to SBDC resources and advisors for EDD students. 

Download Opportunity Assessment

Download Opportunity Assessment Rubric

This resource and accompanying rubric were created for PLTW by Sandra Beccue, Market Research Manager for the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Campus. The information is designed to be used to help EDD instructors and students determine whether a given project has merit in the marketplace and includes a rubric to both organize information about the project and a filter for determining when to approach a local Small Business Development Center Representative for patent or market value advice.

Download Disclosure Issues – What Documents Do I Need and When?

This article by Jill Gilbert Welvtok provides a basic chart to help inventors decide what documents they need and at what point in time they are needed in order to protect intellectual property.

Download How Much Should Inventors Disclose?

This article by Jill Gilbert Welvtok discusses the precautions that inventors should take in order to protect their intellectual property.

Wisconsin Innovation Service Center
 Links to an external site.This website provides a wealth of information for aspiring entrepreneurs with new product and market development.