AZ FAST Fall 2026 (Federal and State Technology Partnership Program)

Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program (Arizona) is sponsored by Arizona Commerce Authority (in partnership with SBA). The Arizona Commerce Authority, in partnership with the SBA, offers grants funded by the FAST program to technology-based economic development entities. These grants are intended to increase the competitiveness of startups and small businesses in Arizona for SBIR/STTR proposals and accelerate the innovation ecosystem.

AZ FAST Program is sponsored by Arizona Commerce Authority (in partnership with SBA). Arizona's FAST program provides funds, resources, training, and network opportunities to help entrepreneurs succeed in their Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal. The program gives startups more competitive bids for federally-funded innovation and research and development programs.

The CU System Sprint Grant is a small, fast-turnaround internal award supporting faculty who want to develop and implement AI-driven pedagogical strategies within a single course. At up to $20,000 with an explicit allowance for one course buyout, it is designed around the real obstacle facing most faculty experimenting with generative AI in teaching - not equipment or data, but protected time. The single-course framing is a deliberate scoping decision and applicants should respect it: proposals aimed at curriculum-wide or program-level transformation are a poor fit, while a concrete plan to redesign one course around AI tools and measure the effect on student learning outcomes matches what the program is asking for. Eligibility extends to tenured and tenure-track faculty as well as full-time and instructional series faculty across all CU campuses, which is broader than many internal research awards and deliberately includes teaching-focused appointments who are often closest to the pedagogical questions at issue. This is the second of three planned cycles, so faculty who miss the October 16, 2026 deadline should expect a third round. For a grants database this entry is narrower in eligibility than a federal or foundation program - it is open only to CU faculty - but it is a useful example of the institutional micro-grant tier that has grown rapidly as universities respond to generative AI in the classroom, and comparable programs now exist at many university systems. Faculty at other institutions who find this relevant should check whether their own provost or academic affairs office runs an equivalent scheme, since these internal AI teaching grants are frequently under-advertised and undersubscribed relative to external competitions.