The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that the Delaware Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has been selected to receive a $350,000 prize to develop and deploy a national Cyber Certification Program for SBA resource partners. The program will utilize industry best practices to provide cybersecurity tools and training to small businesses and will be delivered via a hybrid course curriculum with webinars and workshops, knowledge-based assessments, certification requirements, and ongoing continuing education to track key performance indicators over two years, according to the announcement.

“Amid rising cyber risks in the marketplace, the SBA is committed to strengthening our nation’s economic resilience by equipping small businesses with the tools they need to strengthen their cyber preparedness and resilience so they can continue to compete in our increasingly digital economy,” said administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Our new award to the Delaware SBDC will fund the development of a national Cyber Certification Program for all SBA resource partners so that our over 1,200 centers across the country can be trained to provide cutting-edge, cybersecurity resources to small businesses.”

The Delaware SBDC, hosted by the University of Delaware, has been at the forefront of providing cybersecurity resources for small businesses. This prize will allow Delaware SBDC to expand upon their long-standing work to develop a certification program for wider use by SBA resource partners to effectively provide cyber planning strategies to small business clients, the announcement said.

“The Delaware SBDC is thrilled to be the recipient of the Cyber Prize. It is an honor to be recognized for our national cybersecurity program and asked to continue it on behalf of the SBA, its resource partners and all small businesses,” said Delaware SBDC director Mike Bowman.

The prize winner was selected for their cyber curriculum development, course delivery, assessment and certification, and overall program management. For more information on how the winner was selected, click here.