Accreditation is critical for the SBDC to secure continued funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (U.S. SBA), and is also essential for the national SBDC program to be recognized as a high quality economic development organization. On May 31, 2010, the Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDC Network) was notified that the statewide network has received full accreditation by the national accrediting agency—the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). The SBDC at the University of North Florida is a member of the Florida SBDC Network. No other publicly-funded program undergoes the annual accountability examinations and review that SBDCs receive to ensure management strength, financial accountability and economic impact. Read more about the FSBDC Network’s Accreditation at: http://www.floridasbdc.org/.