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The Washington region raised some $286 million in venture funding last quarter, assuming you stretch your idea of the region to include Stevensville, Md., and Blacksburg, Va. So what did we learn from three months of venture data? Here are five takeaways.

1. Deals down, dollars up: The number of deals in Q1 2013 (30 deals) was down compared with the prior quarter (36 deals), as well as Q1 2012 (45 deals), while the dollar amount was up. When 2012 went out with the crappiest quarter since 2009, the drop was attributed to the lack of big deals.

Twelve Maryland companies, including five from the Baltimore area, received a total of $83.8 million in venture capital funding in the first quarter.

That was up 20 percent from the $69.7 million that 15 Maryland firms received in first quarter 2012, according to a MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The report uses data from Thomson Reuters.

U.S. Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills was in Baltimore on Thursday to highlight the agency’s education program for entrepreneurs.

Baltimore was one of the first cities to launch SBA’s Emerging Leaders program, formerly called E200 back in 2008. The program offers a seven-month course in which a select group of business owners learn the skills they need to grow their companies.

The Washington region raised a collective $286 million in venture capital during the first three months of 2013, thanks in large part to a $110 million financing for D.C.-based LivingSocial Inc., according to the MoneyTree report released Friday by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association.

At first blush, the number looks like good news for the region, a marked improvement from the $95 million raised in fourth quarter of 2012. Assuming the upswing holds for three more quarters, we just might be on track to fulfill Steve Case’s prediction of a $1 billion year.

The purpose of the NHLBI SBIR Phase IIB Small Market Award is to provide support to Phase II SBIR awardees developing NHLBI mission-related technologies that address a rare disease or young pediatric populations. The goal of this FOA is to de-risk these technologies so that development can continue with private funding after NHLBI support ends; therefore, applicants must submit a Commercialization Plan, which should include details on any independent third-party funding that has already been secured or is anticipated during the project period. It is expected that the level of this independent third-party funding will be equal to or greater than one-third of the NHLBI funds being requested throughout the project period. Projects proposed in response to this FOA must require eventual Federal regulatory approval/clearance, and may address preclinical and/or clinical stages of technology development. Clinical trials may be proposed as appropriate, but are not required.

There’s been discussion recently about a lack of life science venture capital enthusiasm for emerging digital health companies. I happen to feel that this concern is misplaced. I engaged industry and opinion leaders on this subject plus have my own thoughts on the digital health funding environment.

In his latest article in Forbes, contributor David Shaywitz characterizes life science venture capitalists as just “kicking tires” on potential digital health investments, citing fears from prominent investor Nimesh Shah that innovations in digital health are “merely a bubble,” and that these firms lack a “real biz model.”