The NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Program aims to foster a national innovation ecosystem by translating fundamental research into marketable technologies, products, and services while providing entrepreneurial education and mentoring to NSF-funded researchers. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education in the U.S., such as two- and four-year colleges, acting on behalf of their faculty members. To apply, interested parties should refer to the I-Corps Teams website for details and participate in monthly webinars for additional information.
Full Description
Description
The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to further develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that guides the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products, and services that benefit society. The goals of the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Program, created in 2011 by NSF,are tospur translation of fundamental research to the marketplace, to encourage collaboration between academia and industry, and to train NSF-funded faculty, students and other researchers in innovation and entrepreneurship skills.
The I-Corps Program utilizes experiential learning...
of customer and industry discovery, coupled with first-hand investigation of industrial processes, to quickly assess the translational potential of inventions. The I-Corps Program is designed to support the commercialization of "deep technologies,” those revolving around fundamental discoveries in science and engineering. The I-Corps Program addresses the skill and knowledge gaps associated with the transformation of basic research into deep technology ventures (DTVs).
The purpose of the I-Corps Teams program is to identify NSF-funded researchers to receive additional support in the form of entrepreneurial education, mentoring, and funding to accelerate the translation of knowledge derived from fundamental research into emerging products and services that may attract subsequent third-party funding. The outcomes of I-Corps Teams' projects are threefold: 1) a decision on a clear path forward based on an assessment of the business model, 2) substantial first-hand evidence for or against product-market fit, with the identification of customer segments and corresponding value propositions, and 3) a narrative of a technology demonstrationfor potential partners.
WEBINAR:
A webinar will be held monthly to answer questions about this program. Details will be posted on the I-Corps Teams website (seehttps://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/program.jsp) as they become available.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Miscellaneous
Other
Additional information
*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
-Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting
on behalf of their faculty members.Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an
international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain
the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
*Who May Serve as PI:
Multiple awards based on the same core technology generally will not be supported.
Grantor contact information
Description
NSF grants.gov support
grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov
Email
If you have any problems linking to this funding announcement, please contact the email address above.
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