7 weeks, 100 stakeholder interviews, and a 50K non-dilutive NSF grant to validate technology-problem fit
Overview:
Supported by funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) is a free program, designed to empower scientists, researchers, and students to test the commercial potential and impact of their research and ideas. Through highly experiential learning, I-Corps™ teams learn how to assess “technology-problem fit,” the first critical step in the pathway to commercialization.
I-Corps™ can help researchers and scientists identify and address real-world problems in seven weeks – work that might otherwise take months or years. The I-Corps™ program aims to equip scientists and researchers with the skills necessary to expand their focus beyond the laboratory and accelerate the transition of cutting-edge research into successful commercial ventures. Teams engage with prospective customers, partners, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem through customer or stakeholder interviews —evaluating the commercial potential for turning their technologies into successful products, processes, and services.
With I-Corps™, teams are 60% more likely to receive follow-on funding, such as an SBIR grant.
Whichever commercialization option you are considering – entrepreneurship, licensing, industry partnerships, or designating one of your PhD graduate students as the entrepreneurial lead – the program offers an invaluable professional development opportunity.
Program Benefits:
- Expand your network and gain insight from industry stakeholders on the different commercialization pathways
- Identify potential partners for future technical and business development, including licensing partners
- Understand the ecosystem around your idea or innovation
- Receive $50,000 in undiluted funding
- Prepare to apply for SBIR/STTR or other commercialization grants
- Increase your chances of receiving grants from other national agencies, (NIH, NASA, DARPA, DOD, etc.)
- Conducting more use-driven research: Further refining their idea to make it market-ready or to develop a new technology to fill a societal need.
Eligibility requirements:
There are two pathways for eligibility to the National I-Corps program:
- Prior NSF Research Award
- Regional I-Corps Training
For additional information, please refer to NSF’s website:
https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps/national-teams-applicants
Please contact us with your questions: [email protected] [email protected]