Funding for Commercialization

Prior to executing a license or forming a company, most faculty need to complete market and technology validation – customer research, prototyping, external testing or scaled-up production to show their technology has a high probability of success. The following grants offer funding specifically aimed at these activities.

Download this quick summary or review the text below:

CommercializationFunding

UA's NSF I-Corps Site

  • Award amount: $2,500
  • Project period: 6 months
  • Frequency: 3 cohorts per year
  • Goal: help teams understand NSF's I-Corps methodology and provide NSF lineage for other grants
  • Requirements: must have at least one faculty members and one student on your team and participate in 7-week training program

National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Teams

  • Award amount: $50,000
  • Project period: 6 months
  • Frequency: quarterly
  • Goal: facilitate licenses and the creation of companies that are well-prepared to win NSF SBIR/STTR awards
  • Restrictions: NSF lineage – you must have a prior NSF award or participate in UA’s NSF I-Corps Sites program
  • Requirements: must have an experienced business person to mentor, submit to a series of interviews with a program officer, and participate in 7-week intensive training program

I-Corps@Ohio

  • Award amount: $15,000
  • Project period: 6 months
  • Frequency: semi-annually
  • Goal: train faculty and graduate students in entrepreneurial principles to increase licenses and startups from Ohio universities
  • Restrictions: must be from an Ohio public research university
  • Requirements: must have an experienced business person to mentor, submit to a series of interviews with a program officer, and participate in 7-week intensive training program

Ohio Third Frontier’s TVSF Award

  • Award amount: $50,000 with 1:1 cost match required
  • Project period: 1 year
  • Frequency: 3 cycles per year
  • Goal: validate technologies in preparation for license to Ohio-based startup companies
  • Restrictions: technology not previously licensed and only 6 submissions per university
  • Requirements: 1:1 cost match required

Faculty Research in UA News