NSF I-Corps Hub: Great Lakes Region

Award ID: 2048612

This I-Corps Hubs project develops of a regional network and programming that accelerates the translation of federally-funded research into products/services that benefit society and create economic growth. This I-Corps Hub will address the challenge of low entrepreneurial ecosystem density in the Great Lakes Region by implementing more structure and formal systems amongst the geographically dispersed Hub institutions to replicate the rapid flow of information and opportunities that exists in higher density entrepreneurial ecosystems. Deep technology researchers from across the Hub member institutions will be recruited to explore commercial opportunities for their scientific discoveries and identify potential pathways to market. The Hub will connect these projects to the people, organizations, and resources needed to complete the development and scale the impact of the discoveries. Beyond the direct economic and commercial impacts, the I-Corps Hub will strive to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in the scientists and engineers who participate. As these researchers pursue careers in academia, startups, industry, or government, they will use this mindset to maximize the impact of their contributions in basic research, as well as in the development of new industries and government policies. This I-Corps Hubs project is based on the development of a deeper and more data-driven understanding of the inputs, environment, and outcomes associated with innovations coming from federally-funded research. Specifically, the goal is to address the relationships between the characteristics of academic researchers (e.g., prior experience and I-Corps experience) and entrepreneurial outcomes; the elements of the programming that lead to positive experiences and outcomes; the factors that impact engagement and success; and the institutional outcomes resulting from the development of an I-Corps ecosystem. This assessment of impact at an individual and institutional level may contribute to the successful scaling of I-Corps and ensure that there is a clear path for faculty, students, and staff participation. The Hub plan is to create and share innovative curricula, regionally and nationally, to motivate, enable and support researchers throughout the discovery to impact journey. The Hub will become an exemplar for translating the Great Lakes regions $12.3 billion in research spending into deep technology ventures, thereby increasing investment capital into the region, providing employment opportunities for STEM graduates, and attracting experienced entrepreneurs to grow these new ventures. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman