NSF I-Corps Hub (Track 1): Desert and Pacific Region

这个NSF I-Corps Hubs项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是建立一个跨越五个州的伙伴关系，从西部的沙漠地区到太平洋，通过将大学开发的深度技术企业推进到地方，区域和国家市场来提高经济竞争力和社会效益。这种小型、中型和大型机构的有意合作是基于机构的一致性，结合新兴和成熟的创新文化，以及相互渴望合作以加强创新能力。 该中心为不同的创新者社区提供了丰富的创新实践和资源网络，同时减少了经验丰富和经验不足的机构的参与障碍。此外，该中心还通过将传统的创新地域扩展到通常在风险开发中心之外的孤立地区，并将其与经验更丰富和资源丰富的地区联系起来，从而提高创新发展的能力。该中心分享知识，资源和连接，以虚拟方式和多种形式提供I-Corps培训。区域培训旨在解决技能和知识差距，以加速和维持整个区域的深度技术企业。该中心利用导师和行业专家组成的多元化汇集网络，减少创建新企业的时间和风险。此外，该中心还通过专门识别、解决和支持军民两用技术，以NSF在网络安全、新型材料和高级分析方面的投资为基础，积极响应国防安全。这个I-Corps沙漠和太平洋地区中心项目是基于开发一个网络，以推进和深化合作机构的再生创新能力，通过直接的创业参与和技能发展为教师，研究人员，学生和合作者提供有意义的体验发展机会。该中心通过一个深度网络化的实践社区促进了有意的群体学习，包括I-Corps教师，导师，管理员，教师和学生，他们的理想定位是共同支持学术界将研究转化为深度技术企业，无论位置如何。 该中心还寻求减少不利因素，例如缺乏与历史悠久和资源丰富的地区相同的成熟资产。 该中心提供高质量和灵活性，同时使参与机构能够将结构化的创业培训和支持纳入经过验证的在线方法。建立在一个奖学金机构，一个网络，专注于发展创业思维，添加剂和敏捷创新，课程调整，组织和基础设施支持，包括分布式导师模型和共享客户数据库，以及创新工具的利用，该中心推进创业规划和研究，以告知I-Corps实践，照亮国家趋势，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this NSF I-Corps Hubs project is the development of a partnership spanning five states, from the Desert region of the West to the Pacific, to increase economic competitiveness and societal benefit through advancing university-developed, deep technology ventures to local, regional, and national markets. This deliberate partnering of small, medium, and large institutions is predicated on institutional alignment, combining emerging and mature cultures of innovation, and reciprocal eagerness to collaborate to strengthen innovation capacity. The Hub provides access to a rich network of innovation practices and resources to diverse communities of innovators while reducing participation barriers for both experienced and less experienced institutions. In addition, the Hub increases capacity for innovation development by expanding conventional geographies of innovation to disconnected areas that are typically outside of venture development hubs and connects them to more experienced and resource-rich areas. The Hub shares know-how, resources, and connections to provide I-Corps training virtually and in multiple formats. The regional training is designed to address skills and knowledge gaps to accelerate and sustain deep technology ventures across the region. The Hub leverages a diverse, pooled network of mentors and industry experts to reduce time and risk in the creation of new ventures. Also, the Hub is responsive to securing national defense, building on NSF’s investments in cybersecurity, novel materials, and advanced analytics, by specifically identifying, addressing, and supporting dual-use technologies.This I-Corps Desert and Pacific Region Hub project is based on the development of a network that advances and deepens the regenerative innovation capacity of the partnering institutions, providing meaningful experiential development opportunities for faculty, researchers, students, and collaborators through direct entrepreneurial engagements and skills development. The Hub facilitates intentional group learning through a deeply networked community of practice, including I-Corps instructors, mentors, administrators, faculty, and students ideally positioned to collectively support the academic community in translating research into deep technology ventures, regardless of location. The Hub also seeks to diminish disadvantages, such as the lack of mature assets equal to those in historically advantaged and resource-rich locales. This Hub provides quality and flexibility, while enabling participating institutions to incorporate structured entrepreneurial training and support in a proven online method. Building on a body of scholarship, a network focused on developing the entrepreneurial mindset, additive and agile innovation, curricular adaptations, organizational and infrastructure support including distributed mentor models and shared customer databases, and the utilization of innovative tools, the Hub advances entrepreneurial programming and research to inform I-Corps practice, illuminate national trends, and influence organizational and national policy.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.