NSF I-Corps Hub (Track 1): Mid-South Region

这个NSF I-Corps Hubs项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一个可持续的，包容性的创新生态系统，将在美国中南部地区分享经济繁荣。中南枢纽的形成性、证据驱动的方法可以为如何在经济活动刚刚起步的地区建立包容性创新生态系统提供信息。这方面的知识将加强团队的准备工作，最大限度地提高从I军团培训中获得的价值。该中心将进一步扩大深度技术企业的下游成功和可持续性，包括赠款收购，筹款，可持续收入和净积极流动性事件。成功将被利用来影响区域机构的创新文化，从而激励进取的教师，学生和工作人员。多元化的领导团队和包容性的导师队伍将提高该中心与各种背景的创新者和导师建立联系的能力，包括那些处于不利地位或代表性不足的人。这些努力将包括在代表性不足的机构建立商业化能力。从一个民主化的组织结构的故意实施的证据将评估其能力，以鼓励和维护生态系统成员的认知接近。这些知识将通过国家创新网络传播，以推动转化影响和经济发展，塑造美国创新的未来。这个I-Corps Hubs项目是基于开发一个使用启发的孵化器，使用数据驱动的方法来开发最佳实践，影响经济政策，激励采用包容性创新方法，并指导未来的项目投资。目前，在理解区域创新集群如何联合起来推动多产创新生态系统的发展方面存在差距。解决这一差距将使政策制定者和政府机构能够实施循证方法，为方案投资提供信息，并最大限度地实现技术商业化、经济发展和国家整体创新准备。这个由来自中南地区不同地点的多元化，深度技术生产机构组成的联盟将利用I-Corps计划来促进技术商业化，刺激经济发展，并为包容性美国创新的未来提供信息。该中心将优先进行形成性的纵向评估，以迭代优化关键活动，包括团队招聘，区域和国家I-Corps培训，大学创新文化的上游变化，对成功商业化的下游影响，以及跨中南地区的包容性创新走廊。这一努力将推动技术从学术机构转移到创业企业，为新兴的区域生态系统提供种子。数据驱动的绩效改进方法将确保最佳实践以证据为基础，并为寻求促进包容性创新集群发展的其他地区创建一个模式。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 sustainable, inclusive, innovation ecosystem that will impart shared economic prosperity across the US Mid-South region. The Mid-South Hub’s formative, evidence-driven approach may inform how inclusive innovation ecosystems can be established in regions with nascent economic activity. This knowledge will augment team preparation, maximizing the value extracted from I-Corps training. The Hub will further amplify the downstream successes and sustainability of deep technology ventures, including grant acquisition, fundraising, sustainable revenues, and net-positive liquidity events. Success will be leveraged to influence innovation culture at regional institutions, leading to the incentivization of enterprising faculty, students, and staff. The diverse leadership team and inclusive bench of instructors will increase the Hub’s ability to connect to innovators and mentors of all backgrounds, including those who are disadvantaged or underrepresented. These efforts will include building commercialization capacity at underrepresented institutions. Evidence from the deliberate implementation of a democratized organizational structure will be evaluated for its capability to encourage and preserve the cognitive proximity of ecosystem members. This knowledge will be disseminated via the National Innovation Network to drive translational impacts and economic development, shaping the future of American innovation.This I-Corps Hubs project is based on the development of a use-inspired incubator that uses data-driven approaches to develop best practices, influence economic policy, inspire adoption of inclusive approaches to innovation, and instruct future programmatic investments. Currently, a gap exists in understanding how regional innovation clusters can unify to drive the development of a prolific innovation ecosystem. Addressing this gap will enable policymakers and government agencies to implement evidence-based approaches to inform programmatic investments and maximize technology commercialization, economic development, and overall national innovation readiness. This consortium of diverse, deep technology-producing institutions from disparate locations within the Mid-South region will leverage the I-Corps program to catalyze technological commercialization, spur economic development, and inform the future of inclusive American innovation. The Hub will prioritize a formative, longitudinal assessment to iteratively optimize key activities, including team recruitment, Regional and National I-Corps training, upstream changes in university innovation culture, downstream impacts on successful commercialization, and an inclusive innovation corridor across the Mid-South. This effort will advance technology transfer from academic institutions into entrepreneurial ventures that seed emergent, regional ecosystems. The data-driven, performance improvement approach will ensure best practices are evidence-based and create a model for other regions seeking to induce inclusive innovation cluster development.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.