Undoubtedly from the recommendations from the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and other works directed at the promise of proof of concept centers like the IMPACT paper, “The i6 Challenge is a multi-agency grant that encourages and rewards innovative, groundbreaking ideas that accelerate technology commercialization, new venture formation, job creation, and economic growth across the United States.
The Obama Administration, through the EDA Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship released the six recipients of the most recent round of i6 challenge winners, including:
- Las Cruces, NM – The Arrowhead Center will build upon Launch, New Mexico State University’s recently established proof of concept center, to develop the Arrowhead Innovation Network.
- Tampa, FL – The FirstWaVE Venture Center will serve the eight-county Tampa Bay region with a five-year goal of helping at least 50 Florida-based start-up companies secure $500,000 in early-stage/angel funding in order to help them grow into viable tech companies.
- Crane, IN – Southern Indiana Development Commission and the Battery Innovation Center Inc. will establish an Energy Storage Proof of Concept Center.
- Madison, WI – The Wisconsin Innovates for Success Proof of Concept Center will commercialize the research being conducted at the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Center for Dairy Research.
- Kansas City, MO – The Digital Sandbox Proof of Concept Center will create a new process for commercialization in Kansas City by clustering digital innovation in a central hub and providing the needed technology infrastructure.
- Charlottesville, VA – The Virginia Innovation Project – a partnership between the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and SRI International – will lead proof of concept projects throughout the state of Virginia.
- Davis, CA – The University of California, Davis and the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) will partner to create a Proof of Concept Center to catalyze the commercialization of sustainable agriculture technologies in the six-county Sacramento region.
Undoubtedly from the recommendations from the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and other works directed at the promise of proof of concept centers like the IMPACT paper, “The i6 Challenge is a multi-agency grant that encourages and rewards innovative, groundbreaking ideas that accelerate technology commercialization, new venture formation, job creation, and economic growth across the United States.
A key component of many of these POC efforts, will be the incorporation or partnership with forms of early stage gap funding capital. We will monitor each of these programs and provide updates.
MORE INFO: http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2012/09/19/obama-administration-announces-winners-i6-challenge-competition-promo
