Penn’s University City neighbor wants to facilitate startup development — and the federal government has taken note.
The United States Economic Development Program, a government agency aimed at supporting sustainable job growth and the construction of durable regional economies, awarded the University City Science Center a million dollar grant to support its Phase 1 Ventures project .
Phase 1 Ventures is a project that supports promising ventures and start ups that have been unable to garner the technological and managerial support needed to expand by establishing a link between these ventures and established organizations. The project supports start-ups by reallocating its own funds and providing managerial assistance .
Vice President of Science and Technology at the UCSC Chris Laing is one of the leaders of the Phase 1 Ventures project .
“Phase 1 Ventures is an accelerator more than a fund,” Laing said, emphasizing the project’s focus on helping startups capitalize on their existing resources.
Noteworthy projects of the UCSC include the establishment of the Port Business Incubator, which provided several start-ups with not only physical resources such as office spaces and laboratories but also access to capital support and exposure to government agencies and policy makers.
In the past, the US Economic Development Administration provided infrastructural support for the Port Business Incubator, as well as significant financial support for UCSC’s QED Proof of Concept program , which provides academic researchers in fields such as life science and health care technology with business development support.
Having attracted the attention of the national government, the Science Center may hold the key to catapulting Philadelphia into one of the United States’ technological hubs.
