October 18-20 | Tucson, AZ

The Research Institution GAP Fund and Accelerator Program Summit

University Gap Fund and Accelerator Program Community of Action expands its membership

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October 18-20, 2023 / Tucson, AZ
The annual summit for research institution gap fund and accelerator programs, including proof of concept programs, startup accelerators, and university venture funds

The Story

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN—innovosource’s Gap Fund and Accelerator Program Community of Action (GAP COA), a community of practice for university proof of concept, startup, and venture gap fund/accelerator programs, is pleased to announce seven new members: Baylor College of Medicine, Columbia Tech Ventures at Columbia University, HubTec Chile, Northeastern University, Purdue Foundry at the Purdue Research Foundation, Tulane University, and the University Health Network. The new members join more than 30 member institutions that are part of the program that offers gap fund managers resources critical to their programs.

New members cite various motivations for joining the organization. Bill Arnold, managing director of Purdue Foundry, first heard about the GAP COA when Jacob Johnson, innovosouce’s founder connected on LinkedIn. A few months later, Arnold acquired a copy of the Mind the Gap Report and Johnson invited him to participate in innovosource’s COVERGENCE, a research institution tech & startup gap fund/accelerator summit. Arnold took him up on the offer and, he says, “found it helpful because it’s a fast presentation in a standardized format from a number of different university and accelerator programs.” And, he says, “I immediately saw the value of that.”

“We at Columbia Tech Ventures have run a validation fund for over 10 years now but are still learning and absorbing best practices from our peers,” says Orin Herskowitz, SVP IP & Tech Transfer, Columbia Tech Ventures, Columbia University. “We were impressed by the learning collected in the Mind the Gap Report, and also from the discussions among the COA colleagues. We are looking forward to both learning from our peers, and sharing back with them, in the years to come.”

New and long-time members agree that one of the GAP COA’s biggest benefits is learning about what others are doing. Keith Marmer, chief innovation & economic engagement officer at the University of Utah (the U) and a COA founding member, notes that “as our team works to better understand, communicate, and connect with funding sources for university commercialization efforts, the COA supported us by filling in our knowledge gaps. innovosource has created a valuable resource that allows the U’s PIVOT Center to engage, learn and network with our colleagues.”

Doug Hockstad, assistant vice president of Tech Launch Arizona, and a COA member since 2018 says, “innovosource launched the Gap Funding Community of Action at the right moment for us. Our unique Asset Development funding model replaced annual RFPs with a continuous, non-competitive grant cycle funded partly through licensing revenues. Discussing and comparing our model with other universities’ models has been invaluable, allowing us to adopt and adapt over time, and better measure our success.”

Arnold is looking forward to making connections with people working in the same technology transfer area. He describes the value of the COA as “literally having a community of action around that says, ‘what are you seeing that’s working in technology commercialization,’ and being able to ask, ‘what are you seeing as gaps in my program that you might be able to help me understand, and how have you solved similar gaps in the past?’”

To learn more and to find out how to join, go to https://inn.memberclicks.net/coamembership.

About the University Gap Fund and Accelerator Program Community of Action (GAP COA)

Founded in 2018 by 25 universities, the University Gap Fund and Accelerator Program Community of Action (GAP COA) is the premier resource for and by leaders looking to evolve active or support new gap fund/accelerator programs. This effort is backed by over 15 years of investigation and dedicated support of over 300 gap fund/accelerator programs through the innovosource Mind the Gap initiative.

About innovosource

innovosource is an awareness firm that connects universities, industries, and investors through knowledge exchange and relationship building. The firm develops reports and events around emerging topics of interest, like gap funding and accelerators, and offers technology scouting and asset development services to corporations and investment groups.

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