NSF I-Corps Hub: West Region

The broader impact of this I-Corps Hubs project is the development of a model technology innovation hub in the Western United States that cultivates the creation of deep technology ventures and builds a robust innovation ecosystem that is diverse, inclusive, and representative of its population. This goal will be achieved through education, training, outreach, and the engagement of a diverse community of innovators, with robust linkages to regional and national entrepreneurial ecosystems, leading to a strong commercial impact.

Trainers and trained teams are key Hub outputs. Proactive outreach is expected to result in the recruitment of diverse groups of teams, trainees, mentors, and instructors. In addition, I-Corps training may help increase the flow and impact of commercializable technologies, the growth and diversity of the innovation ecosystem, and the supply of mentors and experts for the training of future teams.

The Hub plans to engage in research and education in lean startup-based programming, the financing of innovation, and the broader ethics of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Through education, training, networking, community building, and research outcomes related to deep technology ventures, the Hub seeks to deliver economic, technology, and social impact for the benefit of the region and the nation.

This I-Corps Hubs project is based on the development of a comprehensive and inclusive education and training program for innovation and entrepreneurship in deep technology ventures in the Western United States. The hub will engage deep technology researchers in lean-startup and customer discovery methodologies to produce teams that advance to the national I-Corps program further enhancing the National Innovation Network.

The project will use a framework for team generation and training pipelines based on best practices developed by the Hub members, further modified to leverage the Hub regional characteristics, in particular, its distinct, diverse demographic signature. The hub plans to incorporate inclusivity in its standardized and integrated approach as well as ethical considerations in team training.

The hub will also explore new approaches that may lead to a creative, enabling, human-centric, and socially-relevant innovation ecosystem in the region. In parallel, research is planned to analyze programs for possible additional refinements in Hub practices as well as to enrich the broader scholarship and public policy on innovation and entrepreneurship, including a better understanding of innovation financing.

Specifically, the project will assess differences in programming and funding success for underrepresented groups and the career paths of scientists and engineers in the general entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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.