NSF I-Corps™ National Innovation Network (NIN)
Building a Nation of Innovators
What is NIN?
NIN
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is cultivating a pipeline of university-based researchers who can turn ideas into successful commercial products, and equipping our nation’s science and technology faculty and students to be creative, technologically savvy leaders. Through its partnership with VentureWell, NSF has connected local program leaders from across the country to form the “National Innovation Network” (NIN).
An Audacious Experiment
This emerging movement of innovators is a key component of the NSF’s I-Corps™ Program, which has grown rapidly from an ‘audacious experiment’ in teaching university researchers how to use customer discovery to commercialize scientific discoveries into a national network.NIN has helped develop:• 900 teams, from 203 colleges and universities• More than 324 of these teams have launched companies
Lean Startup Methodology
The NSF started I-Corps™ in 2011 when it adapted lean startup trailblazer, Steve Blank’s Lean LaunchPad class for aspiring Stanford entrepreneurs, creating an accelerated seven-week curriculum to train university researchers to start companies that have developed new technologies based on NSF-funded research.
NSF and VentureWell
The NSF has scaled its curriculum and dramatically expanded the community of emerging scientists and engineers by partnering with VentureWell, a not for profit higher education network with 21 years of experience in fostering innovative experiential entrepreneurship programs at universities and colleges worldwide.
NIN Network
A Network that Turns Scientific Discoveries into VenturesThe National Innovation Network:
• Engages I-Corps™ university researchers who are working on campuses across the country, pushing the boundaries of science and technology to improve peoples lives.
• Connects them to a national pipeline of collaborators, mentors, and partners.
• Prepares them with cutting-edge tools and educational resources to form successful startups and commercialize their products.
I-Corps™ Nodes and Sites
University of California-San Diego
San Diego State University
University of Utah
University of California at Los Angeles
University of Southern California
University of Washington
Brigham Young University
Oregon State University
BAY AREA NODE
MIDWEST NODE
University of California BerkeleyUniversity of San FranciscoStanford University
IN-LA NODEUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of California at Los Angeles Caltech
SOUTH NODESOUTHWESTNODE
University of Texas at AustinRice University
Texas A&M University
NYCRIN NODECity University of New YorkColumbia UniversityNew York University
DC NODEUniversity of MarylandJohns Hopkins Virginia TechGeorge Washington
Michigan TechnologicalUniversity
University of MinnesotaTwin Cities
University of Texasat San Antonio
University of Houston
Tulane University
University of Alabama
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of Central Florida
University of NorthCarolina, Charolotte
University of Louisville
Howard University
University of Iowa
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign
PurdueUniversity
Universityof Chicago
University of Toledo
University of Akron
Carnegie-MellonUniversity
University of Pittsburgh
Rochester Instituteof Technology
University of Rochester
MassachusettsInstitute of Technology
University of Delaware
New Jersey Instituteof Technology
University of Pennsylvania
University of Connecticut
Stony Brook University
Arizona StateUniversity
Dartmouth College
Jackson State University
Louisiana State University
Missouri S&T
New MexicoState University
Ohio State University
Oklahoma State University
RensselaerPolytechnic
Institute
Tennessee TechnologicalUniversity
University of Arizona
University of NevadaLas Vegas
University of New Hampshire
Washington State University
Wichita State University
UPSTATE NY NODE
Texas A&M University
University of Alabamaat Birmingham
Johns Hopkins University
Cornell University
Brandeis University
University ofMassachusetts
Lowell
Georgia Institute of TechnologyUniversity of AlabamaUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of MichiganUniversity of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignPurdue University Cornell University
Rochester Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Rochester
Who is in the Network?
People and organizations engaged in I-Corps™ programming:• Nodes- Institutions that support regional needs for innovation
education, infrastructure, and research. There are 8 Nodes across the country involving 26 universities.
• Sites- Institutions that support teams whose technology concepts are likely candidates for commercialization. There are 58 Sites across the country.
• Teams- Researchers with an innovation and commitment to exploring its commercial potential. Each team has a Principal Investigator, an Entrepreneurial Lead, and a Mentor. There are more than 900 Teams.
NIN Benefits1. Improvements to innovation and entrepreneurship programs2. Institutional culture change to promote regional collaboration3. Compelling national brand that enables regional impact 4. Successful adaptation of curriculum by multiple federal
agencies 5. Unique mission that is transforming the scientific field of
innovation and entrepreneurship
NIN Benefit: Improvements to InnovationDirectors and faculty at each Node benefit significantly from their ability to tap into NIN for knowledge-sharing with their colleagues across the country. Training content remains cutting-edge and each Node disseminates new developments to the schools in its region. VentureWell has developed a faculty-training program with Steve Blank and Jerry Engel to train faculty members from institutions across the US in this methodology.
NIN Benefit: Promote Regional CollaborationMulti-institutional Nodes are founded on strong new partnerships forged by the I-Corps™ program. NIN has succeeded where previous efforts have failed to establish partnerships in the regions where we work. Simply applying for an I-Corps™ Node grant has catalyzed new partnerships between institutions that recognize the opportunity to join NIN together as a new Node.
NIN Benefit: Compelling National BrandThe NIN brand enables the network to be greater than the sum of its parts, capturing the combined research horsepower of top universities and the entrepreneurial energy of the silicon valley start up culture with a strong connection to NSF’s tradition of research excellence. As a result, the NIN community has achieved regional impact that would otherwise not have been possible.
NIN Benefit: Successful Adaptation of CurriculumThe NIN has catalyzed a host of successful adaptations of the I-Corps™ curriculum by multiple federal agencies including:
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)• Department of Defense (DoD)• Department of Energy (DoE)
NIN Benefit: Unique MissionEdmund S. Pendleton, Director of DC I-Corps ™ Regional Node and VentureAccelerator at Mtech, University of Maryland
• ”What really makes the NIN so powerful is simply the network effect. We now share best practices and collaborate across universities, states, and the entire country. “
Keith McGreggor, Director of South I-Corps ™ Regional Node and Director of VentureLab, GA Tech
• “The most important thing about the NIN is that it exists. There is nothing else like it.”
NIN ActivitiesAnnual NIN Meeting
• The network has convened annually for the purposes of learning from each other, discussing challenges and planning the future as our programs continue to expand and evolve.
Regular webinars on key issues/best practices• Every month we convene the leaders of the Sites and Nodes to
share what they are doing and learn from each other.
Regional meetups• Quarterly meetups are hosted regionally by sites and nodes
NIN Homepage and BlogSocial media and online discussions
Contact Information
On the Web• www.venturewell.org/i-corps/nin• www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/
VentureWell Staff for I-Corps™• Tara A. Loomis, [email protected]• Marie Silver, [email protected]• Gila Aispuro, [email protected]
NSF Program Officers for I-Corps™• Lydia McClure, [email protected]• Anita La Salle, [email protected]• Steve Konsek, [email protected]