Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development

MISSION STATEMENT

The objective of the Utah Centers of Excellence Program is to strengthen Utah's economy by helping Utah researchers develop and commercialize their technologies. We believe this is best achieved by encouraging Utah's academic institutions to establish ties with industry. Cooperative relationships between industry and academe will help ensure that Utah industries can compete more effectively in the global market. Additionally, these relationships will enable Utah's best technologies to reach the marketplace, providing the citizens of Utah a better return on each research dollar spent.

ELIGIBILITY

Researchers who hold faculty positions within Utah's university/college system are eligible for Centers support. The more closely a faculty member can align their goals with the mission of the Centers program, the more likely they are to receive Center funding.

COMMERCIALIZATION OBJECTIVES

Centers proposals will require a detailed commercialization plan that includes:

• Definition of anticipated products or services utilizing center technologies
• Milestone plan detailing key events and projected schedules
• Marketing plan including potential new companies or commercial licenses, market size and trends, and competitive products or technologies.

COMMERCIALIZATION CONSULTING ASSISTANCE

The Centers of Excellence Program has engaged the services of professional consultants with strong experience in the commercialization of new products and technologies. Each Center is awarded an additional amount up to $25,000 for highly qualified business team members to provide assistance on a consulting basis in developing and executing commercialization strategies.

AWARD AMOUNT AND DURATION

Awards range in amount from $60,000 to $200,000 a year for no more than four years. The average award is $125,000 - $150,000 for a newly funded center.

FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

Centers funding is not intended to support basic research. Instead, it is for developing existing research to the point of commercialization, bridging the "funding gap" between research dollars and manufacturing dollars. For example, Centers funding may be used to:

• Purchase equipment
• Purchase supplies
• Fund graduate/undergraduate students for time directly applicable to center commercialization activities
• Fund faculty salaries directly applicable to center commercialization
• Fund product development activities (prototypes, models, simulations)
• Fund technology transfer activities (trade shows, brochures, etc.)
• Fund market analysis
• Pay for consulting fees directly applicable to center commercialization
• Pay for business manager or marketing manager salaries directly applicable to center commercialization activities

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

So that the Centers technologies can help foster economic growth in Utah, all technology rights are granted to the college or university where the technology was developed. However, the institution can share royalties with the inventor and/or the inventor's academic department or college. Additionally, by statute, the State of Utah requires that, upon request, all technologies supported by Centers funds be licensed to the state for government use on a non-exclusive, non-royalty-bearing basis. Centers may only be funded when the intellectual property is available for commercial licensing. Proposals based on intellectual property, the rights to which have been exclusively licensed to a company, will not be considered.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Proposal evaluations will be based upon the following:

The potential commercial opportunity for the technology including:

• Credible scientific basis for the technologyCompetitive advantage with respect to window opportunity in the market placeCommercialization plan and market research information.
• Leveraging by a ratio of at least $2 of federal or private match for each dollar of State funding.
• Qualifications of key personnel.
• Cost realism based on review of the submitted budget plans.

MATCHING FUNDS

The proposal must document the source of matching funds by a ratio of at least two private industry or federal government dollars for every Centers dollar. The Centers of Excellence Program will award funds annually, and will disburse funds on a cost-reimbursement basis after receiving an invoice from the grantee. A statement of current matching funds must accompany all invoices submitted to COEP.

AWARD OF FUNDS

Each year awards will be based on an open competition For researchers who submit follow-on grant requests, progress against both technical goals and commercialization plans will be crucial for continued funding.

There is no guarantee (either explicit or implicit) that a grantee will receive more than one year of funding.

Researchers should be aware that their Centers budget cannot be altered within each cost category by more than 15 percent without the prior written approval of the Director of the Centers of Excellence Program.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The details for the reporting requirements will be provided to the Center Director upon contract award. An annual report is required no later than July 31 following the end of the funded fiscal year (June 30). The report is critical in tracking the overall success of the Centers program. Therefore, should a Center neglect to submit report in a timely manner, its grant is subject to termination.

Center directors should also expect periodic site visits from COEP staff or Advisory Council members. Such visits will be scheduled at mutually convenient times. An annual audit will also be scheduled.