42 U.S.C. § 19111: Planning and capacity building awards

Under the program established in section 1862p–2 of this title and the activities authorized under this section, from amounts made available to the Directorate, the Director, in coordination with other Federal agencies as determined appropriate by the Director, shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to advance the development, adoption, and commercialization of technologies, consistent with the purposes of the Directorate under section 19102 of this title . an institution of higher education, which may be a community college (or a consortium of such institutions); a nonprofit organization that is either affiliated with an institution of higher education or designed to support technology development or entrepreneurship; or an entity described in paragraph (1) or (2) as the lead award recipient; and an economic development organization or similar entity that is focused primarily on improving science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship; an industry organization or firm in a relevant technology or innovation sector; an industry-experienced executive with entrepreneurship experience that is focused primarily on de-risking technologies from both a scientific and a business perspective; or an individual or entity with industry and startup expertise, including a mentor network, across relevant technology or innovation sectors. identify academic research with the potential for technology transfer and commercialization, particularly as relevant to the purposes of the Directorate under section 19102 of this title ; ensure the availability of staff, including technology transfer professionals, entrepreneurs in residence, and other mentors as required to accomplish the purpose of this section; help offset the costs of patenting and licensing research products, both domestically and internationally; revise institution policies, including policies related to intellectual property and faculty entrepreneurship, and taking other necessary steps to implement relevant best practices for academic technology transfer; develop local, regional, and national partnerships among institutions of higher education and between institutions of higher education and private sector entities and other relevant organizations, including investors, with the purpose of building networks, expertise, and other capacity to identify promising research that may have potential market value and enable researchers to pursue further development and transfer of their ideas into possible commercial or other use; develop seminars, courses, and other educational opportunities for students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty, and other relevant staff at institutions of higher education to increase awareness and understanding of entrepreneurship, patenting, business planning, research security, and other areas relevant to technology transfer, and connect students and researchers to relevant resources, including mentors in the private sector; and create, support, or fund entities or competitions to allow entrepreneurial students and faculty to illustrate the commercialization potential of their ideas, including through venture funds of institution of higher education. Awards made under this section shall be at least 3 years in duration and shall not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year. Awards made under this section shall not support the development or operation of capital investment funds. how the eligible entity submitting an application plans to sustain the proposed activities beyond the duration of the award; the steps the applicant will take to enable technology transfer and adoption and why such steps are likely to be effective; how the applicant will encourage the training and participation of students and potential entrepreneurs and the transition of research results to practice, including the development of new businesses; as relevant, potential steps to drive economic growth in a particular region, by collaborating with industry, venture capital entities, non-profit organizations, and State and local governments within that region; and background information that the Director determines is relevant to demonstrate the success of the innovation and entrepreneurship support models proposed by the applicant to commercialize technologies. The Director shall make awards under this section to eligible entities to establish collaborative innovation resource centers that promote regional technology transfer and technology development activities available to more than one institution of higher education and to other entities in a region. Providing start-ups and small business concerns (as defined in section 632 of title 15 ) within the region with access to facilities, scientific infrastructure, personnel, and other assets as required for technology maturation. Supporting entrepreneurial training for start-up and small business personnel. 1 Providing engineering and entrepreneurial experiences and hands-on training for students enrolled in participating institutions of higher education. 1 So in original. Probably should be “(C)”. metrics related to commercialization for an award under this section; and a reporting schedule for recipients of such awards that takes into account both short- and long-term goals of the programs under this section. The Director shall ensure regional and geographic diversity in issuing awards under this section. From within funds authorized for the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, there are authorized to carry out the activities under this section $3,100,000,000 for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.