Working Guide and Supplemental Materials
2015-2016 NSF EPSCoR Workshop Series on
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Translational Research

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Translational Research are critical components in the continuum from creative discovery to implementation of new products and services derived from research outcomes.  The importance of this continuum is highlighted in the National Economic Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy October 2015 report, A Strategy for American Innovation, which devoted a section to this topic entitled “From Lab to Market: Commercializing Federally-Funded Research.” It is also embodied in the NSF EPSCoR program objectives that include catalyzing research capacity to expand jurisdictions’ contributions to knowledge-based prosperity and impacting economic development in the private sector.

Other reports explicitly link NSF EPSCoR program investments to related outcomes:

“Improving the research base in EPSCoR jurisdictions will likely enhance their capacity to promote technology-based economic development and innovation, which, in turn, will help spur jobs and fuel economic growth.” (Evaluation of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR): Final Report, Science & Technology Policy Institute)

“EPSCoR has played a more significant role than any other federal program in strengthening research capacities, changing their state’s research culture for the better, and elevating the importance of sciences as a fundamental driver of economic growth.” (The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, National Academies Press)

This NSF-funded workshop series presented best practices and established connections within the EPSCoR community to more effectively support the translation of new ideas (in the form of research-based innovation) into economic development and other society-serving purposes.

This workshop series engaged 16 EPSCoR jurisdictions and included attendees directly involved in key disciplines that support development and broader utilization of research outcomes, including faculty, research administrators, entrepreneurs, investors, and business and economic development directors. Jurisdiction teams actively engaged in assessment and strategic planning to review common challenges in four thematic areas: research-based innovation, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, and business development.

The materials used in the workshop series are made available here to assist other jurisdictions as they consider investments and programs in these thematic areas.

• Implementation Guide
• Assessment Questionaire
• Workshop 1 Presentation Materials
• Blank SWOT Template
• SWOT Analyses from Workshop 1
• Workshop 2 Presentation Materials
• Blank Action Plan Template
• Action Plans from Workshop 2

This workshop series was supported by NSF EPS-1521666