MIIE activities are supported by a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation. 1 Michigan Initiative for...

MIIE activities are supported by a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation.1

Michigan Initiative for Innovation and

Entrepreneurship(MIIE)

Pilot Program

Partner Campus Presentation


MIIE Overview• What?

– Cooperative organization of Michigan’s 15 public universities

– Built upon the successes of the Michigan Universities Commercialization Initiative (MUCI)

• Why?– To promote and support its member organizations in

directly and positively impacting the economy of the State of Michigan

– To alter the course of Michigan’s economy, fostering an entrepreneurial culture that will ensure successful competition in the 21st Century knowledge economy


• How?– Provide forum for sharing best practices,

aligning complementary practices and programs, and encouraging inter-institutional collaboration

– Build and implement joint funding programs to accelerate and advance:

• Technology and Knowledge Commercialization• University Based Start-up Business Formation• Industry/University Engagement and Talent

Retention• Entrepreneurship Education

MIIE Overview


a bit of history…. MUCI Successes• Modest awards to support specific

commercialization steps for university-owned intellectual property

• Supported technologies have gone on to be licensed to existing or start-up companies such as:– Accuri Instruments– Biophotonic Solutions – SenSound – Xoran


getting started… MIIE Pilot Program

• Pilot Funding Round to be conducted summer of 2008

• Supported by a Mott Foundation planning grant to the University of Michigan– $1.5M in funding available to be awarded to

partner schools on a competitive basis


Pilot Program Objectives• Demonstrate how universities can directly

contribute to the transformation of Michigan’s economy using the pilot program, followed by a full-scale, longer-term program

• Provide gap funding for transferring proprietary technologies and specialized knowledge to the private sector

• Encourage and incentivize direct collaboration between universities and industry

• Support innovative entrepreneurship education approaches


MIIE Funds

• Technology Commercialization Fund Program

• Industry & Economic Engagement Fund Program

• Talent Retention & Entrepreneurship Education Fund


Pilot Program Elements- Technology Commercialization Fund -

• Supports specific steps to move university-owned technology towards licensing:– Market research and commercial assessment– Proof of concept studies– Prototype development and testing– Business plan preparation

• Awards are capped at $150,000

• A 50% match is required



• Proposal Requirements– The University must own the Intellectual Property– The technology must be disclosed and under

management by the University’s technology transfer office or its equivalent (e.g., Office of the VP for Research)

– Applications must be approved by that office.– The technology may not be licensed already to a

non-University entity (although an “option” agreement is acceptable)



• Evaluation Criteria– Competitive Advantage– Market Need– Commercialization Plan– Timeline: likelihood of strong market

acceptance within 3-5 years, or within 3-7 years if a therapeutic model

– Validation: evidence of interest from a prospective customer or business partner; evidence of institutional support and effort



• Limited revenue sharing only if university earns licensing revenues on the technology in the future– Applies to the MIIE Technology

Commercialization Fund only– Capped at 3X the award– University can make limited payments of 20%

of revenues per year until 3X is reached– Payments made from university revenues so

there is no impact on license negotiations


• To transfer knowledge from universities to Michigan industry. Projects should:– Improve access to resources, assets, and services within

the university

– Foster collaborations between universities and Michigan based companies

– Be based on university knowledge, expertise, specialized facilities, know-how, etc. (vs. intellectual property)

• Awards are capped at $100,000• A 1:1 (100%) match is required

Pilot Program Elements- Industry & Economic Engagement Fund -


• Examples include– university teams working with companies,

especially entrepreneurial ventures – university teams working to improve the

competitiveness of Michigan industry– providing common forum for university and

industry experts to share information, etc.

• May be one-time proposition to meet a particular need or a larger, sustainable program that will have impact over time



• Evaluation Criteria– Impact on profitability, competitiveness and/or

growth of participating companies– Impact on private sector relevance of

associated university programs and personnel– Impact on entrepreneurial training of students

and faculty – Evidence of private sector demand and

support



Pilot Program Elements- Talent Retention & Entrepreneurship

Education Fund -

• To advance knowledge of entrepreneurial principles and practices among multiple student and faculty constituencies and to advance a culture of technological innovation and entrepreneurship in Michigan

• Awards are capped at $100,000

• A 50% match



Education Fund -• Examples include:

– Entrepreneur-in-residence programs– Projects to increase the effectiveness of the

university tech transfer office– Internships with economic development

agencies, venture capital and other fund managers

– New courses/curricula and boot camps– Developing new internship program,

interdisciplinary collaborations



Education Fund -• Evaluation Criteria

– Sustainability of proposed program– Innovative approaches to expanding

entrepreneurial education/experiential learning– Number of students involved in activities and

likelihood involvement will lead to employment in Michigan’s innovation economy

– Potential to increase faculty or student entrepreneurship

– Private sector commitment to participate in program or project


There are multiple rationales for requiring matching funds:

• Provision of resources by the university and/or commercial partner is the strongest indicator of the priority and anticipated value of the project.

• Matching is a tangible demonstration of the leveraging value of the Foundation funding.

• More projects can be completed as a consequence of enlarging the resource pool via matching.

• The match and repayment plan must not be so high as to discourage university and industry participation because the risk/reward ratio appears imbalanced.


Pilot Program Implementation Timeline

• Requests for proposals issued 4/28/08• Michigan Tech Limited Submission Deadline

5/22/2008• Proposals due 6/15/08• Proposals reviewed end of June 2008• Awards distributed July 2008• Reporting Requirements:

– Progress Report due December 8, 2008– Final Report due at completion of the 1-year

projects and then annually for 5 years


MIIE Pilot Program

• Questions?

MIIE activities are supported by a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation. 1 Michigan Initiative for...

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