SHS Believe in Ohio (BiO) GuidelinesInformation taken from Believe in Ohio Talking Points

What is STEM?Science Technology Engineering Mathematics

What is a BiO STEM Commercialization Plan? (SHS science students only option is the STEM Commercialization Plan NOT the STEM Business Plan)A STEM Commercialization Plan is a written document that describes how a new and/or an existing STEM concept, prototype, process, idea or technology (or a combination of multiple STEM concepts, processes, ideas or technologies) may be applied, or further developed to provide a solution to a marketplace or societal problem, need or opportunity.

A STEM Commercialization Plan essentially provides a written “Science & Technology Proof of Concept” to support an innovative new product or service concept or idea that is being proposed. As such, a STEM Commercialization Plan includes both a persuasive science and technology assessment and plan, coupled with a discussion of the concept’s likely commercial feasibility and viability.

A plan is typically developed by a STEM researcher or practitioner skilled in the various STEM disciplines who conceives and develops the idea, and ideally obtains intellectual property protection for his/her concept idea. Typically the type of person or team that develops this type of plan is a “scientist” as opposed to a “business person”. A student who develops a STEM Commercialization Plan can expect that his or her plan will be judged by a team of STEM academics, researchers and/or practitioners who will be first and foremost interested in the quality of the student’s science and technology assessment and research plan, and secondarily, although importantly, in the students assessment of the commercial feasibility of their proposal.

STEM Commercialization Plan categories:● Advanced Materials● Aerospace & Aviation ● Agriculture, Food Technology & Bio-Products● Computer Science & Information Technology● Energy (Alternative Energy and Energy Storage)● Environmental Technology● Medical Devices, Products & Services● Cellular, Molecular, Genomic, Pharmaceutical & Regenerative Medicine● Sensing & Automation Technologies and Manufacturing

Judging of Plans see STEM Commercialization Plan Judging Criteria Communication 8 pointsCommercial Feasibility 8 pointsSTEM Concepts & Principles 8 pointsScience and Technology Proof of Concept 16 points

Believe in Ohio Roadmap - 12 MilepostsMilepost 1 - Problem Statement - Pain Point - Market OpportunityMilepost 2 - What is your proposed solution?Milepost 3 - What STEM concepts underlie your proposed solution?Milepost 4 - Who are your target customers and intended users?Milepost 5 - Who are your competitors?SHS Checkpoint 1 - Is your idea and the corresponding science sound and would someone buy it?Milepost 6 - What is your customer value proposition & competitive advantage?Milepost 7 - What revenue streams do you expect?Milepost 8 - What startup & operating costs do you expect to incur?SHS Checkpoint 2 - Is your idea marketable and would it profitable?

Traffic Light - STOP!! In your opinion does your solution and plan make commercial sense?

If NOT...then start again at Milepost 1 and repeat until you are satisfied that your solution makes commercial sense.If YES!! Write your plan by following through on Mileposts 9-12

Milepost 9 - Summarize the STEM concepts & principles underlying your solution Milepost 10 - Summarize in writing your commercialization assessment of your plan.Milepost 11 - Develop a science & technology proof of conceptMilepost 12 - Prepare an executive summary of your entire planSHS Checkpoint 3 - The final plan!

Believe in Ohio Roadmap Milepost Details

Milepost 1 - Problem Statement - Pain Point - Market OpportunityThis is the hardest part of the process. What is an idea or issue that you want to work on?Start by looking around you at needs that aren’t being fulfilled, problems that remain unsolved, and things that don’t work. How could technological developments have made possible or could make possible products, services, and solutions that simply weren’t possible before.

Don’t stop with just the first idea. Are there any similar problems or related issues. Are there any other issues/problems in your or the world that you think need addressing?

Milepost 2 - What is your proposed solution?What are your solutions to some of the problems from milepost 1. Is your solution new and/or innovative? Are you creating a new product or service or enhancing an existing product or service with new features or capabilities that can be successfully developed into a real world business opportunity and then taken to market?

Milepost 3 - What STEM concepts underlie your proposed solution?What are the key science and technology concept(s) and advances that you plan to apply to address the problems and solutions previously identified in mileposts 1 & 2.

Milepost 4 - Who are your target customers and intended users?Who would buy this product? Who are the target customers? What is the size of the market (market share) that these customers represent? Is this an idea for millions or just a small group of people? Keep in mind the difference between the customer and and the end user. If the product is for children then the customer is an adult.

Milepost 5 - Who are your competitors?What other similar products are there to yours? Specifically how is your product/service different? What can you learn from your competitors?

SHS Checkpoint 1 - Is your idea and the corresponding science sound and would anyone purchase or use this product.This is where you will present your ideas to your SHS science teacher. Depending on the class (CPE, BIO, CHEM, PHYSICS, etc.) you may have a specific requirement from your teacher. At this point you should be hooked up with a mentor provide from the Ohio Academy of Sciences to help you with this

Milepost 6 - What is your customer value proposition & competitive advantage?Describe what you believe to be the “consumer value proposition” your solution offers? A customer value proposition is a business or marketing statement that describes why a customer should buy a product or use a service. It is specifically targeted towards potential customers. What is your competitive advantage? What does your product offer that similar products do not? Cost? Features? Efficiency? Speed?

Milepost 7 - What revenue streams do you expect?How much money do you expect to earn? Partial list of potential revenue streams: product sales through middleman wholesalers or direct to customers, fees for a services performed, subscription fees, usage fees. What are the potential streams and how large would they be?

Milepost 8 - What startup & operating costs do you expect to incur?What costs need to be incurred for testing prototypes and testing? Will you manufacture a product yourself, or outsource it to others? What kind and levels of staffing will be needed to bring your plan idea(s) to fruition? What are the costs your project will incur?

SHS Checkpoint 2 - Is your idea marketable and would it profitable?

Traffic Light - STOP!! In your opinion does your solution and plan make commercial sense?

If NOT...then start again at Milepost 1 and repeat until you are satisfied that your solution makes commercial sense.If YES!! Write your plan by following through on Mileposts 9-12

Milepost 9 - Summarize the STEM concepts & principles underlying your solution If your idea is based largely on existing or developed science that has not previously been applied in the way you propose, discuss how that science provides a feasible basis for your product, service or other concept idea. What additional science research or development may be required to bring your concept to fruition. (500 words or fewer; based on Milepost 3)

Milepost 10 - Summarize in writing your commercialization assessment of your plan.Summarize your conclusions as to the commercial feasibility of your Plan. Include a discussion of the following:

● The problem, pain point or market opportunity you are seeking to address.● Your proposed solution.● Who your target customer(s) are. Who your intended users are, and how they may be

different from your customers.● Who your competitors are and on what basis you expect to compete with them.● What your customer value proposition is and what competitive advantage your solution

offers.● What principal revenue streams you foresee gathering.● What significant startup and operating costs your expect the development of your

venture will require.● Your overall assessment of the commercial feasibility of your plan.

Milepost 11 - Develop a science & technology proof of conceptThis section provides an assessment of the science and technology concepts and principles underlying your proposed idea and provides a proof of concept for the feasibility of the idea.Your discussion should include:

● Your review and assessment of the scientific literature related to your idea. What is already known about this idea?

● A description of your findings with relevant, cited references that you will include in a list of cited references in the end of your Plan.

● Your statement of a single, clear and compelling testable hypothesis or engineering design.

● An inquiry or design-based discussion rather than simply a summary of knowledge. You may include a discussion of prototypes and models you may have created (including computer and mathematical models) with strong data analyses. Discuss additional research, design or analyses that should be done.

● Data tables, graphs, charts, sketches, engineering drawings, or photos of prototypes or models, and cited references.

Milepost 12 - Prepare an executive summary of your entire planThe executive summary is a concise summary of your plan (like an abstract). The executive summary must be written in a manner that a person who is not familiar with the topic can understand your plan’s important

SHS Checkpoint 3 - The final plan!

Basic Plan Preparation Instructions● Shall not exceed 12-single spaced, typewritten pages, minimum 10 point type.● ALL PLANS MUST BE TYPED● ALL PLANS MUST HAVE 1” MARGINS● Clear and concise writing (technical writing.)● Number all pages except cover sheet● Type all pages flush left● Single or 1. spaced● Fonts may be Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, Arial, Calibri or Myriad

Pro● APA Format for all references

Suggestions / Additional Thoughts on Final Plan Preparation

● Have someone other than your science teacher proofread your Plan.● Good ideas that are not professionally presented may go unnoticed.● Make sure you use APA format correctly such as …….by Smith (2014) or (Smith

2014) DO NOT USE FOOTNOTES!● List references alphabetically at the end of your paper. DO NOT USE

“BIBLIOGRAPHY” it is not the same as references.