Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) at NIH Program for NIH and CDC Translational Research (Admin Supp Clinical Trial NOT Allowed)
Funding Agency:
- National Institutes of Health
The goal of the I-Corps Program is to accelerate the translation of biomedical research to the marketplace by providing training to SBIR and STTR recipients in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. Under this program, the NIH and CDC foster the development of early-stage biomedical technologies, focus on teaching researchers how to gain a clearer understanding of the value of their inventions in the marketplace, and ultimately how to advance their technologies from the research lab into the commercial world. This program is designed to complement activities within the scope of the parent SBIR Phase I (R43) or STTR Phase I (R41) grant or the Phase I portion of an SBIR/STTR Fast-Track grant (R44/R42, respectively), to help accelerate the commercialization of new products and services derived from NIH- and CDC-funded technical feasibility studies.
Through this program, I-Corps teams will participate in an entrepreneurial immersion course. The I-Corps curriculum uses a hypothesis-driven research method of customer discovery to gain insights into the issues associated with technology commercialization. As part of this program, participants are required to get "out of the lab" and gather information by conducting a large number of interviews (i.e., 100+) with potential customers, strategic partners, and other third-party stakeholders. During the course, I-Corps teams share what they learn with instructors and other teams, gaining new insights into the prospective impact of the technology being developed under the SBIR or STTR grant. Instructors for the course are sourced from the National Science Foundation's National Innovation Network, and each instructor is trained in delivering the I-Corps curriculum. It is anticipated that the feedback and learning gained during the I-Corps program will help inform future Phase II SBIR/STTR projects and commercialization strategies.
The I-Corps program will be supported through administrative supplement awards to active SBIR (NIH and CDC) and STTR (NIH only) Phase I recipients. Administrative supplement awards are intended only to support travel and other direct costs associated with the training program. A cohort (up to 24 teams per cohort) will be selected to participate in the I-Corps at NIH program, which is expected to last approximately eight weeks.
Online Curriculum: During the I-Corps program, online content will be hosted by the NIH (or designee) to establish process and progress tracking. The team's progress will be shared with the entire cohort of I-Corps teams to facilitate group learning.
Application budgets are limited to no more than $55,000 in total costs and must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Note in Section IV.2 that proposed budgets should also include $22,000 per team to cover workshop registration fees ($22,000 out of the total budget allowed of $55,000).
December 15, 2021; February 2, 2022; November 15, 2022; February 2, 2023; November 15, 2023; February 2, 2024 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
Reema Railkar, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute (NCI), Phone: 240-276-5720 , Email: icorps@mail.nih.gov