Proof of Concept Centers – Accelerating the Commercialization of University Innovation

Innovation drives economic growth. Economic growth leads to longer,
healthier lives by transforming yesterday’s luxuries into better, cheaper, and
more efficient goods and services. University research is a key component of our
nation’s innovative capacity.

In an increasingly dynamic and global economy, the
institutional infrastructure is inefficient at moving university innovations to the
marketplace. University researchers often face convoluted procedures with
insufficient guidance to commercialize their innovations. As angel investors and
venture capitalists increasingly invest in later-stage enterprises,1 researchers
face difficulty finding early stage funding to develop and test prototypes and
conduct market research. In order to fill this funding gap and accelerate the
commercialization of university innovations, a new type of organization has
emerged—the proof of concept center.

What follows is an examination of two such centers: the Deshpande
Center at the MIT School of Engineering and the von Liebig Center at the
University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. This analysis
provides valuable insights into how proof of concept centers can facilitate the
transfer of university innovations into commercial applications.

Christine A. Gulbranson, director, Advancing Innovation
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

David B. Audretsch, director
Max Planck Institute of Economics

Research assistance provided by Isabel Groff and Samantha Dalton

Full Report: http://www.kauffman.org/pdf/POC_Centers_01242008.pdf