1. Questions-and-Answers (Q-and-A)
NSF INNOVATION CORPS (I-CORPS) BASICS
Q What is I-Corps?
A NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) is a public–private partnership that provides
grants to determine the technology disposition of concepts developed by previously
or currently funded NSF grantees.
Q What is the goal of I-Corps?
A The NSF I-Corps program has three related and complementary goals: to spur
transformation of fundamental research into useful technological innovation, to
encourage collaboration between academia and industry, and to provide students
with opportunities to learn about and participate in the process of transforming
scientific and engineering discoveries into innovative technologies.
Q How does I-Corps support the mission of NSF?
A The NSF mission is to pursue scientific knowledge to advance the nation's health,
prosperity, and welfare; this activity will help more science and engineering
discoveries realize their potential in technologies and services that benefit society.
Q How does I-Corps support the NSF Strategic Plan?
A The Innovation Corps will enhance our nation’s economic competitiveness as
enjoined by the NSF strategic plan by "reaching out to the range of communities
that play complementary roles in the innovation process and are essential to
ensuring the impact of NSF investments." (See Empowering the National through
Discovery and Innovation: NSF Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2011–2016, page 3.)
Q How much will NSF invest in I-Corps?
A NSF anticipates investing $1.25 million in I-Corps projects in FY 2011, pending
availability of funds. This program will limit indirect costs (F&A) $5,000. This
program is a public–private partnership, with initial private investments secured for
FY2011 and FY2012. The program aims to support up to 100 projects at $50,000
for up to six months.
Q Why is NSF beginning a new activity in a time of increased budget pressure?
A NSF understands the importance of its contributions to the nation's innovation

2. ecosystem and other impacts on society. In light of the country's immediate
problems from the recession as well as long-term structural changes in the global
economy, NSF seeks to strengthen, leverage, and accelerate these contributions for
economic and societal benefits. NSF I-Corps is a strategic investment that will help
the Foundation achieve this goal.
Q For how long will NSF invest in I-Corps?
A NSF anticipates investing in I-Corps for at least three years, beginning in FY
2011.
Q How does this match/work with other programs, especially GOALI and
SBIR/STTR?
A I-Corps presents a particular opportunity for GOALI grantees, who have already
conducted basic research with commercial applications in mind. Businesses that
grow out of the program may be eligible for research support from the NSF
SBIR/STTR programs, and they may partner with NSF centers or other collaborative
activities.
Q What is the best way to learn more about I-Corps?
A The latest information about I-Corps will be available on the NSF website at
www.nsf.gov/i-corps. In addition, I-Corps program directors will hold a live webinar
on the first Tuesday of each month; webinar information will be available at the I-
Corps website.
I-CORPS PARTICIPANTS
Q Which researchers are eligible to participate?
A A PI is limited to one I-Corps grant within a 12-month period. They must have
an active NSF award or one that has been active within the 5 years from the date of
submission of the I-Corps proposal in a science or engineering field relevant to the
proposed innovation. See requirements in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG).
Q What is the role of academic researchers in I-Corps?
A The principal investigator (PI) will serve as the technical lead and project
manager, and a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student, or other student will act
as the Entrepreneurial Lead.

3. Q What qualities, knowledge, and experience should be found in the
Entrepreneurial Lead?
A The Entrepreneurial Lead should possess relevant knowledge of the technology
and a deep commitment to investigate the commercial landscape surrounding the
innovation. The Entrepreneurial Lead should also be capable and have the will to
support the transition of the technology, should the I-Corps project demonstrate a
level of readiness appropriate to leave the academic institution.
Q What is the role of the private sector in I-Corps?
A The private sector will also contribute to the funding of NSF I-Corps grants; this
contribution will be administered by NSF. The I-Corps Mentor will be from the
private sector and will serve as the principal guide in determining the technology
disposition.
Q What makes a good I-Corps Mentor, and how do researchers find one?
A The I-Corps Mentor will typically be an experienced or emerging entrepreneur
with proximity to the institution and experience in transiting technology out of
Academic labs. The I-Corps Mentor must be a third-party resource and may be
recommended by the proposing institution or may be a member of the NSF-
identified I-Corps Mentor network supported by public–private partnership funding.
If an I-Corps Mentor is needed, the NSF Program Director may assist in identifying
one from the I-Corps network. The I-Corps Mentor will be responsible for guiding
the team forward and tracking progress through regular communication with the
Cognizant NSF I-Corps program director.
Q Will grantee teams get the chance to interact with each other?
A Periodically, NSF will hold an Innovation Forum where I-Corps teams may
network and learn from other I-Corps Mentors and teams.
Q Does the awardee organization have to be a research institution?
A Eligible organizations must be either an accredited degree-granting institution or
a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). Accredited degree-
granting institutions include U.S. universities and two- and four-year colleges
(including community and technical colleges) accredited in and having a campus
located in the U.S., acting on behalf of their faculty members. FFRDCs must discuss
eligibility with a Cognizant NSF program director.

4. I-CORPS PROPOSALS
Q What must be done before submitting a proposal for I-Corps?
A The PI must obtain written permission to submit a proposal from a Cognizant
NSF program director.
Q What is the maximum award size and duration of an I-Corps grant?
A The $50,000 I-Corps grants will be for a period up to six months.
Q How long will it take between proposal submission and a decision?
A NSF expects for no more than 45 days to elapse between proposal submission
and decision. After the initial cycle, we expect to streamline the process and make
the time until a decision substantially shorter.
Q How will I-Corps proposals be reviewed?
A I-Corps proposals will be reviewed using the NSF RAPID mechanism. (See GPG.)
Q What are the review criteria for I-Corps proposals?
A All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board
(NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of
the proposed effort. In this instance, NSF will employ two additional criteria to
highlight the specific objectives of I-Corps: potential impact on market, and time
horizon to impact.
Q Do NSF program directors have the expertise to evaluate business-related
proposals from across all scientific fields?
A All I-Corps program directors have experience in transforming technology and
working closely with academic labs in transforming technology
I-CORPS GRANTS AND RESULTS
Q What will grantees do during the period of performance?
A To determine the technology disposition, each team must commit to pursuing
(through an online curriculum) a formal hypothesis-validation approach to
identifying any mitigating gaps in knowledge along the following seven lines: 1.

5. Value proposition of the proposed product or service 2. Customer/user use-case
and pain point 3. Demand creation 4. Channel development 5. Revenue model 6.
Partnership strategy 7. Resource requirement
Q Why was this approach chosen?
A NSF recognizes that translating technology out of an academic laboratory
requires different skill sets and knowledge than undertaking research does, and
that these skills and expertise are much more common in a start-up environment
than an academic one. The process of developing and testing hypotheses around
these seven core areas represents the current state of the art in commercial
opportunity recognition, and the process will systematically build the dexterity and
understanding needed to ascertain technology disposition.
Q What if the team finds at the end of the project that their potential commercial
impact is different from what they proposed?
A NSF expects this to happen in most cases. This understanding represents a
significant value in and of itself.
Q Is there any special reporting required?
A NSF is creating an online platform to help teams track their progress. More
information on this front will become available at www.nsf.gov/i-corps.
Q How will the I-Corps program and project results/outcomes be evaluated?
A NSF may examine data related to the number of entrepreneurial students; the
number of start-ups and licenses; the degree of technology integration into existing
businesses; the extent of further investments from other public and private
sources; and other innovation metrics.
Q How long will it take for I-Corps projects to make an impact?
A I-Corps projects with strong commercialization potential may make an impact in
three to five years. Time to commercialization is expected to be technology- and
end-use sensitive.
Q How will NSF protect intellectual property with respect to the mentors/others?
A The researchers and mentors themselves will be responsible for working out
intellectual property agreements.

6. Q How will NSF guard against conflicts of interest with respect to the
mentors/others?
A Conflicts of interest will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and will be
handled between the grantee organization and the private party(ies).
Q What is the next step for researchers who have successfully completed an I-
Corps project?
A Projects will culminate with clear understanding of what it will take to bring a
particular innovation to the marketplace. For those projects that are feasible,
grantees will be ready to transfer the activity to the for-profit sector and pursue
support for translational research from, for example, strategic partners, investors,
and NSF programs for small businesses.
I-CORPS PROGRAM OFFICERS
The cognizant program officers for I-Corps are:
• Errol Arkilic, telephone: 703-292-8095, email: earkilic@nsf.gov
• Rathindra DasGupta, telephone: 703-292-8353, email: rdasgupt@nsf.gov
• Richard Voyles, telephone: 703-292-4541, email: rvoyles@nsf.gov