Oregon’s Lab2Market Initiative

Oregon’s Lab2Market Initiative

Funded by National Science Foundation

Partnerships for Innovation Program

The unemployment rate in Oregon is among the highest in the nation, and the primary goal of Oregon’s Lab2Market Initiative is to promote innovation for a better future. This Initiative will facilitate the commercialization of novel technologies and the creation of high-wage jobs by forging networks between private sector business expertise and world-class research at Oregon’s universities. At the end of three years, the plan is to have launched twelve new technologies through licensing agreements or start-up ventures. A two-pronged approach will support this launch plan. The first is an educational component whereby entrepreneurial thinking is imparted to science and engineering researchers, their staff, and the next-generation of innovators in Oregon high schools. The second prong of the Lab2Market Initiative focuses on a venture-mentoring program, where the mentor teams are made up of our partners and MBA students. The partnership includes university faculty and students; state, regional and local government; and the business community (including venture capitalists and IP attorneys).

Subsidiary to this two-pronged approach the Lab2M program will also serve as a proving ground for testing and refining innovative policies designed to lower the barriers for University researchers to become more involved in, and pursue, commercial applications of their research efforts. These innovative policies conceived at Portland State University involve intellectual property development, protection, ownership and, establishment and expansion of mutually beneficial relationships with corporate collaborators. These policies will be implemented at Portland State University and this will augment the Lab2M mission in the nurturing of a much more viable commercialization culture in the State of Oregon.

Partners include Portland State University (Lead Institution), Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum, Oregon Bioscience Association, American Electronics Association, ecoworks, IBM Healthcare & Life Sciences, Intellectual Assets, Northwest Technology Ventures, OVP Venture Partners, SmartForest Ventures, Ater Wynne, Davis Wright Tremaine, Stoel Rives, WelchAllyn, Portland Development Commission, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, and Saturday Academy.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0438736.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.