The OU Growth Fund, a campus-specific fund outlined in the OU Intellectual Property policy, strengthens the commercial potential of disclosed University of Oklahoma innovations, and is available to researchers on all three campuses who seek funding for prototypes and/or additional commercially-focused research results.
All campus faculty, staff, and graduate students are eligible, and must have a disclosure on file with the Office of Technology Commercialization prior to application.
The Growth Fund is strategically separated into two phases: Marketing Discovery and Translational Research. These phases build upon each other to provide crucial insights into a technology’s commercial value and progress along its commercial development pathway.
During Market Discovery, campus inventors receive up to $5,000 to focus on understanding their innovation’s value proposition and product-market fit.
The key outcome of this phase is, through extensive stakeholder interviews, to thoroughly understand the market, including what customer pains and problems your innovation can solve, as well as the most strategic commercial development pathway.
Inventors who participate in the Market Discovery round of the Growth Fund serve as a detective, looking for clues and patterns to help gain insight. Additionally, participants will gather feedback directly from industry on the market-centered data or prototypes that are necessary to move their innovation closer to commercialization.
Working with the Office of Technology Commercialization, recipients gain access to resources and trainings to better understand how to guide the commercial development of their technology into a product or service to benefit society.
By its conclusion, a successful Growth Fund: Market Discovery project will have:
Ideal participants must:
Market Discovery funds can only be used for market-discovery related expenses (such as travel and salary/stipend), and cannot be used for lab work or lab supplies. A detailed budget will be developed in conjunction with the Office of Technology Commercialization if your application is accepted.
The Growth Fund operates on a reimbursement model, and you will be required, through your lab or other departmental funds, to provide funding to cover expenses prior to submitting paperwork for reimbursement.
Unsure about what a value proposition is? Learn more about Value Propostions
Questions? Contact us at GrowthFund@ou.edu
The outcomes of the Market Discovery phase form the foundation for the Translational Research application.
Once applicants successfully gather compelling product-market fit insight, can clearly articulate the innovation's value proposition and have conceptualized a research plan to help move their innovation closer to the market, they are encouraged to apply for up to $75,000 in translational research funding.
This funding can be used to produce the necessary modifications, market-centered results, and/or prototypes identified during market discovery. Applications for the Translational Research phase will be evaluated based on Market Discovery deliverables, along with additional information presented to the Growth Fund Committee through an in-person pitch presentation.
Translational Research funding is available twice per year in the fall and spring semesters.
Questions? Contact us at GrowthFund@ou.edu
