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NSF I-Corps Site Program

Through the Innovation Corps (or I-Corps) Site program at Carnegie Mellon University, NSF grantees learn to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and gain skills in entrepreneurship through training in customer discovery and guidance from established entrepreneurs. Teams can receive up to $2,500 in grant funding to conduct customer discovery, market research or purchase supplies to create a prototype for their STEM technology.

Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.

Our Impact | By the Numbers
Since 2014:
180 I-Corps Site teams with 585 program participants
> $65M in follow on funding to teams
36 teams accepted to accelerator programs
17 SBIR/STTR grants received by teams
34% of teams have founders from STEM underrepresented minority groups

Testimonial from Shayan Gupta of Audition Technology

Explore Program Benefits

attend required CONNECTS seminars and seven cohort progress meetings for focused customer discovery training and valuable networking with past and present I-Corps site teams and mentors (see program schedule for more information)
receive reimbursement for up to $2,500 for eligible customer discovery expenses (virtual conferences and industry trade shows, developing prototypes, etc., participation in cohort curriculum is required to be eligible for reimbursement)
become part of the Project Olympus incubator program (see Benefits to Becoming a PROBE [pdf])
have a dedicated mentor who will meet with your team to provide you with business expertise, advise on pitch development and help grow your network of contacts
have priority opportunities to showcase your venture at Swartz Center events and the Olympus Show & Tell
receive information on writing proposals for the national I-Corps Team program, SBIR/STTR grants, regional accelerator programs and external funding opportunities
teams commercializing university research will obtain eligibility to apply for an I-Corps National Teams cohort $50,000 grant award if no previous NSF lineage

Program Eligibility

Carnegie Mellon faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, staff, and recent alumni are eligible to apply.
Eligible projects must be in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline
Team composition (the Swartz Center can assist with finding team members):
An academic lead: will serve as Principal Investigator (PI), typically CMU Faculty/Staff
An entrepreneurial lead: can be a student, faculty/staff, or recent alumni
A business mentor: All teams are assigned a mentor for the duration of the program
Must commit to attending required workshops and cohort meetings (seven 2 hour evening cohort meetings and CONNECTS seminars as per program schedule)
Must perform a minimum of 30 customer interviews by the end of the cohort
Participate in survey at end of cohort for program evaluation

Program and Expense Forms

Business Model Canvas (fillable form) [pptx]
Customer Interview Guide [doc]
Spring 2021 Schedule
Reimbursement Form [doc]
Allowable Expenses
Prior Approval for International Travel [doc]
Link to CMU Business and Travel Policy Summary
www.Talking to Humans.com (visit this site for link to free.pdf)

Meeting Slides

NSF I-Corps / SBIR / STTR Funding Information

NSF America's Seed Fund SBIR/STTR - Here you can review eligibility, apply for current solicitations, view a timeline with links to topic areas, program director contact info, required registrations needed to apply for SBIR/STTR, etc.
NSF IIP YouTube Channel - Webinars on NSF I-Corps programs and SBIR/STTR funding.
SBIR/STTR Open Solicitations - Links to open SBIR/STTR solicitations from various governmental agencies.
SBIR/STTR On-Line Tutorials - Tutorials in video, multimedia and pdf formats.
Innovation Partnership (iPart) Micro Voucher Program - IPart offers assistance to technology-driven companies in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in preparing high quality SBIR/STTR grant proposals for submission to federal funding agencies. (Please contact a program sponsor in your area at least 2 months prior to the SBIR/STTR application deadline to apply for iPart assistance.)