GRANTS

NCInnovation unlocks the innovative potential of North Carolina’s world-class universities by providing grant funding and support services to public university applied researchers working on discoveries that have commercial promise. NCInnovation helps inventions advance toward commercialization – accelerating the transition from academia to industry – by supporting university applied research through the critical R&D phase between proof-of-concept and readiness for the private market. For more information on how to apply for a Statewide Innovation Grant, click here.

Applying for a Grant

Awarded Projects NCInnovation awards grants to North Carolina public universities for projects with commercial potential. The grants support applied research that has already achieved proof-of-concept. This strategic initiative enables the organization to support promising research while optimizing grant management software, policies, and operational procedures in collaboration with a small group of university researchers. Awarded Projects

WRAPAROUND SUPPORT

Professional Development Opportunities for Faculty NCI has partnered with the First Flight Venture Center (FFVC) and Appalachian State University to provide professional development opportunities for faculty to develop their ideas further and strengthen their funding applications. Training programs are based on a cohort model in which faculty participate in a ten-week intensive program with their peers from across the state. Additionally, faculty receive individualized coaching and mentorship from program facilitators.

Support Services NCI provides opportunities for faculty researchers and university partners to leverage resources and access support services to develop ideas and conduct research. Examples include partnering with vendors to conduct technology assessments and market-readiness reports to analyze technologies and identify areas of opportunity.

Pipeline Development Initiative The Pipeline Development Initiative de-risks research earlier and widens participation across the state. By adding a consistent, campus-level on-ramp and a shared platform, NCI ensures that more homegrown ideas cross the “too-early” chasm, enter our RFP with market traction, and ultimately become North Carolina companies, licenses, and jobs. Pipeline Development

Workshops and Trainings NCI sponsors various Lunch & Learn Workshops, including “Translating Research for Impact,” to educate faculty in the development and messaging of their research. Workshops are geared toward faculty who struggle to explain their research in ways that resonate beyond academic peers and teach them effective ways to communicate their research to grant reviewers, policymakers, and the public. Faculty learn how to break down complex ideas, tell a compelling research story, and craft easy-to-understand summaries that strengthen their grant applications. Through interactive exercises and real-time feedback, faculty gain practical skills to make their work more accessible and more fundable. Workshops cover: Why Translating Research Matters and Common Pitfalls The Art of Simplification Without Oversimplifying Structuring an Easy-to-Understand Research Summary Storytelling in Research Commercialization Practical Application

ENTREPRENEUR-IN-RESIDENCE (EIR) PROGRAMS

Regional EIRs

In 2024, NCI established a network of Regional Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) embedded within each of its four regional hubs across North Carolina. These EIRs are key partners in advancing the commercialization of applied research and driving regional economic development through innovation.

The EIR program is designed to accelerate NCI’s mission by:

• Supporting commercialization education and training

• Coaching university-based teams pursuing translational research and startup formation

• Building relationships across academia, industry, and capital networks

• Enabling high-quality project sourcing and pipeline development

EIRs work in close collaboration with NCI’s Programs team and the Senior Regional Innovation Network Director in their respective region and operate as part of a statewide EIR cohort. While each EIR will be anchored in a single region, NCI encourages cross-regional collaboration of Regional EIRs to align expertise with sector-specific technologies.

Project EIR Program

NCI launched its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program (EIR) and faculty education programs in fiscal year 2025. NCI partnered with NC IDEA, an independent, private 501(c)(3) foundation that fosters equitable economic development with competitive grants and programs for entrepreneurs and funding to strengthen the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Through this partnership, the initial focus was on NCI's eight pilot grant projects to maintain a high level of oversight and to build infrastructure with flexibility and opportunity to expand the EIR program alongside the growth of NCI's grants program.  Over the year, NCI matched Project EIRs with all awarded projects to focus on commercialization activities and milestones.

SBTDC MBA Summer Intern Program

NCI partners with the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) to participate in the organization’s summer MBA intern program and match interns with funded projects. MBA interns from SBTDC help our funded grantees, particularly in their business and commercialization activities, while gaining real-world experience. 

The program is intended to provide additional wrap-around support and provide more resources and capacity to the work being completed by the Project EIRs. The PIs and Project EIRs develop work plans with their assigned interns.

PROGRAMMATIC AND STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Commercialization Support and Programming

NCI partners with RIoT to support funded projects in years one and two of funding. Year-one support is intended to provide project teams with a strong, shared foundation. PIs and EIRs are new to working together and require immediate support with operating in alignment as a commercial venture. Workshops are designed to baseline all stakeholders involved in the first principles of business, startup methodology, terminology, and frameworks to aid the development of potential commercial pathways and immediate-term market engagement and experimentation. 

A successful outcome of Year 1 programming is that teams are operating harmoniously with clear roles and responsibilities, have a track record of executing business-side development, and have clarified their Commercial Roadmap (potential pathways with defined MVEs) based on market feedback (through engaging industry partners and conducting customer discovery). 

Year 2 support is designed to ramp up projects that are at the point of testing customer demand and commercial solution hypotheses, and/or provide additional coaching and mentorship on a project basis. Year 2 programming has an intensive focus on revenue growth, sales strategies, business operations (RevOps, ProdOps, etc), solution piloting, and customer pipelining/customer success. A successful outcome from Phase 2 Accelerator is that project teams have established a commercial entity and executed first pilots/closed first customer(s). Year 2 Accelerator programming continues to provide project teams with a foundation in business strategy, commercialization progress, continued market validation, and internal operations.

Other Strategic and Programmatic Partnerships