1.3: Funding, Revenue & Sustainability

[Develop a] plan to be self-sustaining, based on diverse funding sources.

Other Information:

IMI Funding, Revenue, and Sustainability -- Each Institute should be of sufficient size and scope to have major national and regional economic impacts and to address the multidimensional challenges associated with the Institute's focus area. The amount of Federal funding should be appropriate to the Institute proposed. Federal funding to launch a typical Institute is expected to range from $70-$120 million over a 5-7 year timeframe. With greater than 1:1 non-Federal co-investment, an institute could achieve its goals with a lower level of Federal funding. In addition, each Institute should build into its operations model the ability to develop and leverage diverse revenue streams throughout its life. Federal funding is expected to be initially larger when an Institute is established and to diminish after the initial 2-3 years so that most of the Institute's funds are provided by private and other funding sources as time progresses. Each Institute should have a plan to be self-sustaining, based on diverse funding sources beginning at Institute formation, and be fully independent of NNMI Federal funds 5-7 years after launch. Institutes will have the flexibility to pursue sustainable Institute revenue from a variety of sources including: member fees, fee-for-service activities, contract research or pre-production scale-up, non-NNMI grants and awards from Federal and other sources, intellectual property royalties, endowments, etc. The Board of Directors for each Institute will develop, within constraints specified by the Institute award, policies and procedures for its operation and for its revenue-generating mechanisms. Institute facilities and work products should be made available on appropriate and reasonable terms to a broad base of industrial users. The evolution of Institute facilities and work activities over time should also be informed by a broad base of industrial partners and other stakeholders. To encourage the transition to sustainability, a portion of the Federal funds used for Institute projects will be awarded competitively among the Institutes. Competitive Project Award decisions will be made in part based on technical quality, but additionally based on prior Institute performance and the strength of industrial participation. This is described further in Section 3.7. During the period of NNMI Federal funding, each Institute should demonstrate significant co-investment support from non-Federal sources. The non-Federal co-investment must be tangible, meaningful, and in the aggregate, substantial enough to signal strong and committed industry, regional, and local partnership. The co-investment requirement is expected to be met with both cash and in-kind contributions. In-kind and cash contributions may arise from any source, but are only counted as co-investment if they come from non-Federal sources and directly support the function of the Institute. The funds may come from the Institute (for example, using revenue from the licensing of intellectual property); the members of the Institute; State, regional, and local sources (such as economic development agencies); private donations; or other non-Federal sources. The value of in-kind contributions should be determined in accordance with OMB Circular A-110, Subpart C, Section 23.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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