IMPACT ~ Venture Ecosystems Engineering...

Very interesting to read MIT alumna friend Krisztina "Z" Holly's ideas for IMPACT: A Proposal for Realizing the Economic Potential of University Research...

"...a pilot initiative that would invest a small amount of federal funding to coax existing research results into the U.S. commercial marketplace through ten local demonstration sites. Funding would equal $2 million per year, per university, for five years. These local sites would nurture a culture of entrepreneurship within each university, create and enhance the innovation ecosystem around each university, and provide the resources necessary for researchers to effectively translate their ideas into societal impact. The three key components of each program would be: gap funding, community-building, and mentoring and education, though other aspects are welcome. The results would be measurable, reproducible, and scaleable."

Z actually knows a good bit about this since she's currently Vice Provost for Innovation at USC and runs the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. And before that co-founded and ran the Deshpande Center at MIT and co-founded a couple MIT-related ventures!