Oregon BEST launches grant program
By Christina Williams
Sustainable Business Oregon
The Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center announced Thursday a $225,000 grant program that will offer cash assistance to nascent companies looking to bridge the gap between prototype and marketable product.
The Commercialization Grant Program, modeled after a similar program run by the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, will offer grants of up to $75,000 to teams with a product under development.
"In my mind this is a pilot program," said David Kenney, president and executive director of Oregon BEST. "It's a smaller-scale version of what ONAMI's been doing."
Oregon BEST, a nonprofit established by the Oregon Legistlature in 2007 as a signature research center, nurtures green building technology by connecting businesses with university researchers.
Kenney said that, to date, the center has focused on its research agenda. With the grant program, it offers tangible aid to businesses that are struggling to survive what's commonly called in startup circles "the valley of death" — the time and process required to take a good idea to market that many companies don't survive.
He knows of many companies that will be lining up for grants. "I'm worried we're going to be seriously over subscribed," Kenney said.
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