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Centers of Innovation Excellence (CIE)

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Centers of Innovation Excellence (CIE) 

Centers of Innovation Excellence (CIEs) are a key strategy of the State’s 10-Year Innovation Plan, and the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) and Business Oregon have spent over two years preparing for the transition from Signature Research Centers to CIEs. As context, key features of CIEs are that they
  • are intended to focus on supporting innovation within an emerging or established sector of importance to the state’s economy. 
  • be public-private partnerships that concentrate on developing the funding, facilities, talent and support services in sectors where Oregon has or could develop business or other advantages. 
  • are expected to make their services available statewide; incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts into their work from the beginning; and coordinate with Regional Innovation Hubs, the Commercialization Gap Fund and partners to maximize their impact. 
  • are expected to leverage increasing amounts of non-state funding over time.
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Applications
Business Oregon released a Request for Grant Applications for CIEs in May 2023, and applications were due in July. Business Oregon received nineteen applications and staff conducted an initial review of the applications. Business Oregon then engaged a review committee to evaluate eligible applications. The applications requested a total of over $40 million.
Evaluation Process and Results
Eligible applications were evaluated by a review committee consisting of seven external members and three Business Oregon staff.

The evaluation criteria included the following:
  • Completeness of the application
  • Quality of the project description, including fit with the CIE model and level of impact on innovation and economic development in Oregon
  • Reasonableness of budget and justification and alignment of budget with proposed activities
  • Metrics and targets 
  • DEI strategy and approach
  • Strength of the emerging or established industry sector including evidence of Oregon’s advantages and market opportunities
  • Experience and capacity of the lead organization and key individuals
  • Level of impact on economic development and start-up/innovation activity in Oregon
  • Experience of partners and level of partner commitments, particularly industry partners
  • Quality of asset inventory, gap analysis and plans to fill gaps
  • Plan for leveraging Oregon InC funding with funding from non-state sources 

Award Decisions
The following five lead organizations are being awarded CIE designations for the 2023-2025 biennium. The industry sectors on which they focus, and the grant award amounts are listed below: 
  • OTRADI (bioscience) – $2.5M
  • Pendleton (UAS) – $2.25M
  • ONAMI (materials science & chemistry) – $1.75M
  • Hillsboro (semiconductors) – $1.5M
  • OMIC R&D (additive manufacturing) – $1.0M
Updates on Centers of Innovation Excellence progress and work will be posted as we get them underway.

Any questions can be directed to Sally Bell, Innovation Strategist: sally.bell@biz.oregon.gov