Technology and Innovation Transfer (IDEA)

Are you an IDEA Innovator? Do you have an innovation, product, or service that you want to get out to the world?

Our office can help! Here are the steps to follow:

Disclose

Tell us about your idea and we’ll help you determine the next steps, even if you are not sure how to develop it further. Contact us (orsp@unco.edu or 351-4767) to set up a call or a meeting.

Review

Have your idea reviewed for its market potential so you can decide whether to invest additional effort. If the idea has market potential we’ll work with you to help develop it, either via grants, sponsored research contracts or licensing agreements.

Protect

We can help you decide on the best way to protect your intellectual property. This might mean applying for a patent, trademark or copyright. If so, we can help with that, too.

Market

Once your innovation is ready, we’ll help you decide how to market it through, either through an industry partner, or by starting a whole new company. If you want to partner with an established company, we’ll help you find the right partner for either sponsored research or licensing. If you want to start your own company, we’ll help you get launched and connect you with resources such as the UNC BizHub Collaborative and the Small Business Development Center.

What is IDEA?

Innovation Development and Enterprise Advancement (IDEA) is a broad conceptualization of the process more traditionally known as “technology transfer.”