COMMUNITY OF ACTION

Academic Innovation | Proof of Concept | Startup | Venture
Gap Fund and Accelerator Programs

A Community for University
Gap Fund and Accelerator Programs

The Community of Action for academic-affiliated innovation, proof of concept, startup, and venture gap fund and accelerator programs.

Founded in 2018, the Gap Fund and Accelerator Program Community of Action (GAP COA) is the resource for and by university, hospital, and research institution leaders looking to evolve active or to support new gap fund/accelerator programs.

This effort is backed by over 15 years of continued investigation and dedicated support of over 300 gap fund/accelerator program through the innovosource Mind the Gap initiative.

Join GAP COA

Bridging the Gap. Together.

DEVELOP SHARED BEST PRACTICES

Create and expand access to insights, tactics, and data to support program improvement and stakeholder development

ADVOCATE FOR THE GAP COMMUNITY

Increase public/private awareness of the capital and support gap for university innovation and build consensus around gap funding/accelerator programs as a solution

CONNECT INDUSTRY AND INVESTORS

Connect university translational research, proof of concept projects, and startups to sources of capital, talent, and commercialization partnerships

Focused on Fundamentals

Defining Gap Fund and Accelerator Program (GAP) Approaches
Raising and Staining GAP Funding
Communicating the Value, Need, and Expectations of GAP Programs
Coordinating GAP Programs with Campus Units and Priorities
Implementing Policies and Incentives (P&I) that Support GAP Programs
Managing Inventor Involvement in the GAP Process
Attracting and Collaborating with Commercial and Investment Partners

Evaluating Technologies and Startups for Grants and Investments
Structuring the Financing and Ownership of GAP Technologies and Startups
Cultivating GAP Talent, Mentorship, and Development Support Programs
Assessing and Reporting Impact and Performance Metrics

Join GAP COA

Benefit from Participation

Engage and network with peer institutions
Save resources and hours by leveraging community experience
$4,500 in immediate value from access to archived reports/events
Connect to new sources of investment and commercial partnerships

REPORTS

Mind the Gap Report

Ongoing organizational access to most recent iteration of this, now 15 years-strong, development guide to support current and aspiring fund that contains capital landscape review, program best practices, and impact measures (141 funds/84 universities) (View Report Description/Sample Here)

GAP Tactical Reports

Survey reports from membership on approaches to different facets of their program process and impact to-date

Emerging Topic Reports

Organizational access to periodic reports on topics like student venture funds, crowdfunding, private and public program partnering, university-industry collaboration

EVENTS + NETWORK

Model Review/Tactical Web-workshops

Emerging gap fund/accelerator showcases using a detailed review of structure, source of funds, process, support program and impact. Focus on specific program/process approaches to address challenges. (8/yr)

BRIDGE Industry Proof of Concept Program

Relationship-building program to connect universities and corporations through industry-funded proof of concept projects and other partnering opportunities

COVERGENCE Annual Summit

Annual summit for research institution gap fund/accelerator program leaders and corporate/investment partners. COA GAP members receive a complimentary registration (2020 Recap)

Events Archive

Full access to past presentations, event recordings, and associated materials that can be shared throughout your organization (View a summary of some past events here)

+ TOOLS

COA Member Site

Online member forum, document and event archives, and member-member communication tools

Program/Process Documents

Repository of member documents related to their program or process such as gap fund program descriptions, advisory board structure, evaluation scorecards, pitch deck templates, impact reporting for leadership

Join Us.

Open to any research institution at any point in their gap fund/accelerator evolution. Whether you have managed a program for years, just started thinking about it, or have hit a roadblock, you will find a home here.

Single, annual organizational membership (Nov-Oct) with up to five active members

Under USD $300M Total Annual Research Expenditures=$1500/yr

Over USD $300M Total Research Expenditures=$2500/yr

CURRENT MEMBERS