Legislative Objectives
The Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) economic development initiative is aimed at leveraging the proven success of Utah's research universities in creating and commercializing innovative technologies to create:
- More technology-based start-up firms in Utah
- More high-paying job opportunities in Utah
- More business activity in Utah with an associated expansion of the tax base
Senate Bill 75, passed in the March 2006 legislative session, allocated funds for strategic investments at University of Utah and Utah State University. The legislature approved $50,000,000 for the planning and design of a Bio Innovations Research Institute at Utah State and a Neuroscience and Biomedical Technology Research building at the University of Utah to house new innovation teams. It approved $15,000,000 ongoing to be spent on the hiring of "all-star" research teams (innovation teams) and $4,000,000 ongoing to provide funding for a technology outreach program.
The Technology Outreach and Innovation program (TOIP) act as a resource to:
- Connect entrepreneurs, researchers, service providers and the various stakeholders of USTAR through online and other collaborative efforts
- Engage local entrepreneurs by connecting them to Utah's research Universities
- Engage professors, lecturers and researchers at applied technology centers, colleges, and universities by connecting them to Utah's research universities
- Broker ideas, new technologies, and services to entrepreneurs and businesses throughout each respective service area.
- Connect the resources and expertise of the research universities with regional campuses and communities such that local entrepreneurs and businesses have access to emerging technologies for the benefit of regional economies.
- Collect and report data on the state's return on investment for the USTAR program in general and TOIP specifically.
- Provide, through the Utah higher education system, expertise and resources to advise new and/or existing businesses about technology transfer, protection of intellectual property, development of a business plan, business organization, financing, marketing and other skills useful or necessary to develop ideas into profitable businesses.
Senate Bill 240 (passed in March 2009) directs $33 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds over a two-year period toward USTAR. The majority of funding will target new research efforts at the U of U and USU. More details can be found here.