The North Dakota Centers of Excellence Commission has awarded funding requests for grants totaling close to $1.3m.
The North Dakota Centers of Excellence Commission, part of the US state’s Department of Commerce, has awarded funding requests for two Venture Grants, two Research ND grants and one Research ND BIO project for a total sum of $1,277,924.
The successful applicants came from a diverse range of faculties at North Dakota University (UND) and North Dakota State University, with a UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences partnership with Avianax accounting for $1m. The money will be used to research, develop and commercialise a novel therapeutic for parvovirus infection in dogs. The two have previously partnered up for research on the West Nile virus and avian influenza.
The Venture Grant programme aims to get university-developed technology into the marketplace through either start-ups or spin-out companies. To this end, it provides seed grants and matching funds. Research ND and Research ND BIO on the other hand promote the development and commercialisation of products and processes through industry and university research partnerships. Research ND provides matching funds to help companies pay for the university research.
Through the latter two programmes, firms can gain access to university research. Matching funds are awarded on a competitive basis for projects submitted jointly by university researchers and a private sector partner.
North Dakota escaped the 2008 recession relatively unscathed, with low unemployment rates and the highest GDP growth in the US in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The overall goal of the grants is to have a long-term positive economic impact on the state and private sector through economic diversification, improved production factors, and the development of new markets.
Picture: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. Credit: Michael Oswald/Wikipedia
