R856-2-4. Eligibility Criteria

  (1) Proposal must be jointly developed by a Utah company and a university.

  (2) Proposal must be submitted by an authorized body within the university.

  (3) An authorized representative from the company must certify that:

  (a) Company lacks technical capacity to resolve stated technology gap;

  (b) The proposed university technology will resolve the technology gap; and,

  (c) Company commits to provide a cost-share contribution in the form of a defined amount of funding paid to the university and/or in-kind contributions as defined in Sections R856-2-4 and R856-2-5.

  (4) Company must have a substantial presence in Utah.

  (a) A substantial presence, for purposes of the IPP grant, requires the following:

  (i) Company must be properly registered with the Utah Division of Corporations as an active, for-profit business entity, in good standing; and,

  (ii) Company must be properly licensed in the appropriate city or county.

  (b) Additionally, USTAR shall, according to its judgment and discretion, determine whether a company has a substantial presence for purposes of the IPP grant by weighing the following factors:

  (i) size of workforce in Utah;

  (ii) percentage of company's total workforce in Utah;

  (iii) amount of matching funds;

  (iv) amount of business taxes paid to the State of Utah;

  (v) relative size of the entity including the number of employees in Utah and the relative size of operations in the state;

  (vi) whether the company is registered as a domestic, for-profit business entity in Utah and has a business license in the appropriate Utah city or county;

  (vii) whether the company's principal place of business is Utah;

  (viii) likelihood that the company will maintain a significant presence in the state of Utah; and,

  (ix) the degree to which the company's activities and operations positively impact Utah's economy.

  (5) Company must achieve cost-sharing requirement:

  (a) Company must pledge a matching contribution to support the project;

  (b) Company matching funds may be provided via:

  (i) Direct payment to university for the research project; and/or

  (ii) "In-kind" contribution, which may include:

  (A) Company Subject Matter Expert(s) (SME) time spent on project;

  (B) Materials and equipment;

  (C) Work/research space;

  (D) Travel and other company expenses budgeted for the project; or,

  (E) Other contributions, as approved by USTAR.

  (c) A one-to-one match is not required. USTAR retains discretion to approve the ratio of the match. In determining the ratio of the match, USTAR considerations may include:

  (i) size of company; and,

  (ii) potential economic impact to the state.

  (d) University will provide USTAR with documentation of funding received from company to fulfill the company cost-share commitment prior to completion of the project.

  (e) All reported cost-share is subject to audit by USTAR.

  (6) The technology gap must be between TRL 2-5.

  (7) Applicants must be developing a technology in a targeted industry sector.

  (a) USTAR will identify the targeted industry sector eligible to receive an IPP grant in the IPP application materials.

  (b) The USTAR governing authority will, according to its discretion and judgment, review and approve the eligible technology sectors to ensure they are strategically selected to align with USTAR's economic development objectives and maximize the potential benefit to the state.

  (c) In selecting industry sectors eligible to receive support from STIG, the Governing Authority may consider the following factors:

  (i) statewide or regional importance of the industry to Utah's economy;

  (ii) relative size of the sector, its stability, and growth potential;

  (iii) characteristics of the state's workforce including education and training;

  (iv) the current availability of other sources of funding or risk capital (public or private) for early-stage companies in the technology sector;

  (v) the potential for the industry sector to develop new jobs and business opportunities in the state;

  (vi) likelihood that research in this sector will result in creation of a company in Utah or IP transfer to an existing Utah company; and,

  (vii) any other factor the governing authority deems relevant, considering the mission of USTAR and the purpose of IPP.

  (8) If Company or University is a current recipient of a USTAR Grant, that project must be verified as complete by USTAR before the application deadline in order for the awardee to be eligible to apply, unless expressly exempted by USTAR.