Operating Guidelines
HBV uses the following strategic operating guidelines to provide the framework for awarding grants:
- Support the best Kansas has to offer, not just regions of the state;
- Anticipate and act on market opportunities;
- Demand strong industry involvement;
- Invest at the intersections of core competency areas;
- Recruit world-class talent and high-growth companies;
- Engage regional partners; and
- Emphasize accountability and use of metrics.
These strategic operating principles should be consulted and applied in the formulation of proposals submitted for HBV assistance. HBV focuses investments in the following priority areas: (1) research commercialization collaborations; (2) entrepreneurial support; (3) product development assistance; (4) company attraction; and (5) workforce development. Further, HBV focuses on the life sciences, plant biology, biomaterial and bioenergy sectors.
As a program of the KBA, HBV is part of the state’s largest-ever commitment to technology-based economic development. The KBA seeks to expand Kansas’ high-tech research capabilities, promote technology commercialization and innovation, create technology-based businesses, and create high-paying jobs for generations to come. This $581 million initiative is:
- Increasing the quantity of high quality research that has commercial relevance for Kansas;
- Expanding the availability of investment capital needed to form and grow new companies;
- Growing and nurturing an increasingly experienced pool of entrepreneurial management talent supported by organized systems of services and networking;
- Expanding the availability of capital and assistance to support product innovation in established companies;
- Attracting new-to-Kansas company activity that grows and strengthens the function of clusters of excellence; and
- Contributing to the expansion of a technically competent workforce that can support innovation and company growth in specific clusters of innovation.