SOW-ILO Mentor Program Management.pdf

IE Center-Level Onboarding Consulting and ILO Mentor Program Management

I. BACKGROUND: RATIONALE FOR THE NEED FOR THE IE CENTER-LEVEL

ONBOARDING CONSULTING AND MENTOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

IE Center-Level Onboarding Consulting For over a decade, the Engineering Research Center (ERC) Program has supported experienced Industrial Liaison Officers (ILOs) from on-going and graduated ERCs to provide consulting services to new incoming ILOs at new or ongoing ERCs. Teams of at least two experienced ILOs have visited with the new ILOs and their Center management team to discuss how to develop effective industrial liaison practices and nurture healthy innovation ecosystems. The consultants review current practices, the membership agreement and Intellectual Property (IP) policies of the ERC on effective industry collaboration practices. The deliverables are training for the new ILOs and guidance to the ILO and the ERC on effective industrial collaboration practices. The findings and guidance are summarized in a report which is sent to the ERC Program Director and the ERC Program Office.

This establishes an excellent foundation to provide broader Innovation Ecosystem Center-level onboarding consulting.

ILO Mentor Program Management An informal outcome of holding regular ILO Working Group meetings was that it creates an All- ERC inclusive culture where the ILOs built trust and mentored each other. Although information on managing the ERC innovation ecosystem was exchanged during regular monthly ILO Working Group meetings, the ILOs felt that the in-person SUMMIT meetings and focused meetings aimed at addressing specific core competencies of the ILO function were a more efficient use of time. Based on this, they proposed a shift from general monthly ILO working group meetings to a tiered structure that focused on (1) very focused topics of interest to all active ERC ILOs, and (2) focused on ILO core competency topics requested by the new-hire ILOs. During the 2019 ILO Summit, the ILO Working Group ratified their program proposal to the NSF that outlined how to ensure newly hired ILOs are trained in core job functions. This ILO Mentor Program codified key interactions between new ILO hires (Mentees), experienced ILOs (Mentors) and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to maximize ILO training and sharing of best-practices. Beyond this, documenting the program products as well as managing ILO Working Group activities is needed. This document outlines what those roles would entail and proposes a scope of work.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

IE Center-Level Onboarding Consulting To address the specific needs of the currently active Gen-3 and Gen-4 ERCs, and assist the onboarding of the newly named Gen-4 ERC awardees, by gathering information on the ERC’s structure in support of an innovation ecosystem, as defined by the ERC’s bylaws, membership agreements, intellectual property agreements, inter-institutional agreements, etc., and assess its effectiveness.

This assessment will be accomplished through the following two Tasks:

TASK 1: Build consulting teams The ILO consultancy contractor will identify a cross-section of experienced ERC ILOs with the appropriate mix of backgrounds and negotiate to put them on subcontract to support ILO site visits.

The contractor shall establish a protocol for two types of visits: (i) the ILO consultancy visit and the

(ii) ILO fact finding/ problem resolution visit. Finally, the ILO consultancy contractor shall bring the consultants together at least once to train them and establish a common baseline for each type of site visit. A virtual training session is acceptable.

When a Class of Gen-4 ERCs are brought on-board in 2024 and 2026, the contractor will rebuild the consulting team as appropriate to insure the correct expertise available on the consulting staff to support the consulting visits.

TASK 2: Onboarding new Gen-4 ERCs through evaluation of Innovation Ecosystem strategy

This task comprises the two subtasks listed below. In response to both situations, the ERC program office will authorize the formation of an ILO consultant team which will be dispatched to the ERC to either train the replacement ILO or assess the issues which triggered a concern. The ad hoc consultancy visits can be scheduled at any one of the active ERCs listed in Attachment II titled List of Locations.

• Conduct up to six (6) New ILO Training site visits for each class of newly made Gen-4 ERCs which are anticipated to be made in FY24 and FY26;

• Conduct up to two ad hoc consultancy site visits per year during the 60-month period of this task. There are two categories of ad hoc consultancy visits:

a. New ILO Training: Every year, some percentage of the ILOs at the active ERCs resign or hire away to other jobs thereby creating a situation where the replacement ILO needs to be rapidly oriented.

b. Problem Resolution: At other times, the ERC Program Office may become aware of an urgent development that challenges the success of an ERCs industry strategy.

IE Center-Level Onboarding Consulting

The Onboarding of New Gen-4 ERCs comprises the following:

1. Evaluation of agreements and policy documents:

a. Review the IP policy developed by the New ERC

b. Review and make recommendations on the industry partners membership agreements;

2. In-person or virtual evaluation of this task shall establish a site visit protocol that minimally includes the following elements (1) consultants briefing the ERC ILO on ILO role expectations, (2) ERC team briefings to the consultant team on the ERC strategies for recruiting and retaining industry sponsorship, technology commercialization, nurturing the innovation ecosystem, and industry collaboration on research, and (3) an education strategy with industry and for entrepreneurial graduates. The protocol will include a list of expected attendees from the ERC, (at minimum the ILO, Associate Directors for Research and Outreach, the university or ERC publications coordinator, and any ERC team members and university officials who are expected to contribute to the ILO fact finding meeting. The format for the site visit report is as follows:

a. Executive Summary including Conclusions, Concerns, and Recommendations

b. Strategy and Architecture of Industrial Sponsorship

c. Industry Communications and Marketing

d. Technology Commercialization and Innovation Strategies

e. Research Program Strategies to Meet Industry and ERC Needs

f. Education Programs with Industry

g. Other Key Issues

Task 3: ILO Mentor Program Management Although the ILO Working Group has evolved into a self-mentoring entity, for it to persist over time requires active oversight. The ILO Mentor Program Manager will interface with the active ILOs, the ILO Mentor pool, and newly hired ILOs to: Lead the ILO Certification Process, Lead ILO Continuing Education, and Own the ILO Biobook. These three role areas are described below:

Manage opportunities for Mentor-Mentee interactions This includes (but is not limited to) performing, managing, or directing the following activities:

1. Match Mentors with Mentees: For each new hire ILO/Mentee, recommend Mentors matches from the Mentor pool.

2. Manage the ILO Biobook: The ILO Biobook is a repository of current and former ILO profiles. Included in the profile is information about mentor status and training completion.

Certifying new ILOs as ILO mentors and adding them to the BioBook. Activities for this role segment include:

a. Updating the Biobook with new entries and/or updated profile information;

b. Removing entries from ILOs who no longer wish to participate;

c. Note ILOs who are part of the mentor pool;

d. Identify when an ILO has completed their training (successfully attended all ILO

Topic Calls related to the ILO core competencies);

3. Mentor Calls: This Core Competency training involves identifying the SME for each topic in the ILO Core Competency list (https://erc-assoc.org/innovation-resources ) and scheduling, hosting, and documenting a Zoom training session with the New ILOs on the topics. The Mentors should attend the calls as an additional resource. All topic calls should occur within the first year the ILOs are hired into their role.

Manage ILO Working Group meetings

1. Identifying relevant topics for ILOs in coordination with the NSF Cognizant PD

2. Facilitating ILO Working Group Zoom meetings on these topics, including coordinating the guest speaker or SME;

3. Submitting recordings of the ILO Working Group Zoom meetings to the erc-assoc.org repository (https://erc-assoc.org/innovation-resources ) for future ILOs to listen to the recordings

III. Deliverables

• Task 1: Submit a roster of recruited ILO to the Cognizant Program Manager within 30 days of award date.

• Task 2: Onboarding Consulting reports submitted to the Cognizant Program Manager for each site visit per the Scope of Work within 2 weeks of each site visit

• Task 3: Mentor Manager deliverables

a) Organize and document a total of 12 ILO (virtual or in-person) meetings /year

i. Mentor Calls https://erc-assoc.org/innovation-resources

ii. ILO Working Group meetings

iii. ILO SUMMIT (the SUMMIT will count as 2 meetings)

c) Update the ILO BioBook annually and post at https://erc-assoc.org/innovation-resources

d) Annually deliver a Report to the Cognizant NSF Program Director detailing the Mentor/Mentee Match assignments and the most recent copy of the BioBook

IV. STAFFING QUALIFICATIONS

ILO Onboarding Consultant Services: The ERC program requires that the people contracted to provide the ILO consulting services to have been previously trained by or engaged with the ERC program for/in the ILO function. A complete understanding of the ERC program is required. This limits the consultants to be either current or former ERC ILO individuals.

The consulting teams in task will consist of experienced ILOs from ERCs that were awarded in 2020 or earlier. The consultants must have a thorough knowledge of the Gen-3 and Gen-4 ERCs. In addition, the collective expertise of the consultants selected by the vendor must cover the four major ERC cluster areas: (i) biotechnology and healthcare, (ii) micro/optoelectronics, sensing, and information technology, (iii) manufacturing and processing, and (iv) energy, sustainability, and infrastructure.

ILO Mentor Program Manager (MPM): The MPM requires a veteran ILOs who is familiar with the ILO Core Competencies, the professional qualifications of current and former ILOs to serve as Subject Matter Experts (SME), and the personal capabilities of current and former ILOs to be paired as Mentors to the new ILO hires, Clearly, a complete understanding of the ILO Core competencies and ILO Mentor training is required, thereby limiting the MPM to be either a current or former ERC ILO individuals who qualified as ILO SMEs.

V. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The Period of Performance is 60 months from date of award.

Attachment II – List of Locations University of Washington University of Tennessee Arizona State University Stanford University University of Texas, Austin North Carolina State University University of California, Los Angeles Arizona State University Rice University University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Boston University Georgia Tech Texas A&M University Purdue University Utah State University University of Pennsylvania University of Minnesota

University of Arizona Texas Tech University Columbia University Ohio State University Duke University