Funding

Disciplines: All

The Illinois Innovation Network aims to advance collaborative research within the state with its Sustaining Illinois seed grant program. Offered once each year, Sustaining Illinois grants can be used to pursue a wide variety of research topics that contribute to overall prosperity of our state.

The University of Illinois System, its Office of the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation (OVPEDI), and Northern Illinois University are committed to advancing the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) by providing supplemental (operational) funding for several projects. IIN members are guided by the following principles:

• Drive inclusive innovation, equitable workforce development and sustainable economic growth throughout the state of Illinois
• Assess and meet regional needs through a combination of collaborative research, public-private partnerships, and entrepreneurship and training programs
• Collaborate with hubs across the state and share best practices
• Advocate for the value of higher education at the state and national levels

IIN hubs are encouraged to partner/collaborate with each other and the IIN will do its best to support and facilitate.  As an organization, the IIN Council will facilitate collaboration that can be incorporated into a unifying theme with the umbrella concept of “Sustaining Illinois.”

Sustaining Illinois has multiple meanings, including the broad economic, health-related, and social well-being of the state and its communities, and environmental sustainability of its food and water ecosystem, which includes addressing issues affecting groups who are underserved, under-represented, or under-resourced.

Sustaining Illinois elements are as follows:

(a) Education and Workforce Development: developing and sustaining the education of its citizens and developing a productive and inclusive workforce for the 21st century;

(b) Economic Development: sustaining and developing the economy of the state, including understanding how best to support the growth of diverse entrepreneurship and business formation in Illinois;

(c) Health and Wellness: sustaining and improving the general health and social wellness of all Illinois citizens, including local and regional communities.

(d) Water, Food, and Agriculture: sustaining the water supply, with 20% of the world’s freshwater supply in the shores of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin, the largest in the US and 2nd largest in the world, and enhancing the home to a national leader in food and agriculture; and

(e) Computing and Data: under the umbrella of Sustaining Illinois, there is a foundation of computing, big data, and artificial intelligence. This is an important area in its own right as Illinois develops its high- tech industry, but in this context, it is seen as an enabler for all other aspects of sustainability as articulated above.

Proposal Deadline February 21^st, 2025

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