                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DIVISION OF COMMERCIALIZATION (§ 2.2-2359)

A. Within the Authority shall be created a Division of Commercialization (the
Division). The Division shall (i) promote research and development excellence in
the Commonwealth; (ii) provide guidance and coordination, as deemed necessary,
to existing efforts to support research in the Commonwealth with commercial
potential; (iii) review and advise on the Index; (iv) administer the
Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (the Fund); and (v) perform any other duties
or responsibilities assigned by the Board.

B. The Division shall be advised by an Advisory Committee on Commercialization
(the Advisory Committee), to be appointed by the Board. The Board shall consider
including at least one representative from a major public research institution
of higher education located outside of the Commonwealth and at least one
representative from a public institution of higher education located within the
Commonwealth.

C. The Division, in consultation with the Advisory Committee and subject to
approval of the Board, shall develop guidelines, procedures, and criteria for
the (i) application for grants and loans from the Fund; (ii) review,
certification of scientific merits, and scoring or prioritization of
applications for grants and loans from the Fund; and (iii) evaluation and
recommendation to the Authority regarding the award of grants and loans from the
Fund. The guidelines, procedures, and criteria shall include requirements that
applicants demonstrate and the Authority consider:

   1. Other grants, awards, loans, or funds awarded to the proposed program or
   project by the Commonwealth;

   2. Other applications from the applicant for state grants, awards, loans, or
   funds currently pending at the time of the application;

   3. The potential of the program or project for which a grant or loan is sought
   to (i) culminate in the commercialization of research; (ii) culminate in the
   formation or spin-off of technology-based companies; (iii) promote the
   build-out of scientific areas of expertise in science and technology; (iv)
   promote applied research and development in the areas of focus identified in
   the Index; (v) provide modern facilities or infrastructure for research and
   development; (vi) result in significant capital investment and job creation;
   or (vii) promote collaboration among the public institutions of higher
   education.

D. The Division may forward any application for a grant or loan from the Fund to
an entity with recognized science and technology expertise for a review and
certification of the scientific merits of the proposal, including a scoring or
prioritization of applicant programs and projects deemed viable by the reviewing
entity.

E. 1. There is hereby created a permanent fund to be known as the Commonwealth
Commercialization Fund. Interest and other income earned on the Fund shall be
credited to the Fund. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest and
other income thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the
general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Expenditures and disbursements from
the Fund, which may consist of grants or loans, shall be made upon authorization
of the president, chairman, or vice-chairman of the Authority.

   2. Awards from the Fund shall be made pursuant to the guidelines developed by
   the Division and approved by the Board.

   3. Moneys in the Fund shall be used for grants and loans to (i) foster
   innovative and collaborative research, development, and commercialization
   efforts in the Commonwealth in projects and programs with a high potential for
   economic development and job creation opportunities; (ii) position the
   Commonwealth as a national leader in science-based and technology-based
   research, development, and commercialization; (iii) attract and effectively
   recruit and retain eminent researchers to enhance research superiority at
   public institutions of higher education; and (iv) encourage cooperation and
   collaboration among public institutions of higher education, and with the
   private sector, in areas and with activities that foster economic development
   and job creation in the Commonwealth. Grants and loans from the Fund shall be
   made to applications that further the goals set forth in the Virginia
   Innovation Index.

   4. Awards from the Fund shall require a match of funds at least equal to the
   amount awarded.

F. The Division, by December 1, 2020, and annually by December 1 each year
thereafter, in consultation with the State Council of Higher Education for
Virginia and the Board, shall make recommendations regarding oversight of
initiatives or Commonwealth centers of excellence related to technology-based or
innovation-based economic development. Initiatives and Commonwealth centers of
excellence subject to such recommendations include (i) those that engage in
commercialization of university research, (ii) technology-driven industries such
as unmanned systems, (iii) advanced innovation concepts such as smart community
technologies, and (iv) technology-based entrepreneurial activity.
Recommendations to evaluate and measure current and future initiatives shall be
developed in alignment with the Index to assist the Governor and General
Assembly in determining appropriate initiatives to pursue while preventing the
establishment of redundant activities.

G. Institutions of higher education may choose to coordinate with the Division
and participate in projects using moneys granted or loaned from the Fund. The
Division shall coordinate with participating institutions of higher education
technology transfer officers and vice-presidents of research and innovation to
advance founder-friendly policies throughout the Commonwealth. The results of
such partnerships may include the establishment of a central Commonwealth-run
technology transfer office and founder-friendly terms for optional use; the
creation of an inventory library of statewide available technologies and
intellectual property; the support and strengthening of existing technology
transfer offices, with focus on the need for proof of concept funds; and the
development of commercialization advancement plans.

H. The Division may coordinate with public institutions of higher education,
technology transfer offices, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia,
and the Office of the Attorney General to identify the allowable uses of
buildings owned by public institutions of higher education for research-led
spin-off companies and student commercial initiatives that originate at public
institutions of higher education. The Division and its partners shall take
official notice of the fact that no general prohibition exists in the acts of
assembly or the Code that generally prohibits such use, but that limitations may
exist on a case-by-case basis that may prohibit the use of a particular
building, facility, or piece of equipment for the purposes set forth in this
subsection.

HISTORY: 2020, cc. 1164, 1169.