A Community Hub for Innovation

by Melissa Lindell Kozak

More than 100,000 people in the Omaha- Council Bluffs metropolitan area – approximately 12% of the total population – experience food insecurity, with systematically underserved communities of color disproportionately affected.

Closing that gap is a daunting task, especially when these disparities are the result of broader inequalities within the global food system. UNO College of Information Science & Technology professor Dhundy (Kiran) Bastola, Ph.D. has an innovative idea to address this challenge. He won’t have to face this challenge alone thanks to a new partnership between UNO’s College of Business Administration (CBA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to serve as an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Site as part of the Great Plains Hub.

Through the I-Corps program, Bastola’s proposal to establish a Collaborative for Addressing Food Injustice (CAFI) will receive immersive, entrepreneurial training from industry mentors to take his impactful idea into the Omaha community where it can make a difference. Bastola envisions a hub that will leverage local resources and integrate evolving technologies to break down barriers that exist in the food system, so access to healthy food is not determined by zip code.

“This cross-campus, cross-discipline, community-wide effort will utilize the strengths of departments, assets of community partners and individuals to design and implement innovative educational and research efforts to tackle food injustice from a variety of angles,” according to Bastola’s proposal.

The NSF’s I-Corps program began in 2011 with the goal to successfully train an entrepreneurial workforce while bringing cutting-edge technologies quickly to market and nurturing an innovation ecosystem. The program’s two-month training is experiential and immersive and helps prepare scientists to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory, accelerating the economic and societal benefits of their research projects.

Michelle Trawick, John Becker dean of UNO CBA, attests to the importance of Omaha’s place in the program.

“Omaha has a vibrant and growing start-up community, and this program will further strengthen that entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem,” Trawick said. “CBA’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Franchising is highly regarded for programs like the Maverick Venture Fund and the Maverick Technology Venture Alliance. Leveraging CBA’s expertise and reputation in a community that fosters new technology and innovation makes perfect sense.”

Brent Clark, professor of management and director of the UNO Site, envisions CBA playing a significant role in connecting entrepreneurs with the resources they need to succeed.

“These early steps in the entrepreneurial journey are often incredibly difficult and intimidating for many founders that lack startup experience,” Clark said. “Our Site will provide I-Corps certified instructors that can show participants how to perform customer discovery, lean startup methodologies and other critical early steps.”

Bastola’s idea isn’t the only program to receive I-Corps support to take an innovation through the commercialization process. Other programs include a mechanical aortic valve technology project from UNMC and an intelligent monitoring system for aircraft operations from the UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service.

The Hub comprises seven partner programs, each bringing unique strengths and benefits. The partner institutions are The University of North Dakota, South Dakota State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Dakota State University, The University of South Dakota and The University of Wyoming.

Clark sees potential in the UNO Site to transform Omaha-area entrepreneurship, especially through UNO’s commitment to elevating those in the earliest stages of their startup journeys or who may lack access to entrepreneurial resources.

“Omaha has a lot of momentum in the tech startup space right now, but still lags behind many peer cities in key areas,” Clark said. “There is a real need for earlier stage help – from idea to startup. I-Corps will help fill this gap and make it easier to get something started. I envision I-Corps as a way to serve university inventors by providing help at the earliest stages of the entrepreneurial journey.”