University Technology Accelerators: Design Considerations and Emerging Best Practices

This article reviews some of the lessons learned by Columbia University in five years of managing or co-managing proof-of-concept center accelerators for grant-funded technologies in three industries: medical devices, diagnostics, and imaging; clean energy; and media. Each of these accelerators is described in terms of objectives, strategies, tactics, and organizational structure, with the commonalities and differences across the accelerators discussed in some detail. Based on these commonalities, the article identifies some common key decision points to be addressed and "best practices" to be employed by other universities looking to launch accelerators of their own. Given the increasing proliferation of such accelerators at other institutions, the authors propose establishing a forum for ongoing discussion and best practice sharing in the future.