Strategically Targeted Academic Researchers
 

STARS is designed to bolster the state’s innovation capacity in emerging technology fields with high commercial potential. Innovation is the process of transforming an idea into a commercial product, process or service of value to a customer. If the technology is commercially successful, the downstream economic benefits are significant: increases in revenues, exports, jobs, incomes and wealth creation. By building on the strengths of the state’s research universities across a number of disciplines, Washington can shape the direction of emerging technologies and foster the critical relationships for commercialization. The STARS program today is already evolving into a larger innovation ecosystem that is characterized by:

• Early interaction between research and business as a key commercial success
  factor;

• Integration of technical advances (push) with emerging market demand (pull);

• Leveraging of federal and private sector R&D;

• Collaboration as a core competency for business partnerships, networks and
  investors;

• Entrepreneurship as a vital ingredient;

• New sources of growth and competitive advantage.