Mission:
To provide access to university-developed innovations that might otherwise have gone unnoticed and to facilitate and support standards for the movement of innovations out of the university and into the marketplace.

Background:
A program of the Kauffman Innovation Network, itself an initiative of the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the only foundation in the United States dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship, the iBridge Network provides the research community with an open channel through which researchers can learn about and disseminate discoveries, materials, and technologies. While still in beta, the site recently received significant upgrades to its functionality and the services the network provides to participants.

Outstanding Web Features:
The iBridge Web site provides access to information about a range of innovative projects — ranging from biological cell lines and animal models to cutting-edge computer technologies — that can be searched by university, category, subject, and tag. Geared to researchers, scholars, entrepreneurs, and industry, the site allows registered visitors to bookmark pages and make notations for personal reference at a later date. Visitors can also browse innovations by category, organization, subject, or tag, as well as comment on innovations that tickle their fancy through the iBridge Conversation, the network's blog. In the near future, visitors also will be able to submit innovations of their own.