List of my consulting engagements, in inverse chronological order. You can filter further by the type of client from the Experience tab above.

Subject-matter expert (SME) subcontractor to Enterprise Community Partners on a contract to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in support of a guide for community leaders and other stakeholders on using HUD CDBG-DR funding to promote economic revitalization as part of disaster recovery. Primary author for sections on what works in economic development.

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Subject-matter expert (SME) subcontractor to Enterprise Community Partners on a contract to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in support of a toolkit for community leaders and other stakeholders on economic recovery and resilience. Primary author for sections on small business, microenterprise, and business incubation.

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Subject-matter expert (SME) on economic development on subcontract to Jobs for the Future, in support of JFF’s agreement with the U.S. Economic Development Administration to administer a Community of Practice for the Good Jobs Challenge grantees.

Co-managed the consulting team at TEConomy Partners that produced a comprehensive strategic plan for the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, a state-chartered, non-profit, economic-development financing entity. Interviewed stakeholders, benchmarked peer state programs, reviewed programmatic and economic data, and participated in strategy formation.

Benchmarked potentially competitive efforts in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio as part of a comprehensive strategy on Autonomous Mobile Systems prepared by TEConomy Partners for the Regional Industrial Development Corporation and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Conducted benchmarking and stakeholder interviews as part of an organizational-design effort staffed by TEConomy Partners for UNC READDI, a multi-institutional initiative to develop several new classes of drugs for emerging viral diseases.

Advisor to the president of the university on pathways available for starting a program of externally sponsored research at this predominantly undergraduate institution in Memphis. Prepared extensive background material for a special committee of deans and administrators reporting to the president.

Provided support to senior staff of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF SUNY) on a grant from the National Science Foundation to produce a conference (ultimately delivered as webinars due to the COVID-19 pandemic) on Deep Tech Incubation. Assisted RF staff in preparing questions for each panel that would stimulate discussion, in briefing the panelists, and finally in summarizing the lessons learned from each panel for use by the PIs in public communication.

Benchmarked examples of other nations’ support for advanced-biomanufacturing initiatives, included in a report by TEConomy Partners for PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Contributed benchmarking analysis to a comprehensive plan prepared by TEConomy Partners LLC for a Food Animal Initiative (FAI) being developed jointly by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. Surveyed peer-competitive initiatives at five other North American campuses, yielding lessons learned for the FAI at NC State.

Benchmarked biomedical R&D research consortia potentially comparable to the new Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium, as part of an overall program design executed by TEConomy Partners for Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Sentara Healthcare.

Conducted international benchmarking research for a report prepared for Pfizer by TEConomy Partners LLC entitled “Response and Resilience: Lessons Learned from Global Life Sciences Ecosystems in the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

SME subcontractor (as a subject-matter expert) to Enterprise Community Partners on a contract to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in support of development of a toolkit for community leaders and other stakeholders on how to leverage the Opportunity Zones initiative.thumbnail of Opportunity_Zones_Phase2_Community_Toolkit_Optimize

Assisted Design Technologies LLC, a company that operates entrepreneurial support programs, in trialing a new approach to demonstrating program impacts. Researched and drafted a case study of a university spinoff that was assisted by two of the programs operated by Design Technologies — ELabNYC and Next Milestone. Efficacy of this new approach to documenting impact is being tested by Design Technologies with its public and private-sector stakeholders.

Benchmarked policies, laws, and programs designed to encourage value-added food processing, as part of an unpublished supplement to an economic-impact study of MU Extension.

Researched and summarized laws and policies in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, and Kansas and also described food innovation center programs at Cornell, Kansas State, Michigan State, Oregon State, Rutgers, and University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Assessed degree of alignment between investments made by Corporate Venture Capital affiliates of pharmaceutical companies and the firms’ core strategic interests, as part of a project by TEConomy Partners for PhRMA titled “Strengthening Biopharmaceutical Innovation: The Growing Role of Corporate Venture Capital.”

 

Benchmarked metro-level entrepreneurial initiatives in seven states for GO Virginia, as an unpublished addendum to a published study conducted by TEConomy Partners for the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) on behalf of the Virginia Research Investment Committee (VRIC).

Conducted stakeholder interviews with business incubators statewide and academic laboratories at Harvard (including affilated hospitals) and UMass as part of the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Advisor on program development and internal communications to Weill Cornell Medicine’s managing director for BioPharma Alliances and Research Collaborations.

Benchmarked state- and metro-level “innovation centers” that are structured as public/private or industry/university partnerships, as part of an unpublished study conducted by TEConomy Partners for the Maryland Excel initiative, a collaboration between the State of Maryland and the Hopkins and University of Maryland systems.

Consultancy services related to the modification of technology transfer processes at Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU aka ?VUT), supported under European Union Structural Funds project No. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_014/0000650.

Benchmarked research parks and economic-development initiatives at comparable lab settings worldwide, and contributed knowledge on available state-government support mechanisms, as part of a visioning study conducted by TEConomy Partners for a research park to be associated with a major federal laboratory.

FuzeHub logoExternal reviewer for the Jeff Lawrence Manufacturing Innovation Fund, operated by FuzeHub, a not-for-profit operating a statewide node on the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Latest awards here. Note that as part of each review round, I disclose potential conflicts and may be required to recuse myself if any reviewable proposal has been submitted by a unit with which I have a direct business relationship.

Conducted all benchmarking research for a report commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The report highlights pro-innovation initiatives being undertaken by 18 nations (plus the European Union at the transnational level) that are challenging U.S. global leadership in the advanced biopharmaceutical industries. Work delivered as a subcontractor to TEConomy Partners.

Report cover

Cover page of the TEConomy Partners report for PhRMA. For the full report, click the image.

Conducted stakeholder interviews with the directors of four state associations which share certain interests with the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC). Wrote an analytical summary of opportunities for alliances between these groups and NYSEDC, for use in strategic planning by the Executive Director and Executive Committee of the Board.

Benchmarked a series of major medical-research prizes, and suggested alternative methodologies for sourcing candidates, as part of a project by TEConomy Partners to advise a health-system foundation on a contemplated new prize. [Repeat engagements involved generating lists of candidates for this prize.]

Subcontractor to the NYU Wagner School on major grant from U.S. EDA to Wagner, ICMA, and JFF to assist in coordinating and harmonizing approaches to economic development across federal agencies. The project is intended to yield a one-stop platform to help communities make more effective cases for integrated federal support of complex regional partnerships for economic development.

Uncompensated, pro bono service on advisory board to the NYS Commissioner of Economic Development Development on aspects of the “research development program” administered by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation at DED/Empire State Development Corporation. [UPDATE 4/2018: Because of work I am conducting for Weill Cornell Medicine, I have recused myself from advising on any round in which the latter institution applies for funding.]

ddKey advisor/seed-round-investor in DirectDep, a cloud platform enabling lawyers and their staffs to book individual court reporters for depositions in real time, with many time-saving and quality improvement features enabled by the technology.

Advisor to the NYU Wagner Innovation Labs on a report on cities and anchor institutions prepared by Neil Kleiman and his colleagues for the National Resource Network. Work delivered as a subcontractor to the Center for an Urban Future.

Anchor_Institutions_FINAL929

Cover page of NRN report. For full report, click image.

‘Pitch Prep’ coach, readying clients of WNY Innovation Hot Spot for their presentations to the semifinal round of the 43North business plan competition (an element of Gov. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion program). Background here.

Member of a Technical Evaluation Panel (specifics subject to a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement) convened by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Benchmarked six centers at leading universities elsewhere in the nation as part of a project to plan initiatives in both plant sciences and food processing at North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. NCSU-Plant Sciences NCSU FMI

 

Consultant to the Data Science Institute, Columbia University, helping draft its contribution to the overall strategic plan of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

cblogoKey advisor/seed-round-investor in Calcbench, a startup that leverages the extensible business reporting language (XBRL) to provide advanced analytics on reports made by publicly traded companies to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Performed extensive data analysis and benchmarking on competing university efforts in Big Data science in preparation for The Ohio State University’s issuance of a call for proposals through its Discovery Themes competition.

Big Data Profiles

Benchmarked globally prominent agbioscience research institutions and regional competitors as part of a strategy project for La Trobe University and its R&D partner, the State of Victoria (Australia) Department of Primary Industries.

Advisor in Community and Economic Development to the Innovations in American Government Awards Program at the Ash Center.

Benchmarked five major bioscience R&D institutes and several smaller programs for Indiana BioCrossroads (a cluster project of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership) as part of a strategy project to design what became the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.

BIOX_0000_IBRI-Report_cover

 

Conducted extensive stakeholder interviews with startup companies as part of a broader project for the (former) Louisiana Economic Development on how to pursue “blue sky” sectoral strategies in areas with limited competition.

Benchmarked the strategies of three other states that, like Nebraska, were considering integrating to some degree their departments of commerce or economic development and labor or workforce development.

Consultant to the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on innovation and economic development programs.

Consultant to Gulf Power (a unit of the Southern Company) on technology-led economic development strategic planning for Pensacola, Florida.

Consultant to Edelman public-relations firm and its affiliate BioScience Communications, providing competitive intelligence they needed for a client in the research-institute sector.

Contractor to New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for a stakeholders’ analysis on NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology + Energy Park.

Mentor/coach, NYU Stern School of Business/Berkley Center $200k Entrepreneurs Challenge business-plan competition.

Subcontractor to Public Works Consulting (now Public Works Partners) on a significant program-design and grant-writing engagement for a major research university based in New York City.

SOFInsAdvisor/mentor to SOFIns, a startup providing secure remote-management services by which non-technical users can obtain advanced services from remote experts.

Benchmarked five university-related research parks as part of a project to guide Rutgers University in reinventing its Livingston Campus as an Innovation Park.

Rutgers Innovation Park

Benchmarked bioscience sectoral development strategies in 23 non-U.S. nations in a project on “growth platforms for economies around the world” for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA).

PhRMA Int