By: Jessica Stewart, Client Services Manager
No. 8 is all about the market plan and impact.
One of the most common remarks we hear from unsuccessful applicants after they receive reviewer comments is "I should have spent more time on my market and economic impact plans!"
Often, those who are technical-minded focus primarily on the project plan - and who wouldn't? It's the fun nuts and bolts of the project with a specific deliverable and an end product or process.
Market and economic impact plans aren't usually as tangible - but they're equally as important.
🎯 OARS Accelerated is reviewed 50% on technical merit and 50% on market strategy and economic impact
🎯 OARS Proof of Concept is reviewed 70% on technical merit and 30% on market strategy and economic impact
So what's important in your market strategy?
👉🏻 Show that you understand your customer and market that you'll be entering
👉🏻 Provide a strong value proposition and a solid business model/strategy for the technology you plan to launch
👉🏻 Ultimately, you're telling reviewers you have a strategy for entering the market and providing justification for why it's going to be a success based on customer/industry needs
Economic impact can be a little trickier to develop. It is a realistic projection of what you anticipate happening as a result of your successful technology launch.
👉🏻 You'll want to be descriptive so the reviewers understand the impact that the jobs created/retained have on your community. For example, if your company is in a smaller town/city, creating 10 high paying jobs that are above the median salary for the area as a whole is a large impact
👉🏻 Quantitative impact in terms of jobs, capital investments, and increased sales/revenue is the focus of the economic impact plan, but societal/community impacts are important to list. Don't leave out details of impacts such as improved health outcomes, increased energy/grid resiliency, or an increase in safety or work productivity for specific industries/communities
