Pre-Application Inquiry opens a listening process ahead of an anticipated Spring 2027 funding opportunity.
Business Oregon today issued a Pre-Application Inquiry (PAI) inviting organizations, partnerships, and institutions across Oregon's innovation ecosystem to share input that will help shape the agency's next Centers of Innovation Excellence (CIE) funding opportunity, anticipated for release in Spring 2027.
The Pre-Application Inquiry is an information-gathering process only. It does not award funding, create a grant agreement, pre-qualify respondents, or limit eligibility for any future funding opportunity. Responses will be reviewed to help Business Oregon understand where the greatest opportunities and gaps exist before the agency designs the next solicitation.
“Oregon's innovation ecosystem has grown well beyond what any one agency can see from the outside. As we prepare to design the next round of funding, it is essential that we hear directly from the organizations doing this work every day. Your insights will help us understand where the greatest opportunities are, where gaps remain, and how a future Center of Innovation Excellence can best serve Oregon in years ahead.”
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Through the PAI, Business Oregon is seeking information about:
- Sector and technology opportunities, in both established and emerging areas
- Needs and gaps within Oregon's innovation ecosystem
- Current activities, partnerships, and geographic reach of potential future applicants
- Organizational readiness for a future CIE or CIE-type role
- Considerations that should inform the structure and scope of the Spring 2027 funding opportunity
The Centers of Innovation Excellence program supports organizations that strengthen Oregon's innovation ecosystem in strategic technology and industry sectors. CIE activities can include startup and business support, commercialization assistance, sector strategy and coordination, mentorship and advising, access to specialized facilities or expertise, industry engagement, and connections to private capital and federal funding opportunities. The current CIE portfolio includes organizations working in bioscience, advanced manufacturing, deep tech, unmanned systems, and semiconductors.
Business Oregon welcomes responses from any organization or partnership with an interest in supporting the state's innovation ecosystem, including universities and research institutions, regional partnerships, industry and sector partnerships, nonprofits, and public-private partnerships, among others.
How to respond
PAI materials, narrative response instructions, and the online response form are available on Business Oregon's Centers of Innovation Excellence webpage at www.oregon.gov/biz/.
Business Oregon will hold optional virtual office hours from August 31 through September 11, 2026, for interested parties who want an overview of the PAI or have general questions. Written questions are due September 14, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT, and responses will be posted publicly in an FAQ on the CIE webpage by September 17, 2026, so all interested parties have access to the same information.
PAI responses are due October 5, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Danielle.Alexander@biz.oregon.gov.
