WSU’s EDA Invention Center Seeks Input From Off-campus Inventors

PULLMAN, Wash. – The Economic Development Administration’s Invention Center at Washington State University wants to know what services inventors need to help them move their ideas from dreams to commercial reality.

“We know there are large numbers of people who talk about their problem-solving products. What we want to know is how we can help them advance their ideas,” said Cynthia Freyer, center director.

Inventors in need of help should contact the Invention Center by calling 509-335-8842, email to sunni@wsu.edu, or writing the EDA Invention Center, PO Box 644743, College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4743.

The EDA Invention Center helps inventors by researching the marketability of an invention. A comprehensive Innovation Assessment Report, which requires as many as 160 hours to produce, provides a detailed and specific look, as well as analysis, of the product’s industry, industry trends, market for the product, competition, pricing, distribution channels, and more. Industry experts are asked to evaluate the products marketability, also. The report provides an opinion as to whether or not the invention should proceed down the commercialization path, be modified or abandoned.

“We want to launch new services in 2008, which is the reason the name of the center was changed recently from the Innovation Assessment Center to the Invention Center.  The new name indicates a broader scope of service,” said Freyer.

The Invention Center is a unit within the EDA University Center, located within the College of Business at WSU. The U.S. EDA currently funds more than 70 EDA University Centers across the United States.

The mission of the EDA within the U.S. Department of Commerce is to help partners across the U.S. create wealth and minimize poverty by promoting a favorable business environment to attract private capital investment and higher-skill, higher-wage jobs through world-class capacity-building, planning, infrastructure, research grants and strategic initiatives.

Institutions of higher education have many assets, such as faculty, staff, libraries, laboratories, and computer systems, which can help address local economic problems and opportunities. With funding from EDA, institutions of higher education leverage those assets when they establish and operate University Centers. The centers provide assistance to public and private sector organizations with the goal of enhancing local economic development.

The WSU Invention Center is building a new web site to provide more help to inventors.  Right now, the center can be found online at:
https://www.business.wsu.edu/organizations/iac/Pages/index.aspx