Draper Technology Innovation Fund (TIF)

Draper TIF

Funds WARF-disclosed UW Madison inventions through patent and licensing preparation for market-ready transfer.

The Draper Technology Innovation Fund (TIF), administered by the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub at UW–Madison, provides grants of up to $50,000 to UW–Madison faculty and academic staff whose inventions have been formally disclosed to and accepted by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for patenting and licensing. The program's stated purpose is to support the additional research necessary to bring new concepts and inventions to the patent and licensing stage. WARF acceptance is a hard eligibility gate — applicants whose inventions have not yet been accepted by WARF do not qualify regardless of the technology's maturity.

The FY2027 program runs three quarterly cycles. The Q2 round closes August 14, 2026, with funding starting October 1, 2026. The Q3 deadline falls on November 13, 2026, with funding from January 1, 2027. The Q4 deadline is February 12, 2027, with funding from April 1, 2027. Award amounts cannot exceed $50,000 per cycle and are subject to available funds. Applicants must be in physical residence on the Madison campus for the entire funded period, and any improvements generated during the project must be disclosed back to WARF. The submission package includes a cover page, proposal, and budget, submitted to entrepreneurship.hub@wisc.edu.

The Draper TIF is strategically positioned as the bridge between laboratory invention and commercial licensing: it funds the incremental experimental work needed to satisfy WARF's patenting requirements or to generate data that makes a license more attractive to industry partners. Faculty who secure Draper TIF awards typically proceed to WARF licensing negotiations or external SBIR/STTR programs with stronger IP footing. The quarterly cadence gives active research teams multiple entry points per fiscal year without waiting for a single annual deadline.