Maryland Industrial Partnerships

MIPS awards matching grants — typically $50,000 to $130,000 per project — that require the company to contribute at least a dollar-for-dollar cost share. The program takes no equity position and charges no royalty on resulting intellectual property. Funding comes from the Maryland Department of Commerce through annual legislative appropriations and is administered by the University of Maryland's engineering school.

Any Maryland-based company — from pre-revenue startups to large public corporations — can apply, provided they collaborate with at least one University of Maryland faculty principal investigator. The project must have a clear path to commercialization and fall within the university's technical research capabilities. Past participants include Lockheed Martin, MedImmune, and dozens of small prototyping firms.

MIPS is neither a venture fund nor a conventional government research program. It operates as a public-sector co-investment platform inside a public university, using state dollars to match company funds for applied R&D projects. Unlike VC, it captures no upside; unlike federal SBIR grants, the funding is tied specifically to labor, materials, and equipment on university-led projects.

The program is deliberately broad, funding projects in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, energy systems, cybersecurity, robotics, agricultural technology, and materials science. Awards reflect the research strengths of the University of Maryland's College Park faculty, with engineering and computer science departments generating the highest volume of projects.

IP ownership is negotiated between the company and the university under standard University of Maryland Office of Technology Commercialization terms, typically granting the company an exclusive license while the university retains residual research-use rights. The grant agreement does not override or dilute the university's standard IP policies.

Per the program's own reported metrics, the 700-plus funded projects have led to over 1,000 product introductions and commercialized technologies, thousands of jobs within Maryland, and hundreds of millions in follow-on private investment and federal R&D contracts. Independent economic analysis has periodically validated the link between MIPS awards and in-state manufacturing job growth.

Proposals are evaluated by an independent review board composed of industry experts, venture investors, and economic development professionals from outside the university. The board scores projects on technical feasibility, commercial potential, and the strength of the university-company collaboration before sending ranked recommendations to the program director for final selection.