The Early Years

The National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC) was originally founded under the name of Mid-America Commercialization Corporation (MACC) in 1994. MACC was created as a not for profit corporation to facilitate the commercialization of technologies for regional economic and social benefits and was formed as a true private-public sector partnership between two levels, academia and the business community. More specifically, the State of Kansas via the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), Kansas State University (K-State), the City of Manhattan and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. KTEC and others recognized that a concerted effort between the private and public sectors was needed to create an environment to enable Kansas to compete in today’s technologically driven and rapidly changing world.

The initial corporate organization was designed by KTEC, and encompassed a structure of two affiliated for-profit companies around a core 501(c)3 not-for-profit company. In MACC’s case, the affiliates were (and remain): Mid-America Technology Management, Inc. (MTM), a management services company and wholly owned subsidiary of MACC, now NISTAC; and Manhattan Holdings, LLC (MHL), a seed investment fund organized as a Kansas limited liability company and managed by MTM. MTM was created to deliver the full range of both not-for-profit and for-profit management services that are needed by both MACC itself and its client companies.

Making Progress

The year of 1995 was a very busy year. Through an agreement with the Kansas State University Research Foundation (KSURF), NISTAC began to serve as the licensing agent for technologies derived from research at K-State, where NISTAC markets and negotiates the license agreements for K-State technologies held by KSURF on behalf of the University. NISTAC’s mission and infrastructure also introduced the option of licensing K-State technologies to new local companies founded specifically to commercialize these technologies.

NISTAC established its first technology spin-out company from K-State in 1995. Nanoscale Materials was created to commercially develop and market nanotechnologies. By 2008, NISTAC had established a total of 16 start-up companies since it’s original formation, with specialties ranging from calcium-enriched beverage products to biodegradable planting pots.

This same year, NISTAC assumed responsibility for the operations of a previously existing not-for-profit business incubator, the Kansas Entrepreneurial Center (KEC). Upon amalgamation with NISTAC, KEC was refocused on delivering incubation facilities and administrative support principally for new technology-based, start-up companies with high growth potential. KEC also traditionally housed other key elements of the local supportive infrastructure, including KSURF and NISTAC itself. In late 1996, the City purchased an existing building specifically for use by KEC as a technology business incubator. In 2007, the city of Manhattan invested in the current NISTAC location, also referred to as the Manhattan/K-State Innovation Center.

In late 1998, with additional support from KTEC and K-State, NISTAC initiated a Technology Acquisition, Development and Commercialization (TADAC) program which now amounts to over 1,000 patents. The TADAC program was developed to test the hypothesis that technology donations can be used to strengthen national competitiveness by unlocking dormant corporate technologies by leveraging them with the host of resources present in and available to nonprofit and public sector organizations. U.S. corporations hold over 20 times the number of patents collectively held by all the universities, research institutions and federal laboratories in America, and yet commercially use only about six percent of the technologies held within their patent portfolios. In other words, dormant corporate technologies represent an immense reservoir of untapped potential wealth for the nation. For sponsors such as K-State and KTEC, this means the potential existed for a dramatic expansion of the technology base upon which the institutions can build to meet their respective missions.

Transition and Today

In 2004, MACC’s name was changed to the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC) as a signal that the reach of MACC’s programs was being broadened beyond Kansas to include regions throughout the nation. This expansion was primarily done through the creation of the national network of cooperating not-for-profit entities with complementary missions. Such entities include universities, research institutions and regional economic development organizations.

NISTAC was named as the commercialization partner for the new K-State Olathe Innovation Campus (KOIC) in Greater Kansas City in 2007. This represents a tremendous opportunity over time for NISTAC as K-State Olathe grows and establishes private sector and institutional partnerships focused on innovation. Also in 2007, NISTAC partnered with K-State, the K-State Foundation, KSURF, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Manhattan to form a new program to support economic development in the region. Knowledge Based Economic Development (KBED) was created to establish and actively support a thriving entrepreneurial environment to attract, grow, and retain knowledge-based businesses to create wealth and other benefits for the region and the partners.

NISTAC reactivated the Mid-America Angel Investor Network in 2008 and renamed it as the K-State Angel Investor Network (K-State Angels). This network is comprised of accredited investors interested in working with tech-based start-ups. NISTAC has assisted startup and emerging small businesses within the Manhattan region to raise over $18 million in private early stage investment capital.

Overall, NISTAC's initial thirteen years from 1995 through 2008, may be viewed as formative and momentum-building, with measurable, meaningful results achieved. Progress to date has been encouraging and provides a basis to believe that NISTAC will deliver significant contributions toward economic prosperity in Manhattan, as well as other regions throughout Kansas and the nation, as it matures during the next ten years.