The Illinois Innovation Voucher Program is here to supercharge your business! Backed by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pritzker, this initiative fuels collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Illinois' top higher education institutions.
Whether you’re developing cutting-edge products or need access to advanced labs and expert research, the Innovation Voucher empowers SMEs to innovate and compete. This isn’t just funding—it’s a game-changer for turning bold ideas into market-ready solutions.
Why Choose the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program?
Access Expertise: Partner with leading researchers and state-of-the-art facilities.Fuel Growth: Drive innovation and create market-ready products.
Boost Competitiveness: Stay ahead in the fast-paced business world.
Does my project qualify?
- The business must be a for-profit Illinois-based business, meaning a business that has its principal place of business in Illinois OR if not located in Illinois, employs at least 100 full-time employees located in Illinois, as defined under Section 5-5 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act.
- The business must remain in Illinois for the duration of research engagement
- The partnering institution of higher education must be a qualified Illinois-based non-profit institution of higher education
What do IIV funds cover?
Innovation vouchers cover up to 75% of the cost of the research engagement (not to exceed $75,000). The following list is not exhaustive and includes:
- Sharing of technologies, knowledge, facilities, equipment
- Salaries for research and scientific expertise
- New product/process development
- Software purchases and / or equipment and supplies up to 50% of requested funds
- Commercialization of new or enhanced products
- Prototyping, piloting, testing, and product validation
- New service development
- Innovation/technology audit
- Implementation of new technology
- Acquire metrology and standardization
What is not covered by IIV funds?
This list is not exhaustive but includes:
- Travel, rent, entertainment or hospitality costs
- Internal salary costs
- Standard training courses
- Third party subcontractors
- General software purchases (example: Google suite, Adobe, Microsoft, etc)
- Website or mobile application development
- Internships
- Design and production of advertising material
- Branding and sales activities
- Costs associated with applying for grants or programs
- General business plans or business strategies
- Advice or assistance with general legal, commercial law, patents, taxation, business consulting, and marketing activities
Don't Miss Our Updates & News About Vouchers!
Receiving the grant allowed us to research and create a tool no one in the industry could complete. The ISTC team and our university partner have been incredibly helpful in supporting our growth and development.
Ashley S H Moy
Cast21
Blake Terry
Owner and Founder | Terry Ventures
It cannot be overstated how much this program benefited our company! This project got us the data that we needed to close sales and deals with distributors and help take our business to the next level.
Gabe Price
Founder | Earnest Agriculture
