North Dakota
Science and Technology Plan

North Dakota's economy is characterized by a resilient entrepreneurial spirit, evidenced by the proliferation of small businesses and startups across various industries. The state's business-friendly environment, low tax burden, and access to capital foster an atmosphere conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation.

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North Dakota has a long history of innovation and entrepreneurship from David Henderson Houston who invented the photography equipment in the late 1800’s that was commercialized by the Eastman Kodak Company to Agricultural Technology equipment innovations and advanced technologies in UAS and battery technologies. This innovative spirit has given rise to an economy stabilized by established national and international companies with a flourishing ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

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To further growth prospects in IT and emerging technologies, the North Dakota Department of Commerce is leading an IP commercialization initiative with the Bank of North Dakota and University System to enable job creation, spinoffs into private industry and clustering of new companies that leverage research in emerging sectors. This will be accomplished through refining current IP commercialization efforts within the University System as well as bringing entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, researchers and industry together to grow this sector.

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The state economy relies on small businesses and self-employment, and four North Dakota institutions of higher learning offer entrepreneurism degrees and certificates to ensure that graduates understand fundamentals of economics, legal environment, management, financial management, and starting a business. However, the knowledge acquired from the coursework has little utility until graduates can see how that information functions. North Dakota research universities and other entities host business incubators so students and scientists have the opportunity to engage, evaluate, and enhance the functionality of their discoveries.

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North Dakota supports its businesses and entrepreneurs through:

• Opportunities to increase and expand business partners and sponsorships to support business incubators

• Incubation space and business coaches

• Commercialization expertise

• Entrepreneur ecosystem referrals

• Student-run enterprises

• Project-based internships and mentorship matching

• Creativity student fellowships

• Internship opportunities

• Business education

• Regional contexts to understand how different industries and sectors work together for sustainable growth

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Even with a strong history of innovation and entrepreneurship, challenges have been identified by stakeholder and many of the current programs are located along the Eastern and Central corridor of North Dakota. Mapping of the existing entrepreneurial ecosystem and its resources is a high priority for North Dakota to identify gaps and needs across the state to better facilitate the likelihood that a budding entrepreneur has access to needed resources regardless of location.