Our Program
Once the candidate is selected for client status, HRTIS staff will arrange for a “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis” within the next 30 days. This analysis will be the basis for a client specific Milestones Plan that provides a framework for managing incubator services to the client, measuring business development progress, and the assignment (by the Executive Director with the recommendations from the Council) to one of the following levels of maturity:
Level 0: Acceptance into the HRTIS
Level 1: People, Plan, and Processes (Proof of Concept- Early Stage Technology Development-Product Development)
Level 2: Saleable Lead Product or Service (Product Development- Production & Marketing)
Level 3: Stable Revenue Generation (Production & Marketing)
Level 4: Scale-up & Breakeven
The Milestones Plan is jointly developed by the Client, the Council professionals, and HRTIS staff. Achievement of the specific criteria in the Milestones Plan will be used by the Executive Director and the Council to assign clients to the appropriate Level, track progress, as well as to focus and prioritize the services to address the most pressing issues. The Milestones Plan will be attached to each Client Agreement. The HRTIS staff, service providers, and client will periodically review and note the client’s progress on the Milestones Plan.
In normal cases, the target period for certification to the highest level of the HRTIS program is three years. On a case-by-case basis, however, the Executive Director may give clients additional time to complete the Milestone Plan.
The HRTIS staff, Council, and individual service providers will conduct periodic reviews of each client’s progress during the normal provision of services. The frequency of these reviews will be determined by the specific needs of each client. These reviews are to be noted on the individual Milestones Plans and serve as a record of the type of service(s) provided and help insure that the focus remains on progressing clients to the next level of maturity.
The HRTIS staff will monitor each client’s Milestones Plan to insure that appropriate and high-value services are being provided to move clients to the next Level consistent with their milestones.
On a quarterly basis, the HRTIS staff and individual members of the Council will meet with each client to review the client’s needs and determine how best to advance their progress towards the next milestone and/or Level. If the service provider believes adjustments to the Milestones Plan should be made based on current situations, a note to this effect should be made on the Milestone Plan with the recommended changes to the milestones or criteria. HRTIS staff will review the recommendations and make those revisions deemed appropriate.
HRTIS staff, Council, HRTC board members, clients, and others, are expected to conform to all laws, policies, regulations, and rules defined by the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and local municipalities. These include (but are not limited to) confidentiality; non-disclosure; intellectual property rights; future use of data rights; and a drug free workplace.
In addition, seminars and other educational classes will be provided throughout the year. These events are specifically designed for the Incubator System’s clients as a whole. The events will be of value-added to the clients and will afford another opportunity for networking and peer-to-peer interaction.
