90-3-505. Research and development project -- goals. (1) The board may make a research and development project loan upon a determination by the board that the proposed project meets the loan criteria established in 90-3-502 and 90-3-506 and that the project meets one of the goals established in subsection (2).
     (2) The goals of the research and development project loan program are:
     (a) to significantly upgrade existing research capabilities within the state's research and development institutions and organizations;
     (b) to provide financial support to individual research projects that have significant potential to:
     (i) advance technology development in the state; or
     (ii) be readily commercialized upon completion of the research phase;
     (c) to facilitate the process of transferring research from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace; or
     (d) to enhance the competitiveness of Montana's small and medium-sized firms in the national and international markets by stimulating the productivity and modernization of the firms.
     (3) These goals may be accomplished by:
     (a) supporting the advanced technology centers of excellence program that will institutionalize cooperative arrangements between the public sector and the private sector and significantly build on existing research and development capabilities;
     (b) providing financial support for individual research and development projects that are at a preprototype or early stage but that hold significant potential for future commercial success;
     (c) providing financial support for the development of advanced research capabilities within the state's university system through the acquisition of facilities, equipment, or personnel and for the development of a university-based technology transfer program;
     (d) facilitating the flow of information to technology-based entrepreneurial businesses in the state to assist those businesses in reaching their full commercial potential;
     (e) improving the information and resources available to entrepreneurs in the state who are involved in commercialization of innovative products and processes; or
     (f) fostering competitiveness, productivity, and modernization of Montana firms, farms, ranches, mills, and mines.

     History: En. Sec. 8, Ch. 316, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 331, L. 1993.