Proposal for

THE WASHINGTON INVENTION CONVENTION

Prepared by

THE STEMIE COALITION

Monday, November 21, 2016

Danny Briere

CEO

The STEMIE Coalition

803 Warrenville Road

Mansfield Center, CT 06250

(860) 614-3403

dbriere@stemie.org

Proposal Application

PROJECT NARRATIVE

Washington State Invention Convention Initiative — The STEMIE Coalition

Provide a thorough description of the project. Please include (i) background and

rationale; (ii) underlying theory of change; (iii) major activities; (iv) milestones that will

determine whether the project is on course; (v) the project's potential risks and the

steps the organization has taken to mitigate the risks.

1. Background and Rationale: Invention education is a key element in engaging

and encouraging innovative and entrepreneurial students. Invention education

applies the skills developed in STEM learning -- including science fair,

engineering design programs, and coding, maker, and robotics programs -- to

problems that the students choose to solve. Entrepreneurship programs takes

these solutions developed under invention education and teaches kids how to

take them to market. STEM + Invention + Entrepreneurship = STEMIE, a fully

innovative model for student project-based learning. (More on this below)

Invention education in the State of Washington lags substantially when

compared to the rest of the U.S. – this despite a tradition of invention and

startups within the state. While a handful of enterprising teachers run local

invention education programs, they are not coordinated by a state-level

organization, do not provide educator professional development, and have not

standardized curriculum. The Invent Idaho program has begun spilling over into

far eastern part of the state, where 17 schools this year began the Invent

Washington program; but the program is likewise unsupported and, while

offering a small base with which to begin a statewide program, is not a track

towards sustainability and widespread adoption.

The development of a coordinated and supported Invention Convention

program offers an outstanding opportunity to provide Washington youth with

the opportunity to apply STEM skills, channel creativity and passion, and build

meaningful bridges into entrepreneurship programs and skillsets.

Commensurate with the innovative reputation it has cultivated as a state, the

Washington Invention Convention will provide the opportunity to provide the

access and resources necessary to cultivate and groom Washington’s next

generation of digital, innovative, and entrepreneurial thinkers.

2. Underlying Theory of Change: The Washington Invention Convention rests upon

the STEMIE conceptual framework, which revolves around bridging STEM and

Entrepreneurship programs through Invention Education (STEM plus Invention

plus Entrepreneurship equals STEMIE). Washington State has a number of

existing K-12 STEM and Entrepreneurship organizations, like First Robotics, Vex

Robotics, Makerspaces, and Junior Achievement. Far from competing with the

Washington Invention Convention, these programs will be integral to its success.

STEM programs like Vex and Makerspaces provide students with the core,

foundational engineering and design skills which so often lend themselves to the

invention process. Invention education, primarily through invention convention

programs, provide a creative and personal outlet for these STEM skills, allowing

students to channel their skills by creating something that solves a problem

meaningful to them. Then, students are encouraged to engage with

entrepreneurship programs, using either the skills they learned in Invention

Convention, or, if possible, their actual invention as a jumping-off-point for

programs like Junior Achievement -- this example is a real pilot that is being

conducted in Connecticut, which has generated much enthusiasm. In this way,

the Washington Invention Convention will not just change the K-12 Innovation

landscape by providing K-12 students with another opportunity; it will actively

enhance existing programs by binding them together in a contiguous innovation

pipeline that just makes sense.

3. Major Activities: The Washington Invention Convention will be marked by six

separate activities:

a. assessing the local and state landscape and convening local stakeholders;

b. Convening and providing professional development to all participating

teachers;

c. Implementing in-class invention education;

d. holding local invention conventions;

e. holding a statewide Invention Convention; and

f. sending winning Washington inventors to the national invention

convention in Washington, DC.

A full timeline of each activity, along with detailed process information and

implications is provided in the Milestones section.

4. Milestones: The timeline below outlines major activities, with which STEMIE can

measure its progress and ensure (WIC) the statewide Washington Invention

Convention program remains on course:

Year 1: Dec 1, 2016 to July 30, 2017: Setting the Stage

● Researching and establishing contacts with invention education

stakeholders to successfully start-up at local, regional and state levels:

■ K-12 Educational community – Introductory meetings with

Washington STEM Center, STEM Networks, Washington MESA,

State Department of Education Commissioner and STEM interests

and securing buy-in to support the inclusion of an

Invention/Entrepreneurship pilot program in 2017-2018.

■ Higher education community – Introductory meetings with

colleges, universities, schools of engineering, education, business

to understand their existing outreach and determine interest in

providing venues, judges, and other resources.

■ Political community (as needed) - Mayor, legislators,

Gubernatorial, etc., to let them know how we intend to expand

their STEM and Career Technical Training investment.

■ Corporate technology CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)

community – Introductory meetings with major stakeholders to

determine role they will play in sponsorships, judges, mentors,

volunteers, spokespersons, other contacts. (Microsoft, Amazon,

Boeing, Chamber of Commerce, et al.)

■ Invention Education Community: Meetings with the leadership of

Invent Washington program re: integration into WIC.

■ Entrepreneurship Community: Request meetings with Vulcan,

Hanauer and others who can play a role in driving products to

market.

■ Workforce Development Community: Request meetings with

Washington STEM (Career Connected Learning), Washington

Career Pathways, Career and Technical Education programs, etc.

with whom Invention Education interworks and enhances.

■ Foundation Community: Request meetings with to-be-determined

stakeholders for Washington child and youth development to

engage them for future funding and support.

● Strategic planning and integration with National STEMIE Coalition

■ Creation of WIC strategy including mapping to existing partner

programs and pathways.

■ Mapping of WIC into Regional STEMIE partnerships.

■ Assessment and mapping of Invention Convention curriculum to

Washington State educational standards.

■ Creation of professional development plans and materials.

● WIC marketing and positioning materials creation.

■ Logos, branding, domains, and website creation.

■ Content maintenance plan development.

■ Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) plan.

■ Initial blog content and newsletters creation.

■ Production of Washington State branded videos.

■ Creation of WIC public relation strategy.

● Creating fundraising positioning and support materials.

■ Main pitch deck.

■ Program guide (if necessary).

■ Grant writing support.

■ Support materials.

● Establishing all software and internet infrastructure.

■ Registration system.

■ Judging system.

■ Test My Pitch/Score My Pitch system.

■ Digital asset management.

● Creating Washington State legal documentation, including, but not

limited to, photo/video waivers, subcontractor agreement, and all

disregarded entity (if necessary) filings. File all necessary Washington

state paperwork.

● Recruiting contractors and/or partner organizations to staff, support, and

house the WIC.

■ Interview partner organizations.

■ Interview necessary support contractors.

● Recruiting school districts by approaching Superintendents, Science

Supervisors to facilitate meetings with principals and determination

which schools will participate. Identification of teachers who will be

introduced to the program in spring of 2017, determination of number of

grades per school and individual classes, sizing.

● Program management oversight, including timelines, roles and

responsibilities, and integration of local contractors and suppliers.

● Making Decisions on management of the program, by whom, from

where, responsibilities, staffing and subcontractors and budgets required

for 2017-2018 effort.

● Higher education partner identified and onboard for Washington

Invention Convention All-State Finals (which can include schools

elsewhere in the state who are running any pertinent invention or

entrepreneurship education programs, if desired). Venue decisions made

for first WIC (to be held in spring of 2018 after a full cycle of recruitment,

training, program delivery in 2017-2018).

● Creating evaluation tool to collect data and measure program success.

Year 2: August 2017 – July 30, 2018: Program Pilot in Initial Schools leads to

First Washington Invention Convention in April, 2018

● Seattle School districts (possibly others) chosen, superintendents, science

supervisors all in, teachers recruited and trained, fall 2017.

● Pilot invention programs in Seattle schools held between January and

April, 2018, leading to local invention conventions in each school and

district.

● WIC sponsor corporations recruited to provide financing and volunteer

judge support for finals.

● “Stakeholders of WIC” continues to grow through entrepreneurial,

educational, legislative and IP community.

● Ongoing school recruitment during the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018 for

program starts in the fall of 2018. Note: the number of schools will be

determined by how the program has been progressing with first cohorts.

Targeting of schools decision-makers begins in spring of 2018.

● Planning for state Washington Invention Convention of approx. 300-500

finalists by April 30, 2018; At least 10 finalists will be considered for

National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE)

participation in June, 2018.

● First Washington Invention Convention successfully held by April 15,

2018.

● Ongoing sponsor recruitment to subsidize WIC finalist to National

Invention Convention and Entrepreneurial Expo (NICEE) students to

Washington, D.C. will be conducted by

● Finalists from WIC will attend NICEE and compete with inventors from

30+ states and global competitions.

● Write articles on students from the Washington Invention Convention

who are awarded at nationals for local sponsors and press/social media.

● Assess first-year programs, organizational status and facilitate transition

plans if necessary.

● Recruiting and training of next cohort of teachers in additional grades

and new districts.

5. Risks and Controls: The Washington Invention Convention, while unprecedented

for the area, will not follow a novel or unexplored framework. The STEMIE

Coalition and its member affiliates have more than 300 years of invention

education experience, and are actively running this program in at least 17 states

today. Many of these programs have existed and grown steadily since the mid

1980’s, and one of the distinct benefits of uniting these programs under a single

coalition is that we are able to learn from each others’ mistakes, and access an

extensively deep and broad pool of expertise in the area. The STEMIE Coalition

has already leveraged this pool of knowledge in successfully launching the

California Invention Convention, and is eager for the opportunity to mirror this

success in Washington. However, nonetheless, there are always inherent risks to

starting a new program in a new state, and the STEMIE Coalition is prepared for

this.

● Integration Risk: Other programs might not welcome STEMIE to

Washington and not want to integrate with its program. STEMIE has had

tremendous success partnering with local organizations, and it would

seek out key players such as Washington STEM to help navigate the local

cultural and educational environment.

● Staffing/Expertise Risk: It’s possible that STEMIE won’t be able to find

the necessary resources in Seattle to help get WIC started. STEMIE

initially plans to bring in subcontractors and staff from Connecticut to

jumpstart the program and transfer operations to a local team over time,

to mitigate this risk.

● Adoption Risk: It’s possible that the local school systems won’t adopt

the program for various alternative program or other reasons. STEMIE

has had initial conversations with groups in Seattle and have established

a strong sense that this program will fit well into the current frameworks

in Seattle. Nonetheless, STEMIE has videos, case studies, presentations,

and other materials designed to win over various constituencies and will

provide many peer group recommendations to help drive support.

● Sustainability Risk: It’s possible that STEMIE gets this program

established under the initial grant and it won’t continue due to lack of

sustainable funds. STEMIE’s model is to engage a broad support base at

the beginning of the process and engage the populations early so they

have ownership over the growth of the program. STEMIE believes in a

multi-party-supported budget and will begin expanding the funding base

from program launch. By partnering with the right local partners as well,

it will be possible to tie into existing networks for longevity.

Project Outcomes and Evaluation

Please describe three or four measurable outcomes you will accomplish by the end of

the grant period. Outcomes should be presented in specific, measurable terms and

include dates for their achievement.

● Program participation rates: The STEMIE Coalition will monitor program

participation rates to both demonstrate demand for and adoption of the

program, to measure the overall footprint of the program, and also to observe

program growth over time. Program participation will include school districts,

schools, teachers, grades, students, judges, and mentors (if appropriate). Metrics

for participation will be assessed at the end of the first year of program

implementation in July 2018.

● Student Interest in Entrepreneurship: Through surveying, The STEMIE Coalition

will identify students’ interest to enter local entrepreneurship or other STEM

programs as a result of Invention Convention, measuring the positive effect that

the Washington Invention Convention has on other complementary programs in

the area. Also through judging rubric at the WIC State Finals, identify at least 2%

of the students as high potential students for follow-on entrepreneurship

programs, based on key indicators. Past indicators include: flagged by angel

investors for commercialization, flagged by university for patent potential,

flagged by IP lawyers for patent potential and others. This will be done via the

judging rubric during judging.

● Stakeholder experience: STEMIE will measure educator, participant and other

stakeholder experience. The STEMIE Coalition will design and distribute student,

teacher, parent testimonials/surveys and aggregate the findings in a report to

demonstrate the quality of experience participants enjoyed. This will be done via

pre- and post-participation surveying. Surveys will be done at the start of the

program in Fall 2017 and at the end in April 2018.

● Press surrounding student inventors: WIC will be noted in 6 major

communication media, outside of its own PR. Media, such as public radio,

education publications, and local/state TV and newspapers.

Budget Narrative (The Foundation has a 0% indirect cost policy. The project budget

should be fully loaded with the true costs of the project.)

Total Project Cost: $400,000

Total Amount Requested from Foundation: $400,000

Total Raised to Date: N/A

Specify how funds provided by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation will be used in the

project.

All funds will be directly used to launch the Washington Invention Convention and

promote the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation as the founding sponsor of the WIC. These

funds will be used to pay salaries for STEMIE personnel and subcontractors, expenses

such as printing, web development, press release services, software subscriptions,

travel expenses, and other such normal business operational expense, and potentially

for scholarships for teachers and students to travel to Nationals (we plan to raise funds

from other Washington firms to help cover these expenses).

The attached budget shows more detailed breakdown on use of funds.

Explain how remaining funds needed for the project will be raised, if applicable.

The Paul G. Allen funds are expected to cover all expenses associated with the first two

years of operations of the WIC, after which the organization is expected to be

sustainable through a combination of program revenues, event sponsor revenues, and

ongoing donations/grants. Program revenues will come from school and event

registration. The state finals event will have sponsorship levels for support. And

Washington-interested organizations will be solicited for donations. These funds will be

coordinated and raised by WIC staffers, supported by STEMIE.

Sustainability: Please explain how the project will be sustained beyond the grant term

One of the chief expenses involved in the inception of the Washington Invention

Convention is the staff cost. This is due to STEMIE’s commitment to create sustainable,

self-reliant state-level organizations that, within a year or two of inception, can operate

in full independence of STEMIE’s support. To this effect, the project will be sustained

through a combination of program revenues, event sponsor revenues, and ongoing

donations/grants -- in the same way that Invention Convention programs around the

nation have operated. The existence of programs like the Ohio Invention Convention

and Connecticut Invention Convention, both of which have operated with immense

success for more than three decades, demonstrates the effectiveness of such a model.

This is the same model STEMIE used to create the recently launched California Invention

Convention, which already, less than several months into its existence, is well on its way

to establishing the relationships and network necessary to financially support itself.

Organization Background (no more than one page)

Provide a brief summary of the organization's qualifications for completing the project.

Include the organization's mission and a brief description of its primary activities. Please

include the year the organization was founded, how many people the organization

serves, and significant accomplishments.

To date, The STEMIE Coalition is the only organization dedicated to nationalizing and

formalizing K-12 Invention Education through the Invention Convention model, and

represents the entirety of the largest Invention Convention programs in the United

States within its coalition. The STEMIE Coalition has already proven its ability to create

an Invention Convention program from scratch, having just built the California Invention

Convention, which has already trained over forty teachers in the greater San Jose area

in preparation for in-class invention education. The STEMIE Coalition was first founded

in July 2015. Today, only a year after its inception, the STEMIE Coalition features dozens

of national partners across more than seventeen states, a steering committee with over

300-years of invention education experience, and held the first-ever national event to

celebrate invention and entrepreneurship in the K-12 space: The National Invention and

Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE). An estimated 503,000 students are presently covered

by STEMIE affiliate programs.

The STEMIE Coalition importantly has built a community of practice around invention

education and has aligned with partners in Science, Engineering Design, and

Entrepreneurship to build out its STEMIE framework in practice. In Oct. 2016, STEMIE

held its first Invention and Entrepreneurship Program Organizers Summit where

programs shared their best practices and experiences and collaborated on national

standards and joint operations. The Washington Invention Convention will join this

community of practice and share alike in these discussions.

Identify key organizational and project staff and summarize their qualifications,

including title, length of time at the organization, and role in the project. Please also

include the executive director (managing/artistic director for arts organizations).

The STEMIE Team and its Steering Committee bring more than 300 years of Invention

education experience to the table.

Danny Briere is CEO of the Coalition and has served on the Board of Directors of the

Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) for more than twelve years, and has actively

been involved with various aspects of the CIC over the years, including fundraising,

strategy, and for the main statewide Finals event, the judging process, registration

process, media center, VIP management, and other event logistics. Danny is a serial

entrepreneur, inventor, and ecosystem builder. He has been involved in many aspects

of alliance building, startup ecosystem building, and workforce development in his prior

business experience, having started Startup Connecticut under Obama’s Startup

America Partnership initiative, overhauled Connecticut’s Small Business Development

Center (SBDC) program, and worked with Duke and UCONN to launch and expand their

student entrepreneurship programs. Danny will serve as the main resource on this

project in Washington, directing the strategy, partnerships, and fundraising for the WIC

on an interim basis.

Jenn Kirkwood is presently head of affiliate relations for STEMIE and will be project

manager for the whole WIC effort -- coordinating all staff and logistics to ensure a

smooth implementation of the program. Jenn joined STEMIE from being involved with

affiliate relations at ESPN, and has been involved with invention education for more

than three years with the CIC in Connecticut. Since joining STEMIE this summer, Jenn

has managed all affiliate relations and has been coordinating the launch of the California

Invention Convention.

Sonya Richmond is the event project manager for the 2016 National Invention

Convention. Sonya has previously been President of the CIC, been on the Board of the

CIC for almost 20 years, and has been responsible for managing paid and volunteer

resources to deliver on a Connecticut statewide finals event as well as all planning for

the May 2016 NICEE event in D.C. In her role in grants writer at Goodwin College, she

has been intimate with foundation, government, and individual fundraising process.

Sonya has directed STEMIE’s curriculum development and assessment efforts. Sonya

will oversee all curriculum, professional development, and standards mapping issues for

this effort.

Cherylyn Rushton brings extensive outreach and educational experience. As former

head of the Ohio Invention Convention for more than 18 years, she has abundant

experience with all aspects of invention convention event activities, having organized

and run regional competitions across Ohio for many years. Importantly, her extensive

invention education industry connections power a strong educational experience for the

students. Cherylyn will provide outreach support and ecosystem building support for

this effort.

Nick Briere will help manage all sponsor and strategic relationships for the emerging

WIC. Nick has been leading STEMIE’s development efforts. Nick’s own personal

experience with the CIC as a student gives him a wealth of anecdotes and real-life

stories to help engage and enliven these relationships.

Bill Kenney will help create the community and forge a Washington Steering Committee;

he will run all meetings and surveys, social media, and other community building

activities. Bill has founded six companies. Most of his focus has been in the business

services sector. His latest company is focused on providing feedback for the pitch

process. The Test My Pitch platform is made up of two tools that accelerate

communication skill development by delivering contextual and actionable feedback.

STEMIE will complement the above staff with tactical subcontractors and ultimately

local hires in Washington to build a strong local WIC organization. The end goal is to

build, operate, transfer this organization over the term of this agreement.

Number of Board Members: 3 (All Independent)

Cathy Massey, CEO, LawDocsXpress

Jon Tidd, Consultant, Deloitte Consulting

Sonya Richmond, Grants Administrator, Goodwin College

Percent of Board Members Who Donate: 0%

The STEMIE Coalition does not seek solicitations from its current Board. The Board is a

highly active and involved group that contribute an immense number of hours to this

organization monthly.

Organization Financial Health (no more than one page)

Fiscal Year Start Date:

July 1

Fiscal Year End Date: June 30

June 30

What is the organization's current operating budget?

$573,000 without this project.

Describe the organization's current financial health.

Good. The STEMIE Coalition is in growth mode, having started in June 2016. The

standard fundraising cycle for a new nonprofit is long, generally 18-24 months, and in a

short time, STEMIE raised $400K its first year (on expenses of $216K, and is on track to

raise around $800K in this second fiscal year.

How much does the organization have in operating reserves, and how are they

designated?

The organization has about $70K in operating capital in the main account and $30K in a

separate account which are part of the organization’s advance funds for funding events.

Has the organization's overall budget increased, decreased, or remained the same over

the last three years? What accounts for any changes in the budget?

STEMIE is growing into increased budgets, adding staff and expenses as it grows its

program revenues, its donations, and its in-kind relationships. It is the goal of the

organization to grow to a budget of around $2.5MM within five years. The organization

only grows as it brings it funding to support the growth. In the case of this project, the

organization is taking on expense in Washington to specifically launch a program in

Washington using the equivalent funds of this project, so it is not specifically part of our

planned $573K budget. So this project will implicitly increase our 2016 budget but also

our revenues.

Has the organization had an operating deficit in the last two years? If so, detail the

annual amount and the cause.

No. The organization was operationally positive in its first year.

Does the organization have an accumulated debt due to successive operating deficits? If

so, detail the amount and the steps the organization is taking to address it.

The organization has not had any successive operating deficits.

Does the organization have any other short-term or long-term debt obligations? If so,

what are the repayment terms and are they reflected in the organization's operating

budget? (For example, debt related to real estate or other capital expenditures.)

The organization has standard credit card debt that it generally pays off each month.

Attach a final project budget. Please note that the Foundation does not require the use

of a standardized budget template.

The budget is seen below:

Contact Info:

Danny Briere

CEO

The STEMIE Coalition

803 Warrenville Road

Mansfield Center, CT 06250

(860) 614-3403

dbriere@stemie.org