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OCAST requests larger investment to expand innovation programs, internships and capital access
Summary
The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) asked for a 21.5% increase in appropriated authority, largely to expand three matched revolving programs that fund commercialization, a STEM internship program, and to preserve OCAST's ability to pursue federal and private match funding.
Jennifer McGrail, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST), told the committee OCAST helped create 43 companies, retain/create roughly 2,024 jobs and attract about $139 million in follow‑on capital in the most recent year the agency measured.
McGrail presented five budget requests that together represent a 21.5% increase in appropriated authority; she emphasized only a small share (about 4.4%) would be for agency operations while the majority would fund three programs that require dollar‑for‑dollar matches and must be deployed directly to innovators.
Nut graf: OCAST asked the legislature to expand match‑dependent commercialization programs, fully fund a STEM internship program the legislature authorized previously, and provide operational flexibility to pursue federal and private leverage funds that broaden the state's innovation ecosystem.
The agency said it has used state funds to leverage federal and private capital and that OCAST now manages or supports more than $200 million in additional projects through federal programs and other funds. Key asks included: operational inflation relief of $216,997; $328,000 to pursue matched federal and corporate funds; $2.2 million to expand OCAST’s Industry Innovation Program (a matching grant program of up to $500,000 per award); $1 million to fully fund a STEM internship program; and funding to expand capital access pilot programs already under way.
McGrail said the Industry Innovation Program previously received 71 applications and funded 16 projects; unfunded applications represented 207 retained jobs and 33 potential new jobs that could be lost without expanded funding. She said the average wage for OCAST‑supported jobs exceeded $83,000.
Senators questioned program details, company residency requirements and the state's role in retention after companies mature. McGrail said OCAST requires physical presence and work be done in Oklahoma during contractual periods, and that handoffs to economic development and local partners are needed to retain firms as they scale.
Ending: The committee signaled interest in OCAST's model of leveraging state funds to attract federal and private capital and will weigh the agency's matched‑fund requests during budget deliberations.
