Frequently Asked Questions

The OE PO is committed to broad and open communication. The OE Program Office communicates the overall progress of the initiative and financial data on the campus’ investment. Individual projects are responsible for communications that relate to the specifics of the project.

Staff may be hired on projects undergoing implementation or in operations, either on an on-going or on a contract basis.  While any given project may succeed or fail in generating the expected revenues, all applicable human resources policies must be followed with respect to staff working on the projects.

In most cases, net revenues are retained in full by the unit(s) sponsoring the project. The actual distribution of revenues will depend upon the specifics of each project, the involvement of other campus units or  investors, etc.

It is likely that some project ideas will involve significant interactions with off-campus entities, e.g., for-profit companies. All interactions should be conducted according to applicable State laws, UC policies, etc. It is the responsibility of project sponsors and managers, to develop and maintain familiarity with such laws and policies.

The OE Executive Committee reviews all funding requests and must approve any funding decision.

The OE Program Office seeks financially robust project ideas for which the return on the campus investment is at least 15% within three years.  

The initiative is designed to foster and enable entrepreneurial activity that generates “net new revenue” (i.e., new revenue in excess of direct and indirect costs required to generate that revenue). Ideas related to contracts and grants, philanthropy and investments, tuition and fees, intellectual property, and recharge activities are outside the scope of the OE Program Office and will be referred to the appropriate campus support unit.

The OE Program Office has access to loan funds intended for projects that will generate new net revenue. Project startup funding can be requested from the OE Program Office in the form of a loan, which must be repaid by the unit(s) that initiated the project, even if the project does not generate the expected revenue. Units that initiate projects are also expected to contribute, either directly or in-kind, toward the cost of the project, thus sharing in the start-up risk of the project.