Consulting Support — The Builder Platform
NSF Engines Builder Platform — Strategic Advisory and Implementation Support
The award establishes the mandate. The operating layer determines whether a regional coalition can convert it into durable commercialization capacity.
Heath Naquin serves in a consulting capacity supporting the NSF Engines Builder Platform's work with regional innovation ecosystems. This case describes publicly available program objectives and nonconfidential areas of contribution.
- Client Type
- NSF Engines Builder Platform
- Sector
- Regional Innovation Ecosystems / Operating Infrastructure
- Engagement
- Strategic Advisory / Implementation Support
- Horizon
- 2024–present
Consulting
Strategic advisory and implementation support
2024–present
Engagement period
Public scope
Nonconfidential program objectives only
Problem
- Regional coalitions carry multi-year federal mandates alongside complex governance, reporting, contracting, and evaluation obligations.
- Operating capacity is frequently built ad hoc while the research and commercialization agenda advances.
- Publicly issued federal policy, Uniform Guidance, and research-security requirements need translation into day-to-day operating practice.
Intervention
- 01
Peer Operations Sessions
Support facilitation of peer operations sessions covering operational scaling, management cadence, accountability, contracting, and evaluation.
- 02
Policy Translation
Translate publicly issued NSF policy, Uniform Guidance, and research-security guidance into general operating implications.
- 03
Operating Resources
Contribute to general-purpose review checklists and starter-pack materials covering subawards, contractors, procurement, and shared systems.
- 04
Learning Platform Concept
Contribute to a proposed learning-platform concept oriented around conversion readiness rather than proposal writing.
Result
- Peer operating sessions and shared, general-purpose resources delivered for participating organizations
- Operating and systems resources organized to support peer learning and playbook development
- Publicly issued federal policy and research-security guidance translated into general operating implications
- A learning-platform concept framed around conversion readiness rather than proposal writing
Attribution & Disclosure
- The Builder Platform, powered by The Engine
Listed for engagement context only. Program references describe publicly available objectives and do not imply endorsement.
Capabilities Applied
Sources
Consulting support, 2024–present, delivered through The Builder Platform, powered by The Engine. Program references describe publicly available objectives only.
Program references are provided for attribution and context. No institutional endorsement of Forged Catalyst Group is implied, and no confidential or proprietary program information is presented.
Engage
Is this the same constraint you're carrying?
The Capital Strategy Diagnostic takes about three minutes and returns a structured read on where conversion is breaking down.