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00 - Executive Summary

Vigía Incubation Framework (VIF)​

National Public–Private Incubation Network Guide - Version 1.0

1. Problem Overview: Why Countries Need a New Incubation Model

Across Latin America, Europe, and other regions, national innovation ecosystems face five recurring systemic problems:

  1. Fragmented incubation efforts - Programs operate independently, with no shared standards, metrics, or shared learning.
  2. Weak evidence-based entrepreneurship - Startup decisions are rarely validated with structured, repeatable methodologies.
  3. Low institutional maturity - Ministries, universities, and incubators often lack unified governance and operational capability.
  4. Lack of foresight-driven priorities - National strategies frequently ignore emerging industries and long-term trends.
  5. Inefficient public–private collaboration - Incentives are misaligned, and investments follow non-standardized, opaque criteria.

These gaps prevent countries from unlocking their full innovation potential.

2. Vision: What VIF Enables

The Vigía Incubation Framework (VIF) establishes a unified, future-ready national incubation system that:

  • Standardizes entrepreneurship development across multiple incubators and regions
  • Improves institutional maturity in public, private, and academic organizations
  • Directs investment into validated, future-aligned ventures
  • Creates a transparent, data-driven innovation ecosystem
  • Enables government, private sector, universities, and investors to collaborate under a shared operating model

VIF transforms fragmented initiatives into a coherent national engine for innovation and competitiveness.

3. What VIF Is

VIF is a national operating system for public–private incubation, built on three core frameworks developed and maintained by Doulab:

• MicroCanvas® Framework 2.1 (MCF 2.1)​

An evidence-driven venture development framework that structures problem analysis, customer validation, solution definition, and business model evaluation.
Primary source: Doulab - The MicroCanvas Framework (https://www.themicrocanvas.com)

• Innovation Maturity Model Program (IMM-P®)​

A maturity and capability model that assesses institutional readiness, governance, and execution capacity across organizations and programs.
Primary source: Doulab - Innovation Maturity Program (IMM-P®) (https://www.doulab.net/services/innovation-maturity)

• Vigía Futura​

A strategic foresight and futures observatory that identifies emerging sectors, weak signals, and long-term opportunities, guiding sector prioritization within VIF.
Primary source: Doulab - Vigía Futura (https://www.doulab.net/vigia-futura)

These three Doulab frameworks are themselves informed by global practice in:

  • evidence-based entrepreneurship,
  • innovation governance and maturity, and
  • strategic foresight and futures studies,

but remain original Doulab methodologies with their own formal definitions and operating logic.

4. VIF Architecture (High-Level Overview)

VIF Architecture
flowchart LR
    A(MCF 2.1  -  Evidence) --> B(IMM-P®  -  Maturity)
    B --> C(Vigía Futura  -  Foresight)
    C --> D(VIF Governance)
    D --> E(National Incubator Nodes)
    E --> F(Investment & Funding Mechanisms)
    F --> G(KPIs, MEL & National Dashboard)
    G --> H(Policy Feedback Loop)
    H --> C

This architecture ensures continuous national learning and adaptive policy-making.

For a full systems diagram and detailed layer breakdown, see 00b – VIF Architecture Diagram.

5. Why National Incubator Networks Matter

Countries that coordinate incubation and early-stage support through national-level platforms tend to achieve:

  • Higher startup survival and graduation rates
  • Greater mobilization of public and private investment
  • Stronger links between universities, government, and industry
  • Improved policy coherence and learning
  • Better alignment between innovation initiatives and long-term national strategies

A national public–private incubation network turns incubation from a set of isolated projects into a strategic, measurable public capability.

6. Core Benefits of VIF

6.1 For Governments​

  • Transparent performance tracking via standardized KPIs and MEL
  • Evidence-based policy design and adjustment
  • Stronger national competitiveness and sector diversification
  • Clear governance mechanisms (NSC, TOU, IC) for innovation programs

6.2 For Incubators & Universities​

  • Shared tools, templates, and operating standards
  • Training and evaluation aligned with MCF 2.1 and IMM-P®
  • Access to national and co-investment funding mechanisms
  • Stronger, more investable startup pipelines

6.3 For Startups​

  • Faster, structured validation cycles
  • Reduced risk and uncertainty when making key decisions
  • Clearer path to investment readiness and co-investment
  • Connection to future-oriented priority sectors identified by Vigía Futura

6.4 For Investors & Financial Partners​

  • Evidence-rich, comparable due diligence across startups and incubators
  • Standardized tranching and milestone frameworks
  • Reduced uncertainty through national MEL and governance
  • Clear visibility into sectoral pipelines and national priorities

7. Implementation Sequence (Recommended)

VIF Implementation Sequence
flowchart TD
    A[Diagnostic  -  Ecosystem & Readiness] --> B[Design  -  Architecture & Roles]
    B --> C[Legal Setup  -  Decrees, MOUs, Agreements]
    C --> D[Operationalization  -  TOU, Nodes, Templates]
    D --> E[National Rollout  -  Pilots & Scaling]
    E --> F[Annual Evaluation  -  MEL & Foresight Updates]

This recommended sequence is compatible with global practice in national innovation policy, but uniquely operationalized through VIF, MCF 2.1, IMM-P®, and Vigía Futura.

8. Five-Year National Impact Scenario

If implemented and governed effectively, VIF can enable a typical country to achieve the following trajectory:

Years 1–2​

  • National diagnostic completed
  • Governance structures (NSC, TOU, IC) established
  • First incubator nodes accredited and aligned with MCF 2.1
  • Initial cohorts of startups supported under shared standards

Years 3–4​

  • National dashboard operational, with comparable KPIs across nodes
  • University commercialization routes strengthened
  • Co-investment mechanisms active with public–private partners
  • Foresight-driven sector prioritization influencing program portfolios

Year 5​

  • Consolidated sectoral clusters in priority industries
  • Increased local and foreign investment in early-stage ventures
  • Higher institutional maturity in key agencies and nodes (IMM-P® scores)
  • Policy-learning loop functioning annually, informed by MEL and Vigía Futura

9. Reading Guide

To navigate the full VIF documentation:

  • For orientation and roles → 00a - How to Use VIF
  • For the visual system overview → 00b - VIF Architecture Diagram
  • For terminology and definitions → 00c - Glossary
  • For legal, governance, and operational details → Sections 02–10 and Annexes 01–10

10. Reference Snapshot

The Vigía Incubation Framework (VIF) is:

For a full academic and policy bibliography, see 11-references.md.

Conclusion

VIF provides countries with a comprehensive, evidence-driven, maturity-aware, and future-oriented national incubation system, integrating:

  • Governance and coordination (NSC, TOU, IC)
  • Standardized venture development (MCF 2.1)
  • Institutional capability and maturity (IMM-P®)
  • Strategic foresight and sectoral prioritization (Vigía Futura)
  • Funding and co-investment mechanisms
  • Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)

It enables governments and ecosystem actors to accelerate entrepreneurship, strengthen innovation capacity, and position the nation competitively for the coming decade - using a coherent, rigorously defined framework whose primary sources are open and clearly referenced.