Since its beginning, the IC² Institute's research has been based on the premise that Science & Technology are resources for economic development and enterprise growth.  In part, the existence of the Institute has been an experiment in itself, to test this premise.  Similarly, many programs of the Institute have been created to examine some piece of this premise in life-scale.  For example, the Austin Technology Incubator pioneered and tested best practices for both business development and business incubation.  Likewise, the Master of Science in Science and Technology Commercialization (MSSTC) tested the hypothesis that entrepreneurial skills could be systematically taught and learned. 

One ongoing research focus of the IC² Institute has been Austin's economy.  During Austin's high-tech acceleration in the 1980s and the 1990s, the Institute acted as a catalyst for business, government, and academic interests to foster and accelerate high-tech growth.  The IC² Institute articulated this growth process into the "Technopolis" or "Austin Model" for economic development. 

As these experiments continue to grow in success, the IC² Institute disseminates research knowledge through programs promoting technology development, regional visioning, entrepreneurship education, and business incubation.  Regional studies are conducted to test the Austin Model to address the assets and challenges of divergent economies around the globe.  Closely related to this research is the Institute's research in knowledge-based benchmarking and technology forecasting to help determine the placement of regional investments, educational emphasis, and other assets. 

The end goal of all of IC² Institute's research is to improve quality of life (by development of technology) and to increase shared prosperity (through the resulting increase in jobs) both at home and abroad.