Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
University of Illinois at Chicago | Office of Technology Management | Phone: (312) 996-7018 | Fax: (312) 996-1995 | Web: www.cif.uic.edu
Proof of Concept (POC) Awards Program
Pre-Proposal Application Form
1. BACKGROUND
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The Proof of Concept Awards Program was launched by the UIC Office of Technology Management (OTM) in early 2012 to facilitate the
delivery of talent, innovations, and resources from UIC to the local community. In order to further the objective of the POC Awards
Program, the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF) was established by the UIC Office of the Chancellor as a hybrid Proof of Concept (POC)
and equity investment fund. The CIF is managed by IllinoisVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the University, and provides funding
which enhances the POC Awards Program’s ability to bridge the gap between basic research and commercialization. It also provides
direct investments for companies further along in the commercialization pipeline.
Through Chancellor Allen Meares’ commitment, funds will be available to support both proof of concept discovery and early stage
technology companies emanating from UIC faculty, staff and students. One million dollars annually will fund the Proof of Concept (POC)
Awards Program, which provides up to $75,000 per project originating at UIC and disclosed to the UIC Office of Technology
Management, the campus’ technology transfer arm.
Through the Proof of Concept (POC) Awards Program the UIC Chancellor’s Innovation Fund is looking to accelerate the
commercialization of technologies being developed at UIC by helping to bridge the funding gap that often exists between government
funded basic research and the translational research necessary to move an invention towards commercial viability.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Only applicants who meet and agree to the following criteria will be considered eligible to submit a Pre-Proposal
Application.
(1) The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a full-time UIC faculty member or emeritus faculty with active research labs.
(2) The Principal Investigator must have an invention disclosure on file with the UIC Office of Technology Management (OTM), upon
which the proposed project will be based, prior to applying. Applications will not be accepted if a disclosure is not on file with the
OTM prior to the Pre-Proposal Submission deadline date of April 3, 2014 (5PM CST).
(3) The technology, which provides the basis for the project proposal, must not yet be licensed or optioned.
(4) The intellectual property (IP) surrounding the invention disclosure must be owned by the University of Illinois. Please contact the
Office of Technology Management if you are unsure of the intellectual property ownership of your invention. If IP is jointly owned with
another institution, an inter-institutional agreement (IIA) must be in place with UIC designated as the commercialization lead.
(5) The proposed project must be focused on commercial product development or testing. POC Awards Program funding cannot be
used for basic exploratory studies or as general funding for the Principal Investigator’s lab. Projects must focus on a current invention
disclosure on file with the OTM and should address how achieving identified project milestones will move that invention towards
commercialization.
(6) Only one POC Awards Program project may be submitted per PI. Investigators with multiple technology disclosures should focus
their proposal on the most commercially promising technology within their portfolio.
(7) All project milestones should be achievable within 18 months of the start of funding and within the requested budget.
(8) If you are a previous POC Awards Program winner and your project is still in progress and (or) still receiving POC Awards Program
funding, you are in-eligible to apply.
(9) You must adhere to the character limitations in the pre-proposal. Any characters over the maximum allowed will be deleted and not
evaluated.
(10) By submitting this application you acknowledge that this project is eligible for submission based on the criteria set forth in this
application. You further understand that if invited to submit a Full Proposal Application, there is no guarantee that the Full Proposal
Application project will be funded.
The Full Proposal Application will be reviewed and scored by a Proof of Concept Awards Program Review Committee and only those
projects which are selected by the Committee will be funded.
(11) Only applicants submitting a Pre-Propasal Application and who are subsequently invited to sumbit a Full Proposal Application
will be considered eligible for POC Awards Program funding.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
3. EXPECTATIONS
If you are asked to submit a Full Proposal you must be able to:
(1) Work closely with your tech manager to complete a 5-page full proposal and put together a PowerPoint presentation.
(2) Be available for 3 in-person meetings (1 meeting with your tech manager and OTM team to describe your project and 2 mock
pitches).
(3) Present your proposal to the finalist selection committee.
(4) Any funds remaining in your account upon completion of your final milestone will be returned to the CIF.
If you are selected for funding you must be able to:
(1) Participate in commercialization related activities.
(2) Attend monthly commercialization workshops.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
4. APPLICANT INFORMATION
(Applicant must be a full-time faculty member or emeritus faculty with active research labs at UIC)
Principle Investigator
Position/Title
College/Department
Phone
E-mail Address
5. PROJECT INFORMATION
Project Title
Total Project Budget Requested
(cannot exceed $75,000)
Project Duration
(Projects not expected to start prior to
July 2014 and must be completed by January
2016)
Tech ID #
Tech ID Title
Date of Disclosure
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
6. PRE-PROPOSAL NARRATIVE
Pre-proposal Application narratives will be reviewed by a Committee of UIC research deans and select delegates assembled from
across the UIC campus. The committee will recommend to the POC Awards Program those projects they deem most competitive
and which should be invited to submit Full Proposal Applications.
A. PROJECT BACKGROUND (3000 characters maximum counting spaces)
1. Introduce the problem present in the marketplace that your technology addresses.
2. Present a high-level overview of your technology and how it will address the problem above.
3. Describe what you have accomplished to date related to this POC project.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION (1500 characters maximum counting spaces)
Describe the specific POC Project you propose to do. Summarize what you will be doing in this project.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
C. SPECIFIC MILESTONES (Milestone Descriptions: 500 characters maximum with spaces)
Present 2 to 4 discrete milestones that will be used to track the progress of the project over the course of the funding period. Milestones should be logically
ordered such that successful completion of one milestone triggers work to begin on the next milestone. Funding for POC Awards Program projects is milestone
based and is released in tranches, so a milestone must be successfully achieved before the next tranche of funding is authorized.
Milestone Title
Milestone Description
Milestone Duration
(ex: 01/2014 to 04/2014)
to
Milestone Budget
Milestone Title
Milestone Description
Milestone Duration
(ex: 01/2014 to 04/2014)
to
Milestone Budget
Milestone Title
Milestone Description
Milestone Duration
(ex: 01/2014 to 04/2014)
to
Milestone Budget
Milestone Title
Milestone Description
Milestone Duration
(ex: 01/2014 to 04/2014)
Milestone Budget
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
C. PROJECT IMPACT (1500 characters maximum counting spaces)
Identify current technical or commercial risks associated with your technology that your proposed project will be able to address, and thus significantly impact the
commercial potential of your technology. Also, describe how the commercial competitiveness of your technology will have been increased by the successful
completion of the proposed project and what would be your next steps in the development/commercialization process.
D. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (1500 characters maximum counting spaces)
Describe the technology development to date. Provide an explanation of what will differentiate (“better / faster/ cheaper”) your technology in the market place
and create a competitive advantage for your product. Also, provide any industry-specific feedback you have received on the competitive advantage of your
technology and its ability to fulfill an unmet need in the marketplace.
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
E. OTHER CURRENT AND PENDING SUPPORT
1. List grants that are relevant to your POC project (federal and non-federal) for the principal investigator. Include: (1) name of investigator, (2) grant title, (3)
status (active or pending) and period of support, (4) funding agency/grant number, (5) role on active or pending grant, and % effort, (6) a brief description of the
aims of the grant with sufficient detail to allow peer reviewers to assess the degree of overlap with the proposed research, and (7) any overlap with the current
proposed project and plan for resolution of any overlap.
Principle Investigator:
Grant Title:
Statue (Active or
Pending):
Funding Agency/
Grant #:
Applicant’s Role on
Grant and % Effort:
Description of the
Grants Aims:
Explanation of any
overlap with proposed
POC project:
Principle Investigator:
Grant Title:
Statue (Active or
Pending):
Funding Agency/
Grant #:
Applicant’s Role on
Grant and % Effort:
Description of the
Grants Aims:
Explanation of any
overlap with proposed
POC project:
Principle Investigator:
Grant Title:
Statue (Active or
Pending):
Funding Agency/
Grant #:
Applicant’s Role on
Grant and % Effort:
Description of the
Grants Aims:
Explanation of any
overlap with proposed
POC project:
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Pre-Proposal Application Forms must be completed and submitted electronically to [email protected] no later than April 3, 2014 (5PM CST)
F. APPENDIX (OPTIONAL)
Maximum, ONE page appendix (PDF or Word format), any supporting data or references cited in the narrative may be included. There is no
character limit on this space, use this space or append a separate page. You can submit your OWN page for this section.
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