AmazonCatalyst–UniversityofWashington
ApplicationQuestions
Please use the following form to apply for a Catalyst grant. For additional
information on the questions, please click on the small question mark (?) for a
short,popupexplanation,orconsulttheFAQpage.Werequestthatyoudonot
submitanyconfidentialorproprietaryinformationwithyourapplication(Amazon
andtheUniversityofWashingtonrespectthevalueofyourideas,butwecannot
guaranteeconfidentiality).Notethatallcharacterlimitsincludespaces.
----------Team-----------
1. Throughwhichuniversityareyouapplying?
(UniversityofWashington)
2. Name(s)ofapplicant(s)andemailaddresses.
(?)Listallthenamesofthepeoplecontributingonyourproject,associatedemailaddresses,
universitystatus(faculty,staff,student,etc.)anddepartment,ifapplicable.Graduate
studentsandpostdocs–listingyouradvisorisoptionalandwillnotimpactyourlikelihood
ofreceivingagrant.
3. Ifmorethanonepersonisonyourteam,pleasespecifywhoistheprojectlead.Notethat
onlycurrentstudents,faculty,orstaffoftheUniversityofWashingtonwithavalidUWemailaddresscanbelistedastheprojectlead.
(?)Whowillbedrivingtheworkandmanagingtheprojectonaday-to-daybasis?For
academicallyfocusedideas,whoisthe“principalinvestigator”?Forcommerciallyfocused
ideas,whoisthe“CEO”?Graduatestudentsandpostdocs–pleaselistyourselfifyouwill
serveastheproject’slead.
4. Team:Tellusaboutyourself/theteam.Wherehaveyouworked?Wheredidyougoto
school?Whatdidyoustudy?Wheredoyouhaveexpertise?
(?)Describeyourteam.Ifit’sjustyou,justdescribeyou.Ifit’syouandacolleague,tellus
aboutyouandthecolleague.Wearelessconcernedwithyour“bonafides”(awards,titles,
etc.)andmoreconcernedwithwhatexperienceyouhavethatmayhelpyoucarryoutthe
project.Forexample,ifyouareproposingtobuildanewtypeofsailboat,doyouhave
experiencebuilding(ordesigning,orsailing)boats?Hint:Itmaybeeasiertoanswerthis
questionlast,aftercompletingtherestoftheapplication.(max.characters:3,000)
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-----------ProjectTitleandPressRelease-----------
5. PROJECTTITLE:Pleasespecifyatitlefortheproject.
(?)Chooseatitlefortheproject.(max.characters:100)
6. ONELINER:Projectdescriptioninonesentence.
(?)Writeaone-sentencedescriptionoftheproject.Thebestone-sentencedescriptionsare
clearandsuccinct.Avoidjargonandunnecessaryacronyms.(max.characters:300)
7. HYPOTHETICALPRESSRELEASE:Leapintothefutureandimaginethatyourprojecthas
launched.Now,writethepressreleasetotelltheworldaboutit.Thepressreleasewill
beusedbytheevaluationcommitteetoevaluateyourideaonitsinventiveness,elegance,
clarity,persuasiveness,andbenefittosociety.
(?)Apressreleaseisapublicannouncementissuedtothenewsmediaforthepurposeof
lettingthepublicknowaboutnewsworthydevelopmentsinanorganization.Creatinga
hypotheticalpressreleasehelpsyouclarifyyourthinking,providesahigh-leveloverviewof
yourproject,andexplainswhowouldbenefitandhowtheywouldbenefit.It’savery
helpfulexercise!
Writethepressreleasefromtheperspectiveofapublicrelations(PR)departmenteither
fromtheuniversityoryourgroup(whichmaybeanorganizationorcompany),describing
thesuccessfulcompletionoftheproject.Whenyouwriteit,imaginethatrealpeoplewho
careaboutthesolutionaregoingtoreadit.Useasfewwordsaspossibleandchoosewords
thatareadernoteducatedinyourtopicwouldunderstand(avoidjargonormarketing
buzzwordslike“simple”,“easy”,“fast”,etc.).Putthemostimportantinformationfirst-
imaginethatnoonereadspastthefirstparagraph.Andofcourse,besuretotella
compellingstory.
Hereisasuggestedoutlinetohelpyougetgoing:
i. Includeapressheading:“<CITY>(NEWSWIRE)–<dateofprojectcompletion>–”
ii. Describeyourproject
iii. Whowillbenefitandhowtheywillbenefit
iv. Theopportunityorproblem
v. Theapproachorsolution
vi. Quotesfrompeopleonyourteamthatcapturethevalueoftheproject
vii. Hypotheticaltestimonialsfromthepeoplethatwouldbenefitfromtheprojectthat
reinforcewhytheycareaboutyourproject
viii. Howpeoplecangetstarted,getinvolvedorlearnmore
(maxcharacters:4,000)
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----------KeyQuestions----------
8. PROBLEM:Whatistheproblemthatyouareaddressing?Whyisitimportant?
(?)Identifytheproblemthatyourprojectisseekingtosolve.Theproblemaroundwhich
yourprojectisfocusedshouldbealarge-impact,human-relevantproblemthatisbasedon
andcitesdataandstatisticsforsupport.Itshouldnotbeatechnicalproblem,ora“this
doesnotyetexist”problem(justbecausesomethingdoesn’texistdoesn’tmeanthatit
shouldbedone!).Forexample,theproblemshouldnotbephrasedas“Xdoesnotyet
exist...”or“itiscurrentlynotpossibletodoX…”butrather,“Xpeopledieeachyearfrom
tuberculosisworldwide”or“Xpeoplehavetheircomputeraccountshackedeachyear,
costingtheUSeconomyover$Xdollars.”Notethatwedonotrequirethattheproject
proposedinthisapplicationcompletelysolvetheproblemdescribedhere–itcanbejust
thefirststeptowardsolvingthatproblem.(max.characters:1,000)
9. SOLUTION:Whatareyouproposingtodotosolvethisproblem?Whatisthe“project”
thatyouwouldliketocarryoutoverthecourseofthegrantperiod?
(?)Describewhatyouwanttodotohelpsolvethisproblemoverthecourseofthegrant
period.Projectsshouldoutlinespecifictaskstowardanachievablegoal,ratherthanspecify
anacademicstudy(an“exploration”)forthesakeoflearning.Forexample,iftheproblem
beingaddressedistheimpactofclimatechangeonaspecificpopulationofpeople,the
solutionshouldnotbeto“studyaspecificpopulationofpeopleimpactedbyclimate
change,”butrather,to“buildaprogramtodoXforpeopleimpactedbyclimatechange.”
Thesolutionproposedhereshouldbeexecutableduringthetimeperiodofthegrant(orat
theveryleast,theproof-of-conceptofthissolutionshouldbeexecutableduringthetime
periodofthegrant).(max.characters:1,000)
10. WHOBENEFITS?Whocaresaboutyoursolution?Whoisthe“customer”so-to-speak?
(?)Indicatewhowillcareaboutyoursolutioninthenearterm.Notethatthisisoftena
difficultquestiontoanswer.Itisunlikelythateveryonewillcareaboutyoursolution.More
likely,itwillbeaspecificpersonorgroupofpeoplethathaveinvestedinterestinsolving
theproblem.Forexample,ifyoursolutionisanewtypeofX-raymachineformedical
imaging,thepeoplethatcarethemostaboutitmaynotbethepatientsthatreceivetheXrays,orthephysiciansthatadministerthem,butrather,thehospitalpurchasersthatare
responsiblefororderingnewequipmentandmaintainingahighqualityofcareinthehealth
system.(max.characters:1,000)
11. WHYNOW?Whatisnewaboutwhatisbeingproposedvs.whathasbeendoneinthe
past?Whydoesn’tthissolutioncurrentlyexist?
(?)Sometimesaprojectdescribesagoodsolutionbutatthewrongtime.Pleaseindicate
whynowisagoodtimetobepursuingthisproject.Havecertaineventsbroughtanissueto
thepublic’sattention?Hasanewtechnologyenabledtheprojecttoworknowthatwasn’t
availableinthepast?(max.characters:1,000)
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----------Plans,Metrics,andAdditionalInformation----------
12. TIME:Estimatehowlongitwilltaketocarryouttheproposedproject.
(?)PlanningisanimportantpartoftheCatalystprogram.Pleasedescribewhichtasksyou
proposefortheprojectandthetimelineforcompletingthem.Catalystgrantscanbefor318monthsinduration.IfyouhaveputtogetheraprogresschartorGanttchart,feelfreeto
uploaditintheVisualssectionbelow(thiscanbeveryhelpful).(max.characters:1,000)
13. COST:Estimatetheamountoffundingyouwillneedtocarryouttheproposedproject.
(?)Pleasedescribethefundingyouwillneedtocarryouttheproof-of-conceptphaseofthe
project.Whilewedonotneedaformalbalancesheet,abreakdownofkeycostswith
justificationwillbehelpfultotheevaluationcommittee.Notethattypicalfundingfor
AmazonCatalystgrantswillbeintherangeof$10,000to$100,000perproject.(max.
characters:1,000)
14. MILESTONES:Whatarethekeyhurdlesormilestonesyouseedowntheroad?
(?)Noprojectiswithoutchallenges.Itisgoodpracticetoidentifyaheadoftimesomeofthe
keyhurdlesyouforeseeincarryingouttheproject.(max.characters:1,000)
15. METRICS:Howwillyouknowifyouaresuccessful?
(?)Pleasedescribewhatyouwillmeasuretodeterminesuccessforyourproject.For
example,ifyouarebuildinganapp,willyoumeasurehowmanytimesitisdownloaded?If
youareorganizinganevent,willyoumeasurehowmanypeopleattendorhowmanyemail
addressesyoucollect?(max.characters:1,000)
16. OTHEROPTIONS:IfyouarenotselectedforfundingthroughtheAmazonCatalyst
Program,doyoustillplantopursueoradvanceyouridea?Ifso,how?
(?)We’rejustcuriousaboutwhatyou’ddoifyoudon’twinaCatalystgrant.Wouldyou
continuetoworkontheideaanyway?Ifso,how?Wouldyoufocusonotheractivities?Ifso,
whatotheractivities?(max.characters:1,000)
17. VISUALS:Havealinktoavisual(e.g.,adiagram,acollectionofphotos,orapresentation)
thatyouthinkwillbehelpful?Putithere(100%optional).
(?)Apictureisworth1,000words!Ifavailable,pleaseincludealinktoasinglePDF(.pdf)or
PowerPointpresentation(.ppt)filethatincludesavisualorgroupofvisualstohelpuslearn
moreabouttheproblem,thesolution,and/orthecustomerfortheproject.Thefileshould
belocatedinapubliclyaccessibleonlinedirectoryandshouldnotexceed10MBinsize.
Visualscanincludediagramsoutliningthescopeofaproblemintheworld,photosofa
product,atimelineforcompletion,etc.Notethatwhilevisualsarehelpful,theyarenot
requiredforbeingawardedagrant.Ifyouhavemorethanonevisual,combinethemall
intoasinglefile,orincludejustthemostimportantone.(max.characters:300)
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18. VIDEOSAND/ORWEBSITE:Havealinktoacoolvideo,demoorwebsiteofyourproject?
Putithere(100%optional).
(?)What’sbetterthanapicture?Amovieorademo!Pleaseincludealinktoavideo,ora
website,ifyouhappentohaveonemade.Forvideos,notethatitdoesn’thavetobefancy
–itcanbejustyoustandinginfrontofawhiteboardoryourcellphoneexplainingwhat
youwanttodo!Notethatwhiledemosandvideosarehelpful,theyarenotrequiredfor
beingawardedagrant.Ifyouhavemorethanonelinktoshare,pleaseincludejustthe
mostimportantone.(max.characters:300)
19. HOWYOUHEARDABOUTUS:Howdidyouhearaboutthisprogram?Wasitthroughan
email,poster,orsomewhereelse?Ifyouparticipatedinadepartmentalworkshop,
pleaselistitherewiththedate.
(?)PleaseletusknowhowyoufirstheardabouttheAmazonCatalystprogram.Fromtime
totime,wehostworkshopsandotherevents.Ifyouparticipatedinone,pleaseincludeit
herealongwiththedate.(max.characters:100)
20. ANYTHINGELSE?Usethisspacetoprovideanyadditionalinformationabouttheproject
thatyouwouldlikeustoknow.It’sperfectlyfinetoleavethisspaceblank(100%
optional).
(?)Usethisspaceforanyadditionalinformationabouttheproject.(max.characters:1,000)
----------Submission----------
þ Icertifythatallmembersoftheteam,includingmyself,are18yearsofageorolder.
(?)AmazonCatalystgrantsareonlyavailabletoindividuals18yearsoldorolder.
þ IhavereadtheFAQ,andIamawareofthedetailsofthegrantingprocess
(?)Weaskthatyoufamiliarizeyourselfwiththedetailsofthegrantingprocessbefore
submittingtheapplication.
þ IhavereadandagreetotheRulesoftheAmazonCatalystprogram.
(?)Pleasemakesuretoreadalltherulesoftheprogrambeforesubmittingtheapplication.
SUBMIT
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