Applicants must submit a 5-page double-spaced application addressing specific commercialization priorities, including details of the proposed development project and rationale for the proposed development project achieving the CIF goals.

The CIF Advisory Council will convene soon after the application deadline to review applications. All applicants will be invited to “pitch” the proposed project to the CIF Advisory Council. Each pitch session will be no more than 15 minutes long with an additional 5 minutes for questions. Strict time limits will apply, and presenters should assume that the CIF Advisory Council has read and is familiar with the proposal. The objectives of the pitch session are to provide a forum for the applicant to benefit from the expert advice of the CIF Advisory Council and to provide an opportunity for the applicant to address the questions of the CIF Advisory Council. Applicants are advised to work with the OTC as they prepare for the pitch session.

 

Evaluation Criteria

Each presentation made to the CIF Advisory Council and OTC Director will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  1. The technology’s novelty

  2. Intellectual property disclosed to OTC

  3. The market need

  4. The maturity of the technology

  5. The impact that the requested CIF funding will have on the technology’s stage of development

  6. The legal landscape for the technology (i.e. IP position and third-party obligations)

  7. The principal investigator’s commitment to commercialization

  8. The experimental design and budget pragmatism of the proposed project

All project funds shall be expended within 6 months from the date of project commencement but no later than one year from the award date. Such project shall not commence more than 6 months from the date of the award.  Extensions of time will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances, which must be described in a written request to the Director of OTC as soon as timely completion of the project is in question, but no later than 30 days prior to the end of the project term.

Three (3) months into the project, award recipients shall meet with the OTC Director to provide a status on the project. A final progress report must be submitted to the OTC Director 30 days after the end of the period of performance, or an approved extended term if applicable. At the end of the project term, all remaining funds will be returned to the CIF.

Funds awarded to recipients are internal funds and shall not be subject to Indirect Cost Recovery.

For consideration, all proposals must be submitted through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) in accordance with established university sponsored program procedures and protocols. Please start the proposal process through Kuali, using Sponsor Code 557. Also please contact your contract administrator early in the process to let them know you will be submitting a CIF proposal.

The proposal length should not exceed five (5) double-spaced pages, excluding the cover sheet, the budget pages, and the curriculum vitae. The proposal should maintain one-inch margins and use Times New Roman font at 12-point size. In the interest of fairness to all faculty members, any proposal exceeding the page limit or not conforming to the margin and font requirements will be returned without review. All proposals must follow the format given below:

A. Cover Page

  • Title of Project
  • Name of PI and associated department and/or research center
  • Name of CO-I and associate department and/or research center
  • UAH Invention Disclosure or Copyright Disclosure Reference Number and Title (Contact Becky England at becky.england@uah.edu for this information)

B. Background Information

  • What is the invention?
  • Why was it created?
  • What need does it address?
  • How does it address the need?
  • What might be claimed in a patent?
  • Summary of the current state of the technology (players in the industry or competitors)

C. Statement of Work

  • What will be done with the CIF Fund Award?
  • Describe the proposed work and time frame to complete the work.
  • It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure all applicable regulatory approvals are obtained prior to award (animal & human subject, etc).

D. Marketing

  • How will this work make the invention or technology more marketable?
  • Are there any companies currently interested in taking license to this technology?
  • Could this be a startup opportunity?

E. Budget Requested by Category

The budget must be appropriate for the project. Budget will be prepared by the Office of Sponsored Programs, and justification with appropriate level of detail to allow for an informed evaluation of your proposed budget. This justification should not exceed one page. To be helpful, some guidelines for constructing the budget are given below.

  1. Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits: The PI may apply funds in the budget towards his/her salary. Funds may also be used to support salaries and wages for individuals other than the faculty member if their work is critical to the completion of the innovation project by the faculty member (provided this is addressed in the budget justification). Typical examples are: graduate and undergraduate student support required in the acquisition, development and preparation of research materials and data, machine shop time, and equipment operation assistance. Administrative and graduate student tuition support is not covered. (There is no cost share of tuition.)

  2. Innovation-related Equipment/Instrumentation: Any equipment/instrumentation acquired under the grant is owned by the University. Normally, at the end of the project, any equipment purchased will become property of the department to which the grantee is assigned. All purchases for equipment must be supported in the proposal relative to need for accomplishment of the proposed effort. Requests for purchase of equipment not justified and required for accomplishment of the specific project objective and proposed plan will not receive approval.

  3. Innovation-related Operating Expenses: Please break out the total operating expenses necessary to complete the proposed activities into the appropriate categories.

  4. Travel: Funds are not provided for attendance at professional meetings but are available for travel required to complete the innovation project. Justification of travel and explanation of its role in accomplishing the project must be included in the proposal.

F. Curriculum Vitae