Catalyst Grant Program in the Sciences and Engineering

Overview: The UWM Research Foundation is pleased to announce that it will award up to $500,000 in Catalyst Grants with the support of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. These awards will be made to seed promising research in the sciences and engineering where UWM has the greatest potential to impact local economy through commercialization activities. Awards of $50,000 to $150,000 will be made through an accelerated process in conjunction with the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation – with target for awards by June 1, 2008.

Research Areas: The Catalyst Grant Program is designed to focus on science and engineering where UWM has the greatest potential to impact the local economy through commercialization activities. The program seeks to emphasize research areas that complement regional capabilities, including:

• Biomedical Engineering – including biomedical imaging
• Advanced Automation – including software, devices and sensors
• Healthcare Informatics
• Materials - including advanced nano-materials
• Biochemistry and Drug Design

Award Amounts: Proposals are invited in the $50,000 to $150,000 range. (Larger grants for instrument purchases that can demonstrate use by multiple researchers will be considered.) The total funds awarded for this cycle may be up to $500,000.

Process: Investigators will be asked to submit a short three page pre-proposal. A limited number of full proposals will be invited based on assessment of the commercial and intellectual property potential by the UWM Research Foundation. Full proposals will be reviewed by external scientific reviewers. Final recommendations to the Bradley Foundation will be made based on external scientific assessment and commercial assessment by the UWM Research Foundation.

Qualification Criteria: Qualifying pre-proposals must meet the following criteria:

• Field of Study – sciences and engineering
• UWM researchers – project is for UWM-based research
• Funding Period – funding period shall be for one year, applicants may seek additional funding in future years
• Amount of funding – project funding between $50,000 and $150,000 level for one year grants. (Larger grants for instrument purchase that will be utilized by several researchers will also be considered.)
• Intellectual property – research must relate to an active intellectual property matter with the UWM Research Foundation (disclosure, patent application, or issued patent). Investigators who do not currently have an active matter may submit an invention disclosure along with the pre-proposal.

Programmatic/Commercial Criteria: Qualifying grants will be reviewed by the UWM Research Foundation based on programmatic and commercial criteria. In keeping with the program’s goal of fostering economic development, invitations for a full proposal will be made based on the following criteria:

• Intellectual Property – current intellectual property (disclosure or patent application), potential for future patents, freedom to operate, strength of potential intellectual property claims
• Market Assessment – total market size, addressable market, other market dynamics
• Licensing Potential – potential licensees, assessment of license revenue potential
• Corporate Partnerships – potential for corporate partnerships and/or startups, tie-in with regional industrial clusters.

Scientific Evaluation Criteria: Complete proposals will undergo scientific evaluation by external reviewers using criteria established for the RGI program. Scientific reviewers will be asked to prioritize all reviewed proposals and rank proposals against national standards (top 10%, next 40%, bottom 50%).

• Quality – Excellence and novelty of concept, approach, and methodology; clarity and appropriateness of project plans; desirability and impact of potential results on the national and international scholarly community
• Return – Return on investment (ROI) through extramural funding or commercialization [expectation: 3X requested seed funding from external sources, potential for intellectual property, licensing revenue, corporate partnerships, start up companies and other commercial return measures]
• Risk – Availability of necessary skills and experience, likelihood of achieving the intended outcomes; probability of securing extramural funding or engaging in commercialization; and potential for self-sustainability after the seed investment phase