CCI Tech Transfer Support Fund

CCI is offering technology transfer support funding to faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions to facilitate research commercialization efforts.

Eligible faculty may apply for grants up to $8,000 to support patent application fees, legal fees, or other professional support.

Applications from under-represented groups are particularly welcome, as are applications from researchers who have not previously engaged with CCI. Women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility

• Researchers and faculty members at public institutions of higher education in CCI who are deemed eligible by their home institution to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) on an external grant are eligible to apply.
• Home institution must be a primarily undergraduate institution OR not have a Tech Transfer Office
• Faculty may only apply once for support funds
• Limit on Number of Proposals per Institution: There are no restrictions or limits.

Requirements

• Faculty must enroll in ICAP (Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program) upon grant acceptance notification.
• Grant proposals 

Awards

CCI anticipates funding proposals with a budget that does not exceed $8,000 USD. Indirect costs (IDC) are not allowed.

Successful applicants are expected to participate fully in the activities of CCI, including providing materials needed for reports, participation in CCI meetings, and responding to data collection requests by CCI.

All publications and presentations resulting from the grant should acknowledge support from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI). Grant award letters will supply an example of this acknowledgement.

According to the terms under which CCI is funded, the following costs are not allowable:

• Costs of developing and delivering undergraduate capstone programs.
• Portion of salaries and benefits of faculty for time spent teaching.
• Scholarships for costs of attendance at institutions of higher education.

Contribution Requirement

There is no contribution requirement.

Proposal Format

Proposals must use 1-inch margins, 11-point font or larger (Arial or Helvetica), and single-line spacing. Please use the following outline:Title page (one page, example included below)

Title of the proposed project, abstract, name, affiliation, and contact information for Principal Investigator (PI) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs), if any.

Proposed Project (up to 2 pages)

• Description of the proposed steps to commercialize the PI’s research for which funding is requested
• Project alignment: Discuss how the project aligns with CCI’s focus in cybersecurity
• Description of PI’s commercialization goals

Budget (up to 2 pages): Budget items and justification. Included spreadsheet does not count toward page count. 

Biographies: Up to 2 pages for each PI and co-PIs, using National Science Foundation (NSF) format.

Schedule

This is a rolling CFP.

Proposal Submission

The proposal must be submitted via email to CCI Director of of Innovation and Workforce Development Sarah Hayes at sshayes@vt.edu with subject line reading: LastName_Institution_TTOSuport.

All proposals must be submitted as a single PDF document.

Proposals and budgets should go through the appropriate approval process at the PI’s institution. For example, many universities require researchers to include a proposal and budget which have been approved in the standard OSP pre-award procedure.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Proposals must meet all submission requirements listed above
• Proposals must clearly state PI’s commercialization intentions, including, but not limited to, enrolling in ICAP

Specific questions concerning this RFP and the requirements set forth here should be directed in writing to CCI Director of of Innovation and Workforce Development  Sarah Hayes at sshayes@vt.edu with the subject line reading: QuestionRe: TTOSupport

Title Page Format Example

Project Title:

Project Abstract (up to 250 words):

Total Requested Amount:

Requested Amount per Institution:   

Name, Title, and Mailing Address for Primary Contact at Each Institution Requesting Funding:

Project Investigators: