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Central Virginia Node: 2022 Innovation and Commercialization Program

Proposals due July 1, 2022

Objective

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is establishing Virginia as a global center of excellence at the intersection of security, autonomous systems, and data. With a mission of research, innovation, and workforce development, CCI serves as a catalyst for the Commonwealth's long-term leadership in this sector through the leadership of a central hub and four regional nodes. The Central Virginia Node (CVN) is led by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

As the CVN leader, VCU uses CCI funding to strengthen innovation and commercialization in the region and in that spirit, seeks to support business projects related to CVN’s focus areas which include cyber physical systems, autonomous systems, IoT as it applies to medical device security and smart city technology. This CCI-funded program aims to fund projects that relate directly to CCI’s overall mission and CVN’s focus areas and aims to support two objectives. The funded projects under this CFP will result in either A) an operational prototype or B) further the start-up/product in its development such that the PI applies for the SBIR/STTR program.

Eligibility

Each team must include at least one full-time faculty at any CVN institution who will serve as the PI and main point of contact. Teams may also include students. Each faculty member may serve as a PI on one application, and as a co-PI on one application. To be eligible the PI must either A) demonstrate plans for an operational prototype and a budget that reflects that goal or B) already have a prototype in place and be ready to take their business to the next level. Budgets must be approved by the home institution’s OSP before Proposal deadline. Women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Awards

  • Anticipated funding amount: $ 120,000
  • Award Amount: $ 30,000
  • Identified Commitment: No identified commitment is required for this funding.

Award Details

Award Details: Awardees will also be required to submit periodic reporting. PIs and co-PIs are expected to participate in CVN meetings, present research findings at CVN and CCI poster sessions, and responding to data collection requests by CCI. Any publications that result from this project must include the following statement (contract numbers will be assigned during the award process):

This work was supported [in part] by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, an investment in the advancement of cyber R&D, innovation, and workforce development, under the contract number xcxxx. For more information about CCI, visit www.cyberinitiative.org.

Schedule

EVENT

DATE

Request for Proposals Released

June 1, 2022

Last Day for Q&A

June 15, 2022

Proposals Due

July 1, 2022
Award Notification

 

August 1, 2022
Project Dates

 

September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2023

Proposal Format

Proposals must use 1-inch margins, 11 point (Calibri or arial) font, and single line spacing. The following outline should be followed:

  • Summary Page (1 page)
    • Title of proposed project, contact information for Principal Investigator (PI) and co-principal Investigators (co-PIs)/team members.
    • Summary: Describe the IP or research concept being applied to this project. Demonstrate market need or problem to be solved. Identify next steps for the project and how the team plans to measure success.
  • Proposed Project (up to 4 pages)
    • Define market size and commercial uses for product. Describe how the team plans to find funders and potential customers. Describe current status of project and measurable steps the team will take if awarded this funding.
  • Plan for Impact on the Commonwealth (up to 1 page).
    • Address how the commercialization of this product will impact the Commonwealth.
  • Budget (1 page)
    • Budget items and justification. No indirect costs are allowed.
    • Budget must be approved by OSP

Proposal Submission

Proposals must be submitted to ccicvn@vcu.edu by the project PI no later than the close of the business day (5:00pm) on Friday, July 1, 2022. All proposals must be submitted as a single PDF document.

Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.

Evaluation Criteria

The applications received in response to this RFP will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers and scored according to the following criteria:

  • Strong intellectual merit related to CCI’s mission,
  • Strong broader impacts related to CCI’s mission,
  • Relevance to industry needs,
  • Potential to generate additional funding and revenue,
  • Strong relevance to CVN’s focus areas.