Cyber Acceleration (Catapult) Fund 2023

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), which works with academic, government, and industry partners to accelerate the translation of cybersecurity innovations to the marketplace, will run a cohort of teams supported by its Cyber Acceleration, Translation, and Advanced Prototyping for University Linked Technology (CATAPULT) Fund to advance translational research projects among faculty and partners.

This is a market-discovery and commercialization grant, not a research-focused fund.

This fund, an important part of CCl's innovation toolbox, provides funding critical to advance the maturity of cyber discoveries during the critical “Valley of Death” phase of commercialization defined by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

During this phase, innovators prepare for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grants to assist in product development and market testing, but are not yet ready for outside investment. 

The CATAPULT Fund grant requires recipients' participation in the Commonwealth Cyber Incubator + Accelerator Program (CCl+A) to support development of a commercializable product. 

During the 16-week CCI+A program (which will run from mid-May through early November 2023), teams will attend business development workshops and engage with prospective customers, partners, experienced tech mentors, serial entrepreneurs, and others in the ecosystem to evaluate the commercial potential to turn their technologies into successful products, processes, and services.

The CATAPULT Fund will support six to nine awards of up to $50,000 each, with funding increments’ release predicated on achievement of the agreed milestones during the program.

Program Stages

• Part One: Teams will participate in the July cohort of the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), modeled after the NSF’s I-Corps lean startup methodology. 
  
• Part Two: Teams will participate in a series of workshops, roundtables, and panel discussions specifically designed for the cohort with members of the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia cybersecurity ecosystem. 
  
• Part Three: The CCI+A program will culminate with a pitch presentation to cybersecurity investors and industry experts in October. 
• Part Four: Teams that are considered ready will win the opportunity to pitch to investors at the annual regional tech Accelerate Investor event, held in early November in Arlington.

Application Process

Eligibility: Applications must be submitted by a Virginia-based innovation team. For example, this could include faculty at a Virginia public institution of higher education and other team members such as graduate research assistants (GRAs) or partner faculty; or a team comprised of a faculty member at a Virginia institution of higher education (to serve as Principal Investigator, or PI) and team members from a Virginia early-stage startup. 

A faculty member from a Virginia public institution of higher education must serve as the PI; however, the rest of the innovation team can be students, other faculty, or members of a Virginia-based startup. 

Researchers and faculty members at public institutions of higher education in Virginia, who are deemed eligible by their home institution to serve as a Pl on an external grant are eligible to apply as PI.

Number of Applications per Institution: No restrictions or limits.

Number of Applications per Pl: An eligible researcher serving as Pl can participate in only one proposal submission.

Information Session: Interested PIs were required to attend one virtual 30-minute information session before submitting an application. The session outlined the participation expectations. 

If you were unable to attend any of the information sessions, but are interested in submitting a proposal, please email novacci@gmu.edu.

Letter of Intent Guidelines

Principal investigators (PIs) intending to submit a proposal must send a brief email expression of intent to submit proposal to novacci@gmu.edu by February 14, 2023 (preferred date, but accepted on rolling basis until proposal due date). This email expression of intent should contain:

• The name and affiliation of the Pl, contact information (name, phone, email), the title of the innovation team, a title of the project concept, and a very brief description of the intellectual property (IP) or research that is expected to be used in the planned proposal (50 to 100 words). 
• The name, phone numbers, and email of each current team member. Additional team members can be added after submission of Letter of Intent.

Application Requirements

Applications should use a 12-point font and 1-inch margins and must include these sections:

Title page (one page): Title of the proposed project, and the name, affiliation, and contact information for the Pl (for example, faculty member of a Virginia public research institution) and each team member

Summary (limit one page): Provide a brief, high-level description of the IP or research concepts to be applied and the project purpose. 

• Describe the market need or problem to be solved, shortcoming of current solutions, expected outcomes of the proposed project and how these outcomes will add value to the technology and to business outcomes.
• Identify the next steps toward commercialization if this phase is successful and potential sources for additional funding.

Commercialization Potential (limit one page): List all commercial and paid government uses for the cyber innovation, define the market size, and the potential advantages over existing products. 

• Describe how the new technology would support and drive business outcomes for customers. 
• Describe how the company expects to engage funders and potential customers. 
• Provide information on potential partners for commercialization and how the startup to be funded would engage such partners effectively. 
• Describe the status of the IP or research concepts being utilized and — if IP is to be licensed or acquired — provide a plan for doing so. Explain how the content of this program will be of benefit to you.

Project Plan (limit two pages): Describe in detail the proposed work plan to take the technology from research to market, including the overall strategy, key milestones, and expected product outcomes.

Provide citations to existing research and applications that have already been tested and validated. 

Include a timetable with detailed milestones (including the key milestones noted previously) that can be used to evaluate progress throughout the project towards commercialization, as well as anticipated results for each milestone and an explanation of how meeting each milestone will move the project toward commercialization. 

Emphasize any novel aspects associated with the project and identify and flag key risks associated with the project. Provide specific references to any key literature.

List any industry conferences you plan to attend where you can interview potential customers. Attending such conferences is key to understanding the market.

Budget (limit one page): Provide a detailed budget for the proposed work. You cannot charge indirect costs. 

Note all resources will be awarded to the faculty Pl who can then make sub-awards to partners, Virginia-based startups, etc., as applicable.

Evaluate travel and other expenses related to your market research, including mileage and accommodation. 

Budgets should be submitted to your institution's Office of Sponsored Programs and approved by your academic institution according to the institution's policies and procedures in advance of submission of the application.

Proposals will be reviewed by a group of corporate executives and innovation investment experts working with the NoVA Node of the CCI to evaluate the commercial potential of the related cyber innovations. 

The committee will review proposals against appropriate criteria and recommend awardees to the CCl+A leadership team.

Awards

Total Program Funding: $450,000

Maximum Award Amount: $50,000 per proposal

Award Conditions: Successful applicant teams are expected to participate fully in CCI activities, including providing materials needed for reports, participation in CCI meetings, and responding to data collection requests by the CCI. 

All publications and presentations resulting from the grant should acknowledge support from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.

Frequently Asked Questions