For Professors – Overview – Partnerships Programs

Intellectual Property Mobilization Program (IPM)

Duration	Application Deadline	How to Apply
Up to three years	March 1, 2005	No form – see Application Guidelines
Program Contacts

The next IPM competition is scheduled for 2008.

Program Description

NSERC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) are pleased to announce the next competition in the Intellectual Property Mobilization Program (formerly called the Intellectual Property Management Program).

NSERC

NSERC is the federal granting agency responsible for promoting and supporting research in the natural sciences and engineering. NSERC invests in people, discovery and innovation to build a strong Canadian economy and to improve the quality of life for all Canadians. The agency promotes excellence in the creation and productive use of new knowledge. As part of its mandate, NSERC supports high-quality research with societal or industrial relevance and the transfer of the results to Canadian-based organizations.

CIHR

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is Canada’s premier federal funding agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

SSHRC

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is Canada’s foremost granting agency for research and training in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC is committed to the principles of independent peer review, national competitions, transparency and accountability, and consultative process in order to achieve its objective of fostering and promoting new knowledge in the social sciences and humanities that will contribute to the well-being of Canadians and Canadian society.

Objective

The objective of the Intellectual Property Mobilization (IPM) program is to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology residing in Canadian universities, hospitals and colleges for the benefit of Canada. IPM grants are intended to further strengthen the ability of these institutions to manage their intellectual property, attract potential users and promote the professional development of intellectual property personnel through a network approach. The ultimate goal is to contribute to strengthening Canada’s competitiveness in a knowledge-based global economy.

Description

The IPM program provides funding in partnership with universities, hospitals and colleges to support activities related to managing and transferring intellectual property resulting from research falling under the jurisdiction of the three federal granting agencies. Specifically, the IPM program encourages institutions to coordinate their approaches and activities in support of innovation on a local, regional and national basis. The IPM program also aims to increase the pool of trained technology transfer personnel with hands-on experience available to Canadian post secondary institutions.

The program consists of two components: group awards and awards for internship training programs in technology transfer. The two types of awards are described below. An institution may participate in more than one application as long as there is no overlap in the activities for which funding is requested.

Eligibility

Groups of universities, research hospitals and colleges are eligible to apply for funding. Applications from individual institutions will not be accepted.

In this document “college” refers to community college, institute of technology and Cegep. Only colleges that have been declared eligible to administer grants by one of the three federal granting agencies may apply for IPM funding, as part of a group.

The groups applying for IPM funding can include non-academic organizations, but these organizations are not eligible institutions and must contribute their own resources to the collaboration.

1. Group Awards

New and innovative approaches are strongly encouraged. These awards will provide funding for groups of institutions (universities, hospitals, colleges) to undertake cooperative activities and broaden existing capabilities. In this document, a “group” consists of several eligible institutions, which may be organized in more formal networks or consortia. The lead institution in the group must be a university or research hospital. The groups applying for IPM funding may be in the planning stage, about to be launched or already established.

The funding will enable institutions to participate more effectively in local or regional networks of technology transfer offices and respond to particular regional or local needs. The program is intended to be flexible and to accommodate a variety of activities. Innovative approaches to the transfer of knowledge, particularly arising from social sciences and humanities research, are encouraged. Funds may be used for, but are not limited to, the following activities undertaken from a group perspective:

• administrative costs in support of group meetings and activities;
• salary (shared with institutions) of regional technology transfer expert servicing the needs of member institutions;
• travel expenses for representatives of member institutions to attend meetings of the group;
• outreach to potential users, business development activities and development of international linkages;
• sharing of expertise;
• bundling of technologies and marketing of intellectual property;
• projects of interest to members of the group (for example, developing business cases and plans or demonstrating the commercial potential of research results);
• development of information or training material for faculty and students of member institutions in order to increase their awareness of intellectual property issues and opportunities; and
• in exceptional circumstances, requests from smaller universities or hospitals wishing to establish a technology transfer office will be considered, as a component of a group application.

Institutions must demonstrate their engagement in the group and are expected to contribute to the cost of the activities for which support is requested. The contribution from the institutions may be in cash or in-kind, and can vary from year to year. Overall, the member institutions would normally be expected to cover half of the total cost. Grants will be awarded for up to three years. While there is no limit on the amount of a request, it is anticipated that the awards will be between $100,000 and $400,000 per annum, depending on the number of institutions in the group.

To apply, applicants must follow the Application Guidelines – Group Awards.

Review Procedures and Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a panel with expertise in intellectual property management, internship/training programs, marketing, commercialization, and/or entrepreneurship, in addition to knowledge of the Canadian and international, academic, medical and industrial research and development environments.

The selection criteria for the group applications are described below. The quality and value-added benefit of the proposed activities will be of primary importance.

Potential to increase knowledge and technology transfer

• demonstrated ability and/or potential of institutions in knowledge and technology transfer, as appropriate;
• commitment of institutions to establish or increase their knowledge and technology transfer capability by networking with other institutions;
• relationship of the proposal to the institutions’ strategic plans;
• impact of the proposed group activities on the institutions’ operations and how they will contribute to increasing commercialization;
• extent to which the use of complementary technology transfer resources have been integrated into the proposed activities;
• involvement of, and/or impact on, various partners in the community (business and industry, including SMEs, universities, local municipalities, etc.); and
• potential social, cultural, health and economic benefits to the local, regional or national economy.

  Quality of the proposal

• focus and clarity of the specific objectives of the proposal;
• appropriateness of the proposed activities to meet the objectives of the proposal;
• feasibility of the plan to use the requested resources to carry out the proposed activities;
• appropriateness of the group management structure and membership to achieve the stated objectives; and
• appropriateness of performance measures identified in the proposal.

Demonstrated need for resources and budget

• need for increased level of activities and coordination among institutions to manage and commercialize intellectual property effectively, relative to the nature and extent of the research activity in the institutions;
• need to increase the level of interaction with potential users in the context of the research activity at the institutions;
• challenges of exploiting research for the benefit of Canada in the context of the research activity at the institutions and impact on the local environment;
• cost effectiveness, appropriateness of the overall budget and justification of individual budget items.

2. Awards for Internship Programs in Technology Transfer

An “internship program in technology transfer” refers to a joint comprehensive program undertaken by a consortium of several universities, colleges and/or hospitals, possibly in collaboration with non-academic organizations, to train personnel in the essential aspects of technology transfer and commercialization. The training should be broad but thorough and include hands-on experience with appropriate mentoring in the institutions involved and in organizations such as small- and medium-sized enterprises, government departments, venture capital firms and/or other suitable organizations in Canada and abroad.

An internship training program may be administered by one of the groups of institutions applying for IPM funding (described above). Initiatives may be in the planning stage, about to be launched, or already established. New initiatives can be based on existing training models adapted to meet the needs of the applicants, but the development of new innovative models and delivery mechanisms is also encouraged. The specific activities funded would depend on the status of the group or network. Eligible expenses could include:

• salaries and benefits of staff to develop and manage internship programs;
• contributions to the salaries and benefits of trainees (up to half of total cost);
• development and production of training materials;
• organization of and attendance at workshops and courses;
• related travel costs; and
• training for existing personnel if it is within the scope of the proposed initiative.

The granting agencies anticipate awarding four or five two-year grants to large regional or sectoral initiatives. Applicants are expected to have financial support committed from other partners and/or other federal or provincial agencies. The participating institutions (universities, colleges and hospitals) would be expected to provide, as a minimum, in-kind support in the form of facilities and supervision and/or mentoring for the trainees. It is anticipated that the host organizations will contribute half of the salary of the interns. Awards are expected to be between $100,000 and $300,000 per annum.

To apply, follow the Application Guidelines – Internship Programs in Technology Transfer.

Review Procedures and Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by the same panel that reviews group applications. The panel will have expertise in intellectual property management, internship/training programs, marketing, commercialization and/or entrepreneurship, in addition to knowledge of the Canadian and international, academic, medical and industrial research and development environments.

The selection criteria for the internship programs in technology transfer are described below.

Potential impact – value-added benefit of the initiative

• results anticipated;
• appropriateness and level of the skills to be acquired;
• number of people to be trained;
• synergies to be developed among the technology transfer offices;
• degree of networking to be developed among the trainees; and
• impact on postsecondary institutions.

Quality of the proposal and its comprehensiveness

• feasibility of the plan and milestones for developing and launching the initiative;
• scope and content of the proposed training program;
• originality of the initiative and fit to the needs of the institutions, region and/or sector;
• quality of the management structure and leadership; and
• involvement of the organization hosting interns.

Demonstrated need for resources and budget

• demonstrated need for the initiative;
• appropriateness of the proposed budget for the project;
• justification of the specific budget items;
• effective use of available infrastructure and other resources; and
• other sources of funding.

Anticipated Impact of the IPM Program

The IPM program in the long term will accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology resulting from research funded by the three granting agencies into economic activities, policy initiatives and social benefits, and will contribute to improving the health of Canadians.

In the short term, the impact of IPM-funded activities will be demonstrated by:

• increased involvement of institutions with key players in the community or region;
• evidence of new or improved policies, procedures and practices in intellectual property management;
• increased pool of trained technology transfer personnel available to universities, hospitals and colleges;
• increased awareness by faculty of intellectual property management issues and opportunities (as reflected by the increase in the number of disclosures);
• increased interaction of research institutions with potential users of the research results;
• adoption of new technologies arising out of university research by Canadian businesses;
• transfer of knowledge resulting in new policy directions;
• increased productivity or expansion of Canadian businesses; and
• other specific impacts identified by the applicants.

Reporting

Grantees are required to provide annual reports on performance and expenditures. Payment of subsequent instalments of the grant will depend on satisfactory progress.

Performance will be measured on the degree to which the objectives of the original proposal have been achieved and demonstration of the short-term impacts. All applicants are required in their application to provide baseline information on appropriate performance measures, to identify any additional measures for their proposed activities and to make projections on changes to these measures during the tenure of the grant. A form is provided in the Application Guidelines.

Within six months of the end date of the grant, grantees must submit a final report outlining the outcomes and impact of the funded activities.