CIHR's Commercialization Programs
| Important Dates | |
| Opportunity Launched | December 2005 |
| Content Last Updated | September 15, 2006 (Eligibility) |
|
A - March 1, 2006 |
Letter of Intent Deadline - Letters of Intent must be emailed to epalencsar@cihr-irsc.gc.ca by this date. |
|
A - April 1, 2006 |
Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. |
|
A - Mid-July 2006 |
Anticipated notification of decision. |
|
A - August 1, 2006 |
Anticipated start date. |
| * Note: This funding opportunity has 3 competitions (A, B and C). Both Phase I and Phase II applications will be reviewed in every competition. | |
| Summary | |
| Proof of Principle Phase I (POP-I) Grants will fund proof of principle research projects of up to 12 months duration designed to advance discoveries/inventions towards commercializable technologies, with a view to attract new investment and create new science-based businesses. Proof of Principle Phase II (POP-II) Grants will fund proof of principle research projects up to 12 months duration at the co-investment stage undertaking follow-on proof of principle activities in partnership with a non-academic investor. This funding opportunity is aimed at providing a platform to better enable the academic institution/researcher to move the discovery/invention further down the innovation pipeline. Duration of Projects:
Funds Available: CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
| |
Background
Objectives and Relevant Research Areas
Eligibility
Allowable Costs
Peer Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information
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. Part of CIHR's mandate is to encourage innovation, facilitate the commercialization of the results of health research in Canada and promote economic development through health research in Canada .
CIHR is committed to enabling universities and hospitals to maximize the impact of their knowledge and technology resources for the betterment of healthcare and the societal and economic benefits that flow from it. With respect to commercialization, CIHR endeavours to facilitate the development and delivery of Canadian health discoveries and related products and services for domestic and international markets.
Knowledge and technology diffusion and application are key to building an innovative society and enabling economic benefit through decreased health costs, improved efficiencies and successful commercialization of the Canadian knowledge base. While knowledge creation is an essential element in the equation, it is knowledge translation activities that deliver knowledge in the form of policy, information, products and services to government, communities, users and the public.
In recognition of this, academic institutions (universities and hospitals) have been implementing mechanisms to increase the socioeconomic relevance/impact of academic research, resulting in an increasing number of technology disclosures. Yet attention to facilitate commercial benefit to Canada from these disclosures has not kept pace and additional resources are required to better validate opportunities that would otherwise be missed or exploited by others.
Many of the inventions/discoveries arising through academic research are at a stage beyond discovery-driven research and yet are often of uncertain commercial utility or insufficiently developed to be of interest to relevant receptor companies and potential investors. Such intellectual property may never be licensed or commercialized, or take years to do so, without additional targeted research, market research, investment and business development activities. These activities are of paramount importance, because they serve to validate, better define and add value to the intellectual property, particularly proof of principle research and prototype development. Such activities require resources that typically cannot be obtained through the traditional funding mechanisms. CIHR's Proof of Principle Program aims at filling part of this funding gap.
Definition of Intellectual Property (IP): Intellectual Property means all materials, concepts, know-how, formulae, inventions, improvements, industrial designs, processes, patterns, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, compilations of information, patents and patent applications, copyrights, trade secrets, technology, technical information, software, prototypes and specifications, including any rights to apply for protections under statutory proceedings available for those purposes, provided they are capable of protection at law.
The objectives of this program are to:
The goal of the Proof of Principle Program is to facilitate and improve the commercial transfer of knowledge and technology resulting from academic health research for the benefit of Canadians.
The stage of research that best fits the POP Phase I is one where the IP has been subjected to an initial technology assessment; and where one has already worked out what the novel invention is, what is needed to be protected (or is protected), what will be the product/process/service, and what will be commercialized. Usually applicants have significant data and are planning or expanding critical and confirmatory proof of principle tests in the proposal.
The stage that best fits the POP Phase II is one where the principle of the IP has already been proven and the applicants have acquired interest from companies willing to invest in the new technology. The proposal should be for further confirmatory testing of the IP.
Many applications have been rejected because the stage of research was too early for the Proof of Principle program. Industry-partnered funding opportunities are available for research that is still at the discovery stage.
Individuals: The eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding (grant) programs apply. Please refer to Eligibility for CIHR Grants and Awards. It is not a prerequisite to have Phase I funding in order to apply to Phase II.
Institutions: The business office of the institution of an eligible Principal Investigator generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the eligibility requirements for Institutions on the CIHR Website in Section 1 of the Grants and Awards Guide. (Updated: 2006-09-15)
Groups: For group applications involving more than one institution, inter-institutional agreements must be in place. For agreements with foreign institutions/organizations, CIHR requests a statement from the Canadian academic institution confirming that every reasonable effort has been made to have the results of the supported research exploited in Canada for the benefit of Canadians.
Co-Investors (Phase II grants only): CIHR will consider co-investment with an organization that can further the development of the product, such as venture capital, provincial and municipal governments, start-up companies and SMEs. Canada's research based pharmaceutical (Rx&D) companies are directed to apply through the CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program.
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) will not be considered under this RFA. (Updated: 2006-06-01)
Eligibility requirements specific to this Request for Applications include the following:
Phases I & II
Phase I only
Phase II only
Applicants should review Use of Grant Funds and Eligibility of Expenses, Employment under Grants within the General Guidelines for All Research Grants for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities. Phase II applications must respect the guidelines for the Industry-Partnered Programs.
The Full Application must provide a detailed justification of all costs (research/technical/ commercial) requested from the CIHR as well as contributions by all other sources in order to be recognized and approved through peer review .
Up to 20% of the requested budget can be for eligible expenses incurred through the implementation of the commercial plan for the specific IP. Such eligible expenses are as follows:
The use of outside expertise for the preparation of the commercial plan will be considered an eligible expense (capped at $10,000) if it is a contract with another academic institution, a business development office, a private consultant, or equivalent. This expense must be fully justified in the budget module.
POP applications will be evaluated by a peer review committee established by CIHR and comprised of experts in health research, intellectual property management, technology transfer, commercialization, institute-industry relationships, entrepreneurship, and/or venture capital investors. Names of committee members are published on the CIHR website. The committee will follow the CIHR peer review process.
For each application, the research and technical plan will be assessed together with essential elements of a commercial plan. Each application is evaluated on its own merit in relation to the objectives of the POP Initiative and using the following evaluation criteria. Please note that a pplications must be rated in the fundable range on both criteria in order to be considered for funding.
I) Criteria for Research and Technical Plan
II) Criteria for Commercialization Plan
On completion of the peer review, applications passing on each of the two above criteria will be ranked according to merit scores (ratings) and the funding recommendations of the committee will be submitted to CIHR. Applications will be funded from the top-ranked down as far as the quality of the applications and the budget will allow.
Common Peer Review Committee Concerns
All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Request for Applications. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.
In addition to CIHR standard guidelines and requirements, the following special conditions shall apply:
All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.
CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this Request for Applications and all matters pertaining thereto.
The Parties, while respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, will also be bound by the PIPEDA. All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under cost-sharing agreements related to the Request for Applications will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
Grant recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.
CIHR will assess the performance of the Proof of Principle Initiatives through ongoing monitoring and periodic evaluation. CIHR is committed to informing Canadians about the performance of all its initiatives and the results that they deliver.
Letters of Intent and Full Applications should be prepared and submitted by the Principal Investigator in cooperation with the Technology Transfer Office (or equivalent) of an eligible institution. There is no registration step required.
There are two steps in applying to this RFA:
Please see the Proof of Principle Program checklist for Letter of Intent for details on how to submit a Letter of Intent.
(Note: Full Applications without Letters of Intent will NOT be considered).
Please see the Proof of Principle Program checklist for full application for details on how to submit a full application to this program.
For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Edit Palencsar
Program Coordinator
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 946-0095
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: epalencsar@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
