Competitive Capital Program

Competitive Capital Program is sponsored by Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). The Competitive Capital Program is designed to provide grants for capital projects that support the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts by enabling and supporting life sciences workforce development and training, research and development, commercialization and/or manufactur…

The Executive Committee on Research Applications for this grant are no longer being accepted.

Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) - Open Capital Program 2019 Application Deadline: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 – 5:00 PM The MLSC Open Capital Program , one of several Competitive Capital Programs, is designed to provide grants for capital projects that support the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts by enabling and supporting life sciences research and development in the Commonwealth.

Applicants are academic organizations, research institutions, research hospitals, business incubators and other non-profit organizations. MLSC recognizes that investment in capital projects and infrastructure is required to create and sustain the attributes that make Massachusetts attractive to innovation clusters such as life sciences.

This program is designed to help fund high potential economic development projects that promise to make a significant contribution to the state’s life sciences ecosystem. All MGH PI’s are eligible to apply. As the call from the sponsor states, institutions may submit multiple applications provided that each application is authorized by a senior leader.

Dr. Harry Orf will be signing off on each application, and ECOR will be reviewing applications to confirm that there is no scientific overlap. MGH internal deadline: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 5:00pm Sponsor deadline: Friday, December 6, 2019 at 12:00pm Each award is anticipated to provide $2 million (or less) in funds to the eligible applicant.

The MLSC may consider requests greater than $2 million in the event of a very compelling and highly competitive application. Allowable costs for MLSC funds: equipment, research supplies and reagents (no minimum dollar amount), purchase of hardware and software, generation of data via core facilities, purchase of analytical equipment.

Non-fundable expenses include: direct labor, legal expenses, travel, paying off debt, paying board members, paying for operating costs such as rent and utilities, renting space for storage of memory or hard drives, monthly cloud storage fees, other monthly subscription fees, and activities funded by other funding sources.

Applicants must have a full-time MGH appointment at the time of application and during the entire award period Applicants must hold their primary appointment at MGH and their research must be based at MGH Applicants must be requesting funding for life sciences “infrastructure” defined as: “advanced and applied sciences that expand the understanding of human physiology and have the potential to lead to medical advances or therapeutic applications” according to the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), chapter 23I, section 2.

Upon application, the PI must have funds from an additional source that have been identified and raised for the proposed project. ECOR will review applications for scientific overlap, renovation needs, and institutional commitment; ECOR will only approve applications that fit the eligibility requirements. Dr. Harry Orf will sign off on the approved applications, as is required by the MLSC.

Project Summary (300 words). Provide a short summary of your project, its value proposition to MGH and to the broader life sciences community, and how the MLSC funding would leverage something that otherwise would not happen. Renovation Required.

Is a renovation required to implement the proposed project? If yes, please identify the location of the renovation and any other relevant details. Description, Objectives, and Scope of the Project (3 page maximum).

Provide a detailed description of the project and the value to the Commonwealth of providing funding to enable or accelerate the execution of the project. Please address the following criteria that is relevant to your project. Capability of team to execute on, and sustain, the project Who will maintain/schedule/manage the equipment?

Capacity of project to create and/or retain jobs in Massachusetts When would the equipment be up and running for use? Criteria for Research Institutions/Academic Medical Centers: Potential for investment to enable scientific advances and accelerate effective treatment Potential to fill a gap, or accelerate growth, in the Massachusetts research ecosystem How will the equipment be shared? Marketed?

Are there any IP restrictions What is the business model? How will you ensure quality and continued success Potential to contribute to workforce development through training and/or the creation of jobs Project Budget and Budget Justification. Please include the total project cost and requested amount of MLSC funding.

Project Outcomes and Impact (2 page maximum). Describe the potential impact of your proposed project on the following: Job creation in the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts and/or workforce development through education and training Potential scientific advances and/or commercial developments that will be enabled as a result of this capital investment Description of additional sources of funding (1 page maximum).

Please describe the source and amount of funds that have already been committed to the proposed project. Use margins of 0. 5 inches or greater for the list of publications, biosketch and other support Use 11pt font size or greater for the list of publications, biosketch and other support Upload PDF documents only.

Limit characters to A-Z, a-z and 0-9 when naming PDF documents. Do not use periods, commas or dashes in the file name. ECOR accepts all applications online via the MGRI Online Grant Management Portal.

The system has been designed to allow users to: Create a personal profile, which will auto-populate your future ECOR applications Assign a delegate to submit applications on your behalf (optional) View current calls and apply to open opportunities Save and edit current applications in progress Submit completed applications View all your ECOR applications that have been submitted via the Online Grants Management Portal.

Instructions for Applying Online: Complete the application : Once your profile is complete, you will automatically progress through the online application. If you cannot complete the application at one time, “save” the application and return to it at a later time to finish. Before submitting your application, you will have the ability to make changes to the application.

Submit your application : Once you have completed the application click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page. Once you submit it, you will not be able to make further changes unless you send a request to ECOR (note that once the deadline passes, requests to make changes will not be accepted).

To avoid losing your work, remember to save frequently You can only upload PDF documents If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current prior to submitting an application. Click 'Apply' below to begin the application. If you have any questions, please email ECOR.

For more information on the MLSC Open Capital Program click here