Deshpande Center Momentum Grants is sponsored by MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. Supports MIT Principal Investigators in accelerating promising technologies toward real-world impact, including climate-related innovations.

Momentum Grants – Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation The Deshpande Center offers Momentum Grants jointly with the MIT Climate Project, and the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS). Momentum Grants are designed to assist faculty in derisking their technology with an aim to real-world impact.

In addition to funding, awardees will receive support from Deshpande Center Catalysts for expert commercialization guidance. We encourage proposals from across the Institute. Two grant tracks are available: Deshpande and Climate Project Through the Climate Project, MIT is looking for bold, integrative proposals that advance solutions to one of the defining challenges of our time: building well-being for people and the planet.

The purpose of the MIT Climate Project is to make demonstrative, replicable progress at speed. Its aim is to develop issue- and place-based engagement and pilots with communities that span discovery, design, and demonstration, enabling ideas to move from the lab to lived environments.

The MIT HEALS Collaborative is dedicated to advancing transformative research that redefines how we understand and approach challenges in health and the life sciences.

HEALS is not just about funding individual projects but about creating a new model for collaboration, where researchers from Schools and the College, Departments, and disciplines from across MIT come together to ask entirely new questions and pioneer groundbreaking solutions. The proposed work must touch on a key aspect of health and/or the life sciences, consistent with the core mission of HEALS.

Full application instructions will be available when the call opens. For questions regarding project fit or scope, reach out to Andi Blumenau ( ablumen@mit. edu ) at the Deshpande Center.

Please note dates are tentative and subject to change. June 1, 2026 : Call for pre-proposals opens July 13 – Pre-proposals due Mid-September – Full proposal notifications sent Oct 19 – Full proposals due (by invitation only) Nov 16 & 17 – Presentations to full Selection Committee(s) December – Grants awarded All MIT faculty and principal investigators (PI) are eligible. Applications must be submitted by MIT employees with PI status.

Funding is for research in MIT laboratories Outside and cross-disciplinary collaborations are welcome. Funding may not be used for PI salaries but may be used to support other team members such as postdocs and graduate students. Momentum grants are awarded in the amount of $125,000.

This includes F&A. Each grant’s period of performance is designed for one year. Up to six (6) grants will be awarded per year.

All selected projects get the full assistance of the Deshpande Center. Momentum Grants will be subject to the standard MIT F&A rate of 62% . Submissions will be evaluated for both technology readiness and fit with the Deshpande Center’s and the respective initiative’s missions.

The promise of an idea’s impact potential is a combination of a unique, transformative solution and the passion and commitment of the team behind it – researchers committed to seeing the technology become a viable product. If you have questions about the criteria or your technology’s fit with the Deshpande mission, please contact Andi Blumenau at ablumen@mit. edu .

Pre-proposals will be reviewed with the following criteria: Transformative ideas that confront the climate and energy, and health challenges before us and have potential for lasting impact on people and the planet. Already generated data (technology derisking underway) and/or proof of principle. Competitive advantage of the new technology identified in comparison with current solutions.

Community well-being impact is clearly characterized and quantified. (Climate only) Awareness of policy support vs. economic drivers for idea success. (Climate only) Clear potential the project could result in a commercial transaction, such as licensing or a spinout.

Project is one to three years away from a commercialization transaction. Some understanding of the techno-economic constraints for the proposed solution.

At least one team member with demonstrated passion and commitment to commercialization, such as but not limited to: Learning from another university entrepreneurial program (e.g. MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund, Faculty Founders, The Engine’s Blueprint); or Talking with potential customers and gaining insight into the market need At least one team member committed to seeing the technology become a viable product, such as: A PI who either has spun out a company before, or demonstrates interest in being a scientific founder* A postdoc, doctoral student or qualified outside candidate willing to be the agent for a spinout* *Both may be waived for a clear licensing opportunity At least one team member (an advisor is fine) who represents the target industry.

Reason to believe the idea is protectable and free of any commitments to other companies. This is a multistage selection process . Applicants with the most-compelling pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal and presentation.

These will be evaluated with the following additional criteria: Idea’s competitive advantage researched, identified and quantified in comparison to existing approaches.

Techno-economic analysis to support the proposed solution Project scope (experiments, data, proof of concept) that reflects the limitations of a $125,000 budget and one-year timeline Clear need for Climate Project/HEALS and Deshpande Center support (e.g. funding and mentoring)