Higher Education Proof-of-Concept

Higher Education Proof-of-Concept is sponsored by Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. Supports early-stage technology commercialization in Virginia's higher education institutions.

Applicants that meet the eligibility criteria set forth below are invited to seek HE POC funding. * Be one of the following: * Virginia public or private institution of higher education or its associated intellectual property foundation that adopts a policy regarding the ownership, protection, assignment, and use of intellectual property pursuant toCode of Virginia, Section 23.

1-1303 * Federal research facility located in Virginia * University research consortium that includes Virginia college and university member institutions * Other nonprofit research institution located in Virginia whose purpose includes performing basic and/or applied scientific research * Have a proposed technology that addresses one of the following targeted industries: * Cybersecurity and cyber-physical systems * IT (includes data science and analytics) * Life and health sciences * Modeling and simulation _VIPC reserves sole discretion to determine whether a particular applicant meets the definition of an eligible institution and to provide CCF funding to applicants that may not align exactly with this eligibility criteria.

VIPC also reserves the right to run basic credit and background checks on individuals listed in the application. _ Eligible applicants may seek funding through one of two tracks. Both tracks are intended to support the translation of Virginia research-derived innovations into commercial products and generally support early-stage technologies (typically TRL 2-5).

Basic customer discovery training and an in-depth exploration of the technology’s commercial potential is strongly encouraged prior to the HE POC project’s period of performance. Applicants are expected to have filed one or more invention disclosure(s) related to the subject technology.

Track 1 provides funding up to $75,000 and is intended to support all industry sectors, particularly projects that are more straightforward to implement and can achieve meaningful results on a shorter timeline, such as those in physical sciences or information and data technologies. Applicants should select Track 1 based on the type and scope of the technology being developed, rather than the ultimate sector it may serve.

Track 1 grants typically last 6-9 months and require at least two milestones, with one or more being commercial in nature. Track 2 provides funding up to $150,000 for applicants pursuing technologies that generally involve higher development costs or longer timelines, such as those commonly found in life sciences, health technologies, or aerospace.

Track 2 grants require at least three milestones, with one or more being commercial in nature. For both Track 1 and Track 2, milestones must be tangible with objectively measurable endpoints that are proposed to overcome one or more specific, identifiable, and externally validated hurdles to commercialization.

#### Advanced Commercialization Grant At the discretion of VIPC, eligible applicants may be invited to seek up to $300,000 to support more advanced technology commercialization efforts (typically TRL 5-7).

This opportunity is not restricted by receipt of a prior CCF grant, though for applicants that have successfully executed a CCF award, this award decision will take into consideration performance on and compliance with the prior award(s) and project timelines will not overlap. Eligible applicants will be deemed by VIPC to have exceptional strategic value for Virginia. The HE POC grant application process is two-stage.

All interested applicants who wish to be considered for HE POC funding must complete the pre-proposal. Following a down-select process, the most competitive applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. **Pre-Proposal Application** The pre-proposal introduces the applicant’s technology, project, and commercialization goals.

At this stage, applicants will provide administrative details about their organization, points-of-contact, and proposed project, as well as briefly address their technology and solution, associated intellectual property (IP), project plan and milestones, budget estimates, market need and opportunity, commercialization plans, and expected outcomes.

**Full Proposal Application** After an initial review of the pre-proposal submissions by VIPC, a subset of submissions that have met all of the eligibility requirements and are the most commercially compelling will be invited to submit a full proposal.

The full proposal involves a more detailed explanation of the proposed CCF project and addressing how CCF funding will enhance and/or accelerate the commercialization potential of the underlying technology. Applicants will have the ability to adjust or build on their responses in the pre-proposal submission.

Applications (both pre-proposal and full proposal) must be submitted through the CCF online portal by an authorized representative of the applicant institution’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) or equivalent authority.

Prior to submission, the project team is encouraged to prepare their application’s content using the VIPC-provided application worksheet and coordinate provision of this content and other application components with OSP. An email will be sent to the OSP submitter confirming VIPC’s receipt of each submission. A minimum one-to-one match is required.

Matching funds are monies that will be supplied by the applicant in an amount that equals or exceeds the CCF request. Matching funds may come from federal, foundation, private, or other non-Commonwealth of Virginia sources and must support the proposed CCF project and be spent during its period of performance.

As it relates to Commonwealth of Virginia sources, however, the salary of a public university researcher and/or associated indirect costs, even if considered state monies, may be used as the source of matching funds. More examples of eligible and ineligible sources of matching funds can be found in the FAQs. Project timelines are expected to be sufficient to accomplish 2-3 key milestones and may range from 6-15 months.

However, projects that are shorter or longer are acceptable. CCF HE POC applications are evaluated through a multi-stage process. Pre-proposals will be reviewed by VIPC for general compliance and suitability for CCF funding.

Applicants whose pre-proposals exhibit strong potential for the underlying technology to be developed into a best-in-class solution with significant market potential will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals will undergo an initial review by VIPC.

Applicants will then be invited to present their proposed project to an external review committee (ERC) comprised of 4-5 individuals qualified to evaluate proposals through a business and/or investor lens. These presentations allow the ERC to seek clarifying information about the application and are required of all applicants submitting full proposals.

Following the ERC presentations, committee members will competitively assess the applications and provide their evaluations to VIPC. ### Funding Recommendations VIPC will consider ERC input when making funding recommendations to VIPC’s President and CEO, who has final approval authority.

Funding outcomes may include supporting the project as proposed, supporting a subset or modified set of milestones, or approving a different funding level than requested. Applicants whose proposals are not selected will be offered feedback explaining the reason(s) for the decision and, if applicable, invited to resubmit in a subsequent round. Funding decisions are expected approximately two weeks following the ERC presentations.

An application will be evaluated on the following criteria: * Evidence of market need for the product and whether the applicant has a clear understanding of the opportunity * How the technology uniquely addresses the market need and the probability that it can form the basis of a best-in-class product or service * Technical risk(s) associated with the project and whether the applicant has a clear understanding of the risk(s) * Clear potential for the proposed project to retire one or more technical and/or commercial risks * Clear development milestones for the project that are associated with a realistic timeline * Clear budget with transparent and efficient use of funds related to executing the milestones * General strength of the proposal and the applicant’s technology’s overall potential to scale into a successful commercial product or service