UCalifornia-Riverside Announces 2013/14 POC Fund

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development announces the FY2013-2014 Proof of Concept for Technology Commercialization (POC) Award Program. The POC award provides UCR investigators up to $35,000 to further develop a commercializable invention based upon UCR intellectual property not yet licensed.  The effort should address a critical issue, such as creating a prototype, scaling up a process, or obtaining additional data to support a commercialization effort by making the invention more attractive to licensees or investors.  The award shall be used only for technical salaries and benefits, supplies, vivarium or other facilities fees and contracted services directly related to the project.

Funding Criteria

1. An invention disclosure must be submitted to the Office of Technology. Commercialization on the key invention by the date of the application and the University must have clear rights to commercialize the intellectual property.
2. The intellectual property and prospective product must address a need in the marketplace and have a competitive advantage over existing products.
3. The proposed work will start on August 1, 2013 and be accomplished by June 30, 2014.
4. The proposed work should undertake commercial-type prototype development or testing to generate evidence that an existing invention meets a market need, not the creation of new inventions or basic research.
5. Preference will be given to projects that can be completed within six months.
6. Although the maximum award is $35,000, smaller focused projects are encouraged and the anticipated median award size is $20,000.

Application Directions and Format

1. Applications should be submitted by June 27, 2013 at http://research.ucr.edu/ord/funding/opportunities/proof-of-concept-fund.aspx
2. A cover sheet should include the project title, the name of the principal investigator, project participants, and names of inventors on the disclosure.
3. Describe the current status of the invention and the funding history of the research (up to 1 page).
4. Describe the proposed product that would be commercialized and the problem it solves (up to1 page).
5. Discuss potential customers, existing solutions available in the marketplace, and competitive advantages of proposed product. Describe a strategy for entering the market, e.g., licensing to an existing company or starting a new company (up to1 page).
6. Describe research at other universities and how your research is different and superior (up to 1 page).
7. Provide a detailed project description including a timeline, expected outcomes, and processes to achieve those goals. Include additional steps to commercialization that will remain following completion of the POC award project (up to 2 pages).
8. Include a Budget and brief narrative of how resources would be used.

Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed by UCR faculty and outside entrepreneurs who have signed a nondisclosure agreement.  Anonymous reviews will be returned for all proposals.

Source: UC-Riverside Press:http://research.ucr.edu/ord/funding/opportunities/proof-of-concept-fund.aspx