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AGILITY. ABILITY. ACTION.
2015 Applied Research Seed Funding Program Call for Proposals The Illinois Applied Research Institute invites proposals for funding through its Applied Research Seed Funding Program. The Seed Program will position ARI in partnership with University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐Champaign faculty to pursue major funding programs in applied research across a wide variety of disciplines. This document provides an overview of the Seed Program, topical areas of interest, key dates, and proposal submission guidelines. The mission of the Illinois Applied Research Institute is to execute applied research for the government and commercial sectors that enhances economic development for Illinois and the nation, bolsters the University reputation both as a scientific and research leader, and enhances its ability to address national needs. Integral to this mission is providing customers with solutions based on applied research not normally carried out by UIUC faculty, while underpinned with world-­‐
class science. ARI intends to develop deep expertise in a few, select areas as it becomes the trusted partner for high quality and timely solutions in those areas. The Applied Research Seed Program will initiate partnerships among UIUC faculty and researchers to help address these objectives and position ARI to pursue substantial mission-­‐driven agency1 funding. Timeline •
Call for proposal issue date: 19 February 2015 •
Non-­‐mandatory Email-­‐of-­‐intent due date: 13 March 2015 •
Proposal (two to four pages) due date: 3 April 2015 •
Finalists’ in-­‐person proposal presentation to ARI staff: 27 April 2015 •
Funding decision anticipation date: 1 May 2015 •
Period of performance: 16 May 2015 to 15 January 2016 •
Final presentation to ARI staff in January 2016 Objectives The objectives of the Seed Funding Program are three-­‐fold: 1
Among others, the U.S. mission-driven agencies include the DoD components (Army, Navy, Air Force, DARPA, DTRA),
DOE, DHS, NASA, etc.
Applied Research Institute Seed Funding Program
•
Laying down the ground work for exciting and promising ideas for white papers and future applied research programs that leverage UIUC faculty expertise in areas of interest to ARI •
Encouraging UIUC faculty and ARI staff to interact with each other, fostering trust, mutual respect and understanding •
Raising the awareness of ARI as a complementary partner Funding The 2015 Seed Program is expected to support at least five projects. Awards are anticipated to range from $20,000 to $50,000. ARI seed funding will not support existing programs that are receiving funding from other sources. Topic Areas Proposals should fall under the following topical areas and have the potential to position ARI to win major applied research programs in partnership with UIUC. •
Advanced materials •
Big Data/data analytics/visual analytics •
Cybersecurity •
Manufacturing and digital manufacturing technologies •
Smart cities technologies (energy, transportation, infrastructure) •
Other – Proposals in other topical areas may be considered. Such proposals — since they represent a departure from identified focus areas of this Call for Proposals — must STRONGLY convey their potential to lead to a major program at a mission-­‐driven agency, preferably as a response to an existing BAA. Eligible Applicants Principal investigators (PIs) must be a member of the UIUC faculty or a full-­‐time research academic professional. PIs must have their primary appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐
Champaign. Post-­‐doctoral researchers and visiting research scientists are not permitted to submit proposals as PIs, though they may participate as Project team members. External partnerships are encouraged, but external partners must supply their own funding. Each applicant is limited to one proposal submission as an individual PI; one additional submission is allowed as a co-­‐PI. (PIs of 2014 Seed Projects are eligible for support in the 2015 program.) Citizenship or residency status of the PI and other project participants is not a selection criterion. Expected Outcomes The principal deliverable for every Project is a white paper and/or feasibility demonstration (simulation or proof of concept) that can be leveraged to address one or more specific mission-­‐
driven agency programs or demonstrable agency needs. The intent is for strategic and/or major applied research funding awards to evolve from these Projects (with the understanding that Seed Projects may include a complementary fundamental research component). Applicants are expected to identify programs and mission-­‐driven agencies likely to be interested in the Project outcomes. 2
Applied Research Institute Seed Funding Program
ARI will promote and leverage Project deliverables towards the development of major program opportunities. ARI also will utilize Project deliverables and outcomes (such as evaluation tools, software new algorithms or test results) for internal research purposes, including their validation, evaluation and further refinement. Project Guidance Structure and oversight Start date: 16 May 2015 (though later start dates are possible) End date: 15 January 2016 (No cost extensions will not be offered) Duration: Three to eight months. Each Project will be assigned an ARI Program Manager to monitor progress; the Program Manager (PM) will actively participate in the Project when appropriate. The assigned ARI PM will have his own internal budget to allocate time to the Project in order to contribute and be actively engaged. PMs have access to internal funds for student interns (graduate and undergraduate) that can be added to the project as additional manpower. Frequent interactions are encouraged with the PM. Beyond these guidelines, the composition and execution of the Project will be the responsibility of the PI(s). Projects may include any combination of graduate students, postdocs, professional staff and undergraduate students. A limited amount of travel to meet with potential future customers and/or partners or present results at focused, mission-­‐driven agency conferences or meetings is allowable. Such travel can be included in the budget, but individual travel will need prior approval from ARI. Expenditures for supplies and equipment is also permissible but should be a small percentage of the total award. Budget Proposals must include a Project budget; awards are expected to range from $20,000 to $50,000. A maximum of two weeks of summer salary is allowed for faculty PIs of a given project, and only domestic travel for business development and/or customer interaction can be charged, i.e., no common conference travel should be proposed. ARI will retain title to any equipment purchased for use in the ARI Seed Program. The following should be included: Faculty salaries $n,nnn Professional/post doc salaries n,nnn Graduate student salaries n,nnn Fringe benefits n,nnn Total salaries and fringes $nn,nnn Travel nnn Supplies and miscellaneous costs nnn Total cost $nn,nnn ARI monies used for the Seed Projects are unrestricted internal funds. Fringe benefits should be included in the budget, but no F&A nor tuition remission should be applied. Deliverables and technical milestones Each Project must specify an end-­‐deliverable that can be leveraged to target a specific mission-­‐
driven agency program. Examples of such deliverables include a white paper (which must be co-­‐
authored with ARI staff) and/or a feasibility demonstration (simulation or proof of concept). 3
Applied Research Institute Seed Funding Program
Specificity in the Project deliverables and likelihood of future mission-­‐driven agency support are leading evaluation criteria. In addition, for Projects slated to extend beyond three months, the PI(s) must specify technical milestones to be completed in each quarter. These milestones should represent substantial progress toward Project objectives. Once funded, PIs will also be expected to provide a brief quarterly report assessing progress and corrective actions to be taken if any are warranted. A presentation to ARI staff on project outcomes and results at the conclusion of the funding period is expected. Proposal Submission Instructions and Deadlines A non-­‐mandatory email-­‐of-­‐intent should be sent to Zach Thomas at rzthomas@illinois.edu before 13 March 2015. Include the PI and co-­‐PI names and affiliations, and the tentative title and topical area of the Project. Proposals should identify specific ARI Program Managers or collaborators relevant to the proposal topic. Proposals must follow the outline provided in Appendix A and be submitted in PDF format. Proposals are limited to two to four pages, with one-­‐inch margins including all figures, tables, and graphs, black text, 10 point font or larger. Figures, tables, and graphs must be legible. The deadline for submission of proposals is 3 April 2015, 5 PM Central time. Proposals are to be submitted via the web at: http://appliedresearch.illinois.edu/working-­‐us/seed-­‐funding-­‐program Selection Criteria, Selection Process and Estimated Award Date Decisions and notification of awardees are expected by 1 May 2015. The evaluation criteria include: 1. Quality of the proposed applied research, and the likelihood of success as evidenced by prior results and expertise of the team 2. Quality of the proposed plan of work and appropriateness of the scope and proposed allocation of resources and project time line 3. Potential of deliverables to position ARI/UIUC to pursue major applied research opportunities, i.e., does the Project have the potential to lead to an externally-­‐sponsored applied research program? 4. Degree of alignment of the Project with ARI priority areas and the ARI goal of become a leading world-­‐class applied research institute Projects will be reviewed by ARI leadership and technical staff. An initial screening will be conducted to eliminate proposals that do not include required information or proposals that do not follow instructions specified in the proposal template. If warranted, ARI may reach out to obtain clarifications from the PIs. Finalists will be asked to make a brief presentation about their proposed Project on 27 April 2015 at ARI in the University of Illinois Research Park. Any funding decision is contingent upon an agreed-­‐upon intellectual property (IP) agreement. The ARI Director will make final funding decisions. 4
Applied Research Institute Seed Funding Program
Appendix A: Proposal Outline Instructions Please complete the entire document using only the Headings and Sections outlined below. Sections 1-­‐4 are limited to two to four regular pages with one-­‐inch margins, including all figures, tables, and graphs. Font must be black and 10 point or larger. Figures, tables, and graphs must be legible. Proposals should be submitted in PDF format via the submission form available at the website http://appliedresearch.illinois.edu/working-­‐us/seed-­‐funding-­‐program A non-­‐mandatory email-­‐of-­‐intent should be sent to Zach Thomas at rzthomas@illinois.edu before 13 April 2015. Include the PI and co-­‐PI names and affiliations, and the tentative title and topical area of the Project. ________________________________ Title PI(s) Name and Department(s)/College(s) Area(s) of technical interest Area of technical interest should be selected from among: Advanced materials; Big Data/data analytics/visual analytics; Cybersecurity; Manufacturing and digital manufacturing technologies; Smart cities technologies (energy, transportation, infrastructure); or Other ______________________________
Proposed start date: _______________ End date: _______________ Project cost_______________ Business office contact name and email: __________________________________________________ 1. Description and significance of the proposed innovation and/or outcomes of the Project Present the limitations of existing methods and the potential improvement or impact that can be anticipated from further development and application of the Project innovations. Include a diagram or figure that best summarizes the nature of the end-­‐project deliverable/outcome. Explanatory notes describing the diagram or figure and how it will be utilized or lead to enhanced performance should be included in the figure caption or within the diagram itself. 2. Prior work and foundation for the proposed Project Briefly discuss prior work and preliminary results that provide the foundation for the proposed Project. In particular, identify the level of maturity of existing research and the level to which you anticipate being able to advance its maturity by the end of the Project. For example, do you anticipate refining the technology to address a specific application, or validate its use in addressing a specific requirement or application? The use of Technology Readiness Levels is strongly encouraged in describing the status of the technology and Project outcomes. The form used for submitting proposals will ask where a project stands on the TRL spectrum and where the PI anticipates seed 5
Applied Research Institute Seed Funding Program
funding will advance that standing. 3. Technical objectives, deliverables and work plan Provide a brief description of the proposed approach, technological objectives, and evaluation methods to be pursued. Provide tasks and subtasks to be completed under the Project. Include details on intermediate and final deliverables and/or milestones if applicable. 4. Mission-­‐driven agency applications targets Specify how one or more mission-­‐driven agencies (please identify which ones) can benefit from further development of the Project deliverables. If possible, specify details on mission-­‐driven agency needs, and related BAAs. If the Project outcome can be applied to other agencies or corporate customers, list these and the needs that can be addressed for these customers. 5. References (Not included in the four-­‐page limit) Up to three references for papers most relevant to the proposed Project can be listed. 6. Biographical sketches (Not included in the four-­‐page limit) A biographical sketch of the PI (and co-­‐PI if applicable) should be attached. Biosketches should not exceed two pages and should include education, appointments, honors and awards, synergistic activities, and may include five relevant publications, and a listing of relevant funding awards during the last five years. 7. Proposed budget (Not included in the four page-­‐limit) A proposed budget must be included. The level of detail should be consistent with the example provided in the Seed Program call. 8. Letters of support (Optional) (Not included in the four-­‐page limit) Up to three letters from potential customers or partners confirming interest in the project may be attached. 6