2014-2015 Matching Grants

Matching Grants to Washington Non-Profits, For-Profits
for Life Sciences Research & Development Projects

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Agency Type:

Foundation / Corporation

Funding Source:

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Life Sciences Discovery Fund

LOI Date:

01/07/15

Deadline Date:

03/04/15 5:00 PM

Description:

Request a Grant Writer

Large matching grants to Washington for-profit and non-profit organizations that are seeking financial assistance to support life sciences research and development and/or commercialization-related programs and projects. The next pre-proposal submission deadline is January 7, 2015.

The goals of these grants are to improve human health and health care, stimulate economic activity, create and retain jobs, and promote life sciences competitiveness in Washington.

The expected outcome of a Matching Grant depends on the applicant organization:

- If the applicant is a non-profit entity: to markedly enhance the probability that promising new technologies and concepts will be transitioned from the university and non-profit environments and be developed into products.

- If the applicant is a for-profit entity: to help position early-stage Washington life sciences companies with commercially promising health-related technologies for their first significant round of equity investment funding.

These grants support research and development programs and projects focused on demonstrating proof of principle or constructing prototypes. For the purposes of these grants, programs and projects are defined below.

Programs:
A Program is a new research or research infrastructure initiative that accelerates commercialization within a field of study or enhances the life sciences commercialization ecosystem. Programs generally position organizations for future competitiveness and leadership and are designed to be sustainable and enduring.

Program applications may request support for a variety of activities with a clear tie to commercialization of new technologies in health and health care, including, but not limited to:
- Establishing new centers for research that feature commercialization; creating new multi-institutional consortia;
- Creating an enabling translational research resource for Washington investigators (such a resource must have the power to catalyze numerous research efforts and their commercialization, readily serve a significant number of intrastate users, and have broad applicability);
- Acquiring major equipment to accelerate commercialization;
- Training the state’s scientific workforce, particularly in emerging industries; and
- Establishing research infrastructure to support commercialization of multiple technologies over a sustained period of time.

Projects:
Although the work that is appropriate for a Project is broadly similar to that which could be proposed to the Proof of Concept competition, a Project application is different from a Proof of Concept application because:
• The amount of money available through a Proof of Concept award is insufficient in itself to sufficiently advance the Project towards commercially meaningful milestones,
• The Project is supported by partners who commit to jointly fund a project, because it meets shared goals, and
• The Project is likely to attract larger-scale investment funding because of the body of work that will occur.

The required discussion with LSDF staff will determine whether the proposed work is better suited for a Proof of Concept or a Project Matching grant.

GrantWatch ID#:

GrantWatch ID#: 148758

Term of Contract:

Applicants may propose the grant term appropriate to the work proposed, although grants should not exceed two years.

Eligibility:

See RFP and/or Grant Guidelines for full eligibility

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

Eligible non-profit applicant organizations are Washington state governmental or non-profit entities that have recently engaged in competitively funded, sponsored research, or similar activities, and have the personnel, resources, and experience necessary to accomplish work of the type described within this RFP.

Eligible for-profit applicants and their proposed work must meet all the following criteria, either as an organization or in their application, for all Matching grant applications.

- Resources to conduct the work: having or engaging the personnel, resources, and expertise necessary to accomplish the proposed activities.

- Substantial presence in Washington: is determined by LSDF based on factors including, but not limited to: number of full-time equivalent employees who are residents of Washington and their relative levels of compensation compared to other sites of corporate activity; having research and development, administrative, or manufacturing facilities located in Washington; payment of Washington Business and Occupation or other taxes; or any combination of such factors.

- For-profit applicant organizations must be registered business entities within the state of Washington. This will be verified by a corporation search via the State of Washington Business Licensing Service.

- $500,000 or less in equity investment: for-profit applicant organizations must not have raised more than $500,000 in equity financing, including convertible debt. This is consistent with LSDF’s desire to support start-up entities.

- Intellectual property access: applicants must have clear access, such as a license or outright ownership, to any technology required for the proposed work by the time of award execution.

Pre-proposal Conference:

Info Session:
View recorded webcast: http://uofw.adobeconnect.com/p39q4k03m7o/
View presentation slides: http://www.lsdfa.org/documents/pdfs/2014-2015_PoCo_and_Matching_Webcast.pdf

Pre-Application Information:

Applicants for Matching grants must discuss the proposed work with LSDF staff to determine whether a potential pre-proposal is eligible. Eligible pre-proposals must be submitted through LSDF’s online system (at: http://www.cybergrants.com/pls/cybergrants/ao_login.login?x_gm_id=2543&x_proposal_type_id=35074) to be considered for a grant. Only a subset of pre-proposals will be invited to submit a proposal.

Key dates for the upcoming grant cycle are as follows:
Pre-Proposal Submission: January 7, 2015
Notification of Invite/Not Invite Status: February 3, 2015
Proposal Submission: March 4, 2015

To access further application instructions and information, the attached files section below.

Please Note: Both Program and Project Matching grants require cash matching of LSDF funds, although at different levels. Program applications require a cash match of at least 1 to 3, i.e., for every dollar in LSDF funding, at least three dollars must be provided by others. Program applications require a cash match of at least 1 to 1.

The match must be in cash. Examples include:
- Discretionary funds that could otherwise be spent on other activities, which an organization designates for the application.
- Funds that a donor (e.g., foundation, individual, or charitable organization) or investor (e.g., angel or other early-stage investor) pledges to the application.

The following are among those that do not qualify as a match:
- In-kind contributions, including labor, facilities, services, and waived indirect costs.
- Cash that would be contributed to the proposed work irrespective of LSDF funding. For example, if an investment syndicate is prepared to invest $1 million but reduces that investment to $750,000 and uses that $750,000 to match a request of $250,000 from LSDF.
- Funds whose receipt would be coincident with an LSDF award (for example, a Federal SBIR grant), but otherwise not linked with the LSDF application. Although the body of work may be related, the award that was not funded by LSDF will have been funded on its own, independent merits.