The Technology Development Pilot Program, made possible with funding from the Office of the Vice-Principal, Research (VPR), aims to advance selected inventions with commercial potential to position them for other funding opportunities and make them attractive to potential licensees or investors.
Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation, which supports the VPR’s mission to be an essential catalyst for advancing research and knowledge mobilization, strengthening Queen’s local, national and global impact, will assess the applications and oversee delivery of the pilot program.
Who is eligible to apply?
Queen’s faculty members who:
- are tenured, tenure-track or clinicians with protected research time,
- hold external funding (or have held external funding in FY 2019-20 or 2020-21) from one or more domestic or international sources such as governments (including Tri-council agencies), companies, foundations, or other not-for-profit organizations
- have a research or technology that satisfies or exceeds the definition of Technology Readiness Level 3 , and
- have submitted an Invention Disclosure Form to QPI in advance of this competition or as part of the Application to this Pilot Program.
Apply to the program here!
Invention Disclosure Form (if not previously submitted)
Submit completed applications: qpi.info@queensu.ca.
Deadline to apply:
July 9th, 2021 at 4:00 pm EDT
How much funding is available and when?
Successful applicants may receive $10,000 - $30,000 for their approved project, with funding to be made available in January 2022. Projects are expected to commence in January 2022 and be completed by December 31, 2022.
The total pool of available funding is $60,000; specific project allocations will depend upon number of applications received and individual project requirements. It is anticipated that a minimum of two projects and a maximum of six projects will receive funding.
What criteria will be used to assess applications?
QPI will review and assess applications using the following criteria:
- Is the applicant eligible for this program?
- Does the invention currently meet or exceed the definition of Technology Readiness Level 3 ?
- Will the proposed project and statement of work advance the TRL of the invention and meaningfully strengthen its commercialization potential?
- Is the proposed budget in-line with the proposed activities?
- Can the work be completed in one year and the budget spent by December 31, 2022? Are the human resources in place to complete the proposed activities by December 31, 2022?
- Were other organizations (academic, not-for-profit, government or industry) involved in creating the invention? If yes, do they have any rights to the invention or do they have rights to commercialize the invention?
- Have any third-parties expressed interest in the invention?
What is the adjudication process?
QPI will review, evaluate, and rank the applications using the above criteria, and will recommend the most promising applications, and the amount of funding to be awarded to each, to a review committee, to be organized by the VP Research, for approval. Recommendations will carefully consider the anticipated positive impacts to the development of the technology and the advancement of its commercialization potential in a reasonable period of time.
When will I be notified of funding decisions?
It is anticipated that faculty members will receive notification of project and funding decisions by November 15th, 2021.
What are my obligations if I am awarded funding?
Successful applicants will be required to submit an interim report (due June 30th, 2022) and a final report (due January 31st, 2023) to QPI, which summarizes the progress made relative to the approved statement of work, the technology development and TRL objectives, expenses incurred relative to the approved budget, and any inquiries received from third-parties regarding the technology.
Who do I contact if I have questions?
Please contact Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation if you have questions about the program or application process.
Download the Terms of Reference for this program (PDF 113 KB).