2019 Innovation to Commercialization (I2C)Information Session Webinar

Andrew Biagtan| Coordinator, Research Competitions

2

Presentation Agenda• Purpose of the I2C Competition• Insights from a past I2C Award recipient• Highlighting some of our 2018 I2C award recipients• Award Amount and Duration• Eligibility Requirements• Technological Readiness• Competition Partners• Phase II - Match Funding• Budget and eligible expenses• Mitacs Accelerate partnership• Key Competition Dates• How to Apply• Evaluation Criteria• Contact Information

3

Purpose of the I2C Competition

4

Insights from a 2017 I2C Award Recipient

Dr. Richard Lester

2017 Innovation to Commercialization Award Recipient

Associate Professor, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of British Columbia

Project Title: Smart Text Analytic Tools (STAT) for analysis of patient-centered communications to strengthen health systems in BC

5

Highlighting some of our 2018 I2C Award Recipients

Siamak ArzanpourFaculty of Applied Science, SFUPartner: Rick Hansen Institute

Jaimie BorisoffApplied Research, BCIT

Megan LevingsFaculty of Medicine, UBC

An Advanced Wearable Robotic Exoskeleton for Assisting People with Lower Limb Disabilities

AAPLE-Walk: A Novel Gait-Mimicking Exercise Machine for Cardiovascular Fitness and Rehabilitation

Engineered T Regulatory Cells to Treat Crohn’s Disease

6

Award Amount & Duration

Phase I: 2 years$150,000/year

Phase II: 2 years• Up to $75,000/year from

MSFHR• Up to $75,000/year in

matched funds from partner

MSFHR Partner

MSFHR

Applicant

Budget envelope: $1,350,000

7

Who is eligible to apply?• The applicant must hold an appointment at a BC university, health

authority or research institute that has a memorandum of understanding with MSFHR.

• The applicant must conduct research with a clear link to human health

• The bulk of the proposed research and commercialization activities must be conducted in BC

• The IP that provides the basis of the application must:

• Be at or past active research and development for proof-of-principle (TRL3)

• Not be past the level of a successfully-demonstrated product or technology (i.e. prototype, final formulation, etc.) (TRL6)

• Have been subjected to an initial IP assessment by a technology transfer office, or equivalen

8

• The applicant cannot currently hold an MSFHR Scholar or HP-I award (new this year)

• Individuals can be designated as a primary applicant on one I2C application only. They can be designated as co-applicants on up to two separate applications during the competition.

Who is eligible to apply? (cont.)

9

Technological Readiness

Level Description

TRL 1 Basic principles observed and reported

TRL 2 Technology concept and/or practical applications invented

TRL 3 Active research and development for concept validation (proof-of-principle)

TRL 4 Validation of technology in a laboratory setting

TRL 5 Validation of technology in a relevant environment

TRL 6 Demonstration of technology in a relevant environment (prototype)

TRL 7 Prototype demonstrated in an operational environment

TRL 8 Technology is proven to work through test and demonstration

TRL 9 Actual application of technology in its final form ready for commercialization

10

Intellectual Property Assessment FormThe IP assessment form must be completed jointly by the applicant and an institutional technology transfer office, or equivalent.• List all inventors of the IP and proportion of inventorship in %• Description of the IP presented in the application:

• Intended purpose• Level of commercial readiness• Potential impact on the health of British Columbians and/or the

BC health system• Information on the status of the IP: optioned, licensed, sold or

assigned to any party other than the academic institution and the applicant; or subject to an agreement with a foreign institution or company.

• Ownership of the IP (within or outside Canada)

11

MSFHR’s Claim on IP

• MSFHR claims no rights of ownership to the intellectual property associated with this funding opportunity.

• MSFHR requires any intellectual property created or developed within the project supported by the I2C award be exploited in a way that maximizes benefits to the BC health system and the health of British Columbians

12

Competition Partners

MSFHR partners with leading organizations to grow BC’s health research capacity

Process: Applicants interested in partnered awards are encouraged to:

a. Check the website regularly for partners interested in co-funding competitions. If new partners come onboard after the LOI phase, we will send out an email notification to applicants.

b. Let us know you’re interested in being considered for a partnered award by emailing mkassam@msfhr.org.

MSFHR uses keywords provided by partners to identify applications that may be relevant to and align with partners’ area of interest.

13

Phase II – Match Funding

• Match funding is a mandatory requirement for renewal of the I2C award .

• MSFHR will match funds 1:1 up to a maximum amount of $75,000/annum for two years with eligible partners.

• Eligible partners are those who provide support from non-BC government sources.

• Up to 25 percent of partner contributions can be in the form of in-kind support.

• Remaining 75 percent must be in the form of a cash contribution.

14

Phase II - Renewal

Phase II is not an automatic renewal of Phase I:

• Award recipients will be invited to apply for award renewal for an additional two years of support.

• Funding support for these additional two years is contingent upon a successful review of a renewal application.

• Applicants must have a partner willing to match resources.• Applications for renewal will be evaluated by an external

review panel.

15

I2C Eligible ExpensesFunds from the I2C awards may be used to support any of the

following:

• Buy-out time for research.

• Stipend and salary of trainees, research assistants, research technicians working directly with the I2C award research

• Eligible expenses related to feasibility research and implementation of the commercialization plan for specific IP

• Salary and benefits for the award recipient

• Travel for collaborative purposes

16

Conflict of InterestMSFHR recognizes that in the field of translational health research, researchers may be involved in private sector enterprises that work with them to advance discoveries towards commercialization.

A conflict of interest may arise if the applicant:1. Has an ownership position within the partner organization2. Is employed by the partner organization in any role, whether

salaried or not3. Is a member on a governing board of the partner organization4. Is related to a person who controls, or who is a member of a

governing board that controls the partner organization

If the applicant is subject to one or more of the above instances, the applicant must declare all conflicts of interest and describe how these will be managed.

17

Mitacs Accelerate Partnership

Introduced in 2018, MSFHR and Mitacs are partnering to provide an opportunity for interested I2C applicants to also apply for Mitacs Accelerate internship funds. • Mitacs Accelerate grants support collaborative research between

research faculty and a graduate student or postdoctoral intern.• Funding for internships starts at $15,000 per 4-month segment.• I2C applicants interested in applying for a Mitacs Accelerate

grant for their I2C project can indicate interest on the LOI. • Applicants must contact the Mitacs Business Development office

to receive an Accelerate application.• Part 1 of the Mitacs applications are

adjudicated by the MSFHR review panel.

18

Preparing for your application• Be aware of the internal deadlines at your host institution, which

may be different from the published MSFHR deadlines.• Communicate with your department head (or equivalent) and co-

applicant (if applicable) well in advance of your host institution’s internal deadline. All third parties must have an MSFHR ApplyNet account to complete their forms.

• Communicate with your host institution’s technology transfer office. You will need to complete an IP Assessment with them at the Full Application stage.

• Communicate with collaborator(s) and partner(s) (if applicable) if you plan to attach support letters at the Full Application stage.

Application Process Flow

19

Letter of Intent

FullApplication

Host Institution Approval

Eligibility Quiz

2019 I2C competition opens:February 6, 2019

Applicant creates Third Party tasks

in ApplyNet

Applicant completes and submits the Full

ApplicationThird Parties*complete their tasks

in ApplyNet

LOI Deadline:March 14, 2019

Host institution deadline:

Prior to May 2

MSFHR Full Application deadline:

May 2, 2019

* Third Parties: Department Head (or equivalent), Co-Applicant (if applicable)

Applicant completes Eligibility Quiz and Letter of Intent in

ApplyNet

20

What are Reviewers looking for?

Three main evaluation categories:

Track Record(20%)

Research Plan (40%)

Commercialization Plan (40%)

• scientific productivity• academic achievements• experience in proposed

area of research (last five years only)

• feasibility• outcomes• originality• impact• budget justification• collaborators (if

applicable)• timeline with go/no-go

milestones

• feasibility• expected milestones

and deliverables• relevance to research

plan• description of

patenting strategies (if applicable), market evaluation, prior art, etc.

21

Knowledge Translation (KT)

MSFHR requires applicants from all research themes to include appropriate KT activities in their research project.

KT may be embedded in research projects in one of two ways:

1. As components of a research project (e.g. research user engagement, research dissemination, and/or research uptake activities)

OR

2. As the focus of the project (KT science: exploring the theories, mechanisms, concepts, and/or methods by which evidence is used in health care practice and policy)

RESEARCH

POLICYPRACTICE

Further information about KT and KT resources can be found on our website. For KT-related inquiries, please contactDr. Genevieve Creighton, Manager, Knowledge Translation | gcreighton@msfhr.org

22

Letter of Intent Deadline: March 14, 2019

To start an LOI, log onto the MSFHR ApplyNet and click on the 2019 Innovation to Commercialization (I2C) funding opportunity.

Sections of the LOI:

• Contact information• Host Institution**• Research Location• Project Information• Keywords• Third Party information• Additional Information• Career interruptions

• MSFHR reviews Letters of Intent within two business days of the application deadline

• Approved LOIs are given access to the Full Application

** As soon as they decide to submit an application, applicants should communicate with their host institution to verify if they are the appropriate host institution.

23

Full ApplicationDeadline: May 2, 2019

If LOIs are approved for full application, log into MSFHR ApplyNet and click on Complete Full Application (I2C) opportunity.

Sections of the Application:

• Contact information• Host Institution• Research Location• Project Information• Keywords• Third Party information• Additional Information• Uploads

Some text boxes will be pre-populated with text entered in the LOI.

Uploads:• MSFHR Full CCV (last five years only)• Pubs, patents & intellectual property• Research & Commercialization Plans • Appendices Upload • Budget • Intellectual Property Assessment Form• Mitacs Accelerate Application, Part 1 (if

applicable)• Letters of support from Collaborators and

Partners (if applicable)

24

Contact InformationFor questions regarding the application and submission process, please contact:

Andrew BiagtanCoordinator, Research Competitions604.714.6602

Email: I2C@msfhr.org

For more information about the MSFHR ApplyNet system or help with login information, please contact:

MSFHR Help Desk604.714.6609

Email: helpdesk@msfhr.org

For questions about the Mitacs Accelerate application, please contact your regional Mitacs business development office. Regional contacts are found here: www.mitacs.ca/en/contact-us/business-development

25

Questions?

Stages in Competition Cycle Target Date

Letter of Intent Deadline March 14, 20194:30 p.m. PT

Full Application Deadline May 2, 20194:30 p.m. PT

Anticipated notice of funding decision Early September 2019

Anticipated start of funding October 1, 2019