Proposal Elements: 

1. Proposal Narrative 

2. Prototyping Canvas           

3. Qualtrics Survey (Optional) 

 

1. Proposal Narrative: 

Introduction: 

Montana State University has been selected as one of eighteen academic institutions to receive funding through the National Science Foundation's Accelerating Research Translation, or ART, program.  The ART program aims to strengthen and scale the translation of basic research outcomes into impactful solutions and practice by building capacity and infrastructure. At Montana State University, the ART program aims to drive increased research translation and boost representation of underrepresented groups in the research generation and translation landscape. 

Through support provided by the NSF’s ART program, the MSU Technology Transfer Office (TTO) announces the availability of Seed Translational Research Project (STRP) funding.     

The Seed Translational Research Projects are designed to directly advance promising MSU research toward translation for societal benefit. Innovations that have emerged from prior fundamental research with a clear underlying analytical and/or experimental proof of concept would be candidates for STRP funding. We aim to fund a diverse set of projects spanning varied academic disciplines and we hope to support projects where graduate students or postdoctoral researchers will participate in translation activities and explore potential careers associated with research translation.  

We invite applicants to submit a proposal to translate their ongoing work toward practice and impact. 

 

Award Specifics: 

  • Project length may vary from 1-2 years  
  • ~Anticipated total project costs: typically $50,000-$200,000 in direct costs 
  • Funding to be awarded in tranches, with funding decisions contingent upon timely milestone completion and a clear need for additional funding, and on a competitive basis 
  • 2025 awards to be announced by November 29, 2024, with projects to start January 1, 2025   

 

 Eligibility: 

  • PI must meet requirements as described in the Office of Sponsored Programs PI Guide  
  • While PI's who have won previous CATalyst Gap Fund awards are eligible, each MSU PI and each MSU Technology is limited to a single STRP award during this NSF ART grant. 
  • If a technology/invention or copyrightable innovation is involved:
    • A disclosure form upon which the project is based must accompany proposal or be on file with the TTO
    • The invention/innovation underlying the proposal must not yet be licensed or optioned
    • The IP surrounding the invention/innovation disclosure must be owned (fully or jointly) by MSU 

 

Conditions of award:  

  • At least 20% of the overall award budget must be dedicated to business development, customer discovery and/or market research relevant to the translation project. 
  • Funding will be released in stages.  Projects that are awarded will be funded for the first phase, with future phases “soft” funded—meaning later phases may be funded if projected milestones are met, if the project has a clear need for additional funding, and on a competitive basis (vs other STRP projects). The TTO will assist in establishing appropriate milestones, seeking alternative or supplementary funding, adapting project plans as necessary, and coaching in order to improve project competitiveness.  
  • Awardees will submit a final report, due 30 days after the end of project. The format and specifics will be communicated in advance of the deadline. 
  • All recipients of an STRP award will become part of an MSU “Builders’ Cohort” and participate in additional training and programming as relevant to the project. 
  • Each recipient of an STRP award will become an “ART Ambassador”, someone considered to be a champion of research translation at MSU.  TTO will host an MSU seminar presentation in which you describe your STRP project and experience with research translation. 

Questions about eligibility and conditions can be directed to Magali Eaton. 

 

Proposal narrative: 

Proposal Format. Proposal should follow the NSF PAPPG guidelines in terms of narrative formatting and be organized as follows: 

1. Executive Summary (limit: 100 words). Summary of project written in a way that is accessible to individuals who may not be in your discipline. Summarize the objectives, significance, and expected translational research outcomes that will be generated by the project.  

2. Project Team (limit: 1 page). List names and affiliations of project director/principal investigator (PI), co-investigators, staff, students, consultants and other key personnel. Summarize roles of each team member throughout the project. 

3. Project Description (limit: 5 pages).  

a. Background and Rationale. Describe the background that motivates the project, including how the proposed work: 1) aligns with the goals of the ART program; 2) advances preliminary and ongoing work that will result in meeting a final project goal within the projected timeline; and 3) will create societal impact, which could include supporting and elevating underrepresented groups and/or Indigenous communities.  

b. Project Aims and Objectives. Describe the project objective(s) and/or what problem you are trying to solve. List specific goals and outcomes of the project and identify the societal impacts that will result from achieving these goals/outcomes.  

c. Project Design. Discuss the design, activities, procedures, programs, etc. of the proposed work. Identify members of the team who will lead specific aspects of the project.  

d. Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. Address the intellectual merit of the research and the broader impacts of the project. Include information on external collaborations. Include information on how you will measure the impact of the project. 

e. Timeline and Milestones. Provide a timeline of the project execution, including major project activities and 2 to 4 milestones typically 3-6 months apart.   

4.  Future Directions. When your project is successful, what are the next steps to translate this work to practice?   

5. References Cited.  

6. Budget (no page limit) and Budget Narrative (up to 2 pages). Provide detailed information for your budgetary needs and how the budget will be used. Budget should be divided into distinct phases, with each phase ending in the achievement of a milestone.  Funding for later phases will necessarily be tentative, and may need adjustment based on what is learned in earlier phases.  At least 20% of overall award budget should be dedicated to business development, customer discovery and/or market research as relevant to project. Funding may be used for summer salary, or academic year course buyout, salary for hiring students or staff, travel, and other research expenses. Please note that large equipment purchases (single purchase >$5k) cannot be made with this funding. Project periods will begin January 1, 2025.  

 

Review Procedure and Criteria: 

Internal and external reviewers will review all proposals and rank each project on Overall Impact and Specific Criteria, as follows: 

Overall Impact and Return on Investment (ROI) (0-10 points, 40% of overall score). Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to have demonstrable broad impacts on communities and/or significant societal impact, and the timeline for that impact to occur. Reviewers will also judge whether there are potential alternatives to STRP to fund this work and the efficiency of how the funding is to be used to translate the project or to get the project to the next stage in translation (including the next source of funding).  Projects with measurable translational outcomes within 24 months will be favored over projects for which translational outcomes are difficult to assess and/or will take longer to manifest.  Smaller projects will be favored over larger projects that have similar impact. 

Specific Criteria (0-3 points each, combined for 60% of overall score). Reviewers will consider the criteria below and give a separate score for each.  

  • Suitability: Did the innovation to be translated emerge from prior fundamental research and has that fundamental research been completed (i.e. is not part of the STRP proposal?  Do the project goals align with the objectives of MSU’s ART program?  In particular, what form of translation is anticipated and when will that occur? 
  • Approach: Is there a methodical approach to translation with appropriate milestones, and efficient use of funding to achieve intended outcomes within the projected timeframe? Are the outcomes achievable? 
  • User-focused: Is there a a structured and detailed plan for customer discovery, and other appropriate market research, ensuring key stakeholders are the focus throughout design, development, and refinement? 
  • Innovation: Does the application challenge and seek to shift current paradigms through novel concepts, approaches or inventions? Are the concepts, approaches or interventions novel to the field of research and applicable to a societal question? 
  • Mentoring: Does the project involve training graduate students and/or post-doctoral researchers on entrepreneurship or research translation? Will graduate students and/or post-doctoral researchers discover or explore potential translational research-oriented careers? 

  

2. Prototyping Canvas

A prototyping canvas is required as a part of your proposal. This could be an impact model canvas focused on the societal impact of your project or a business model canvas focused on a technology or business idea.  

Please follow this link to learn more about creating your prototyping canvas: 2025 STRP Applicant Materials 

Need additional help? Please prepare a rough draft of your prototyping canvas and schedule a time with Magali Eaton to discuss further.  

 

3. Survey (Optional)

To help us improve our programs, evaluate who we are serving across MSU, and report out to the NSF who participates in research translation, please navigate to this Qualtrics survey which will collect demographic information. Your responses in this survey will be kept completely separate from your applications for STRP funding, and your responses will not be viewed by anyone involved in selecting STRP awardees. This demographic information will be reported only in the aggregate so that we can report on who is served by this grant. Your demographic information will also be treated as strictly confidential. Thank you for your help in providing this information so that we can better fulfill the goals of this grant. 

Survey link made available to applicants upon request.