The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Chancellor’s Fund now has three funding arms for UA faculty and lead researchers:
- Innovation and Collaboration Fund
- Commercialization Fund
- Gap Fund
The Innovation and Collaboration Fund provides seed funding for early-stage UA faculty-led, interdisciplinary projects that haven’t received any prior funding, including private investment. Proposals should promote discovery through interdisciplinary efforts and lead to impact that advances the university’s signature research areas, strengthens campus graduate programs and promote innovations in teaching and learning.
Priority areas include research that advances the data revolution, improves human health and community vibrancy and promotes a resilient and sustainable future. Awards are up to $150,000 in direct costs (no facilities and administrative costs) for project timelines under two years. The university expects to make 10-15 awards annually.
The Commercialization Fund is intended for advanced projects that have both intellectual property value and well-defined market applications. Applicants can request between $5,000 and $50,000 for up to one year to conduct next steps needed to move technologies towards commercial readiness-level. These grants are awarded on a rolling basis.
The Gap Fund supports teams that include a combination of UA faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers who are launching startup companies. Applicants to this four-step program must have already completed the National I-Corps program (step 1).
The second step is to apply to the Gap Fund for up to $30,000 in support of prototype development, advancement, and testing. The third step is to apply to the Gap Fund to request up to $35,000 for a post-doctoral fellow or graduate students in commercialization.
At the end of this step, the team must submit a SBIR or STTR proposal. The fourth and final step of this program is to apply to the Gap Fund to request up to $35,000 for the second phase of a post-doctoral fellow or graduate students in commercialization while awaiting news about SBIR/STTR proposal. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis.
More information about these Chancellor Fund programs can be found here.
The ASBTDC can assist entrepreneurial-minded university faculty and researchers. To learn more, contact Rebecca Todd at rctodd@ualr.edu.
