NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Harvard Letter of Intent Deadline

NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)
Harvard Letter of Intent Deadline: December 11 by 5:00PM
NSF Deadline (if nominated): February 1, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $200,000 for 18 months (PFI-TT); up to $750,000 for 36 months (PFI-RP)

The NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program offers researchers the opportunity to transform new knowledge into societal benefits through translational research and technology development efforts which catalyze partnerships to accelerate innovations that address significant societal needs. PFI has six broad goals:

1. Identifying and supporting NSF-sponsored research and technologies that have the potential for accelerated commercialization;
2. Supporting prior or current NSF-sponsored researchers, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations that partner with an institution of higher education to undertake proof-of-concept work, including the development of technology prototypes that are derived from NSF-funded research and have potential market value;
3. Promoting sustainable partnerships between NSF-funded institutions, industry, and other organizations within academia and the private sector with the purpose of accelerating the transfer of technology;
4. Developing multi-disciplinary innovation ecosystems which involve and are responsive to the specific needs of academia and industry;
5. Catalyzing professional development activities, mentoring, and best practices in entrepreneurship and technology translation for faculty, students and researchers; and
6. Expanding the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in innovation, technology translation, and entrepreneurship.

This solicitation offers two broad tracks for proposals in pursuit of the six aforementioned goals. The Technology Translation (PFI-TT) track offers an NSF-funded researcher the opportunity to advance his or her prior NSF-funded research results towards developing technological innovations with promising commercial potential and societal impact. The Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track provides an opportunity to support technology development activities through a multi-organization collaboration.

This is a limited submission opportunity and Harvard may submit only two proposals. In order to be considered for one of two Harvard nominations, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research requests letters of intent (LOI) from faculty interested in applying.

Interested Harvard applicants are asked to send an email to jennifer_chow@harvard.edu by 5:00 pm on Monday, December 11, including:

1. Name and title of lead PI and any co-PIs
2. A brief description of the proposed project
3. Responses to the following questions:
   1. Which track do you intend to apply for (Technology Translation or Research Partnerships)?
   2. If Technology Translation:
      • Please identify 1-3 letter writers who are prepared to address the commercialization potential of your proposed project.
      • Please explain how this proposed project meets the lineage requirement as described by the NSF (e.g. identify any previous NSF grants supporting this work.
   3. If Research Partnerships:
      • Please describe your proposed Project Team, including:
        • Third-party investor (optional but recommended)
        • Additional research partners (optional)
        • Primary industrial partner (required)