Objective
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is establishing Virginia as a global center of excellence at the intersection of security, autonomous systems, and data. With a mission of research, innovation, and workforce development, CCI serves as a catalyst for the Commonwealth’s long-term leadership in this sector through the leadership of a central hub and four regional nodes. The Central Virginia Node is led by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
VCU is home to the Dreams to Reality Incubator (D2RI) that will support faculty/student partnerships whose research has resulted in products or prototypes ready to move forward from concept to market. This CCI-funded program aims to fund faculty/student partnerships whose prototypes or products relate directly to CCI’s mission and/or CVN’s focus areas.
Eligibility
Full time VCU faculty may serve as a PI. Each faculty member may submit up to two proposals (one as a PI and one as a co-PI). Each application must include at least one full time VCU faculty member and one VCU student. Focus areas are limited to: cyber physical systems, autonomous systems, IoT as it applies to medical device security and smart city technology. Budgets must be approved by OSP before the proposal deadline. We also encourage researchers who have not previously been funded by CCI to apply. However, PIs or co-PIs who are currently funded through CCI or CVN on three or more projects at the time of award are not eligible to apply. Women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.[1]
Awards
- Total funding amount: $50,000
- Award amount: $25,000
Award Details: Awardees will receive $25,000 that can be used to fund prototype development, proof-of-concept testing, payment of students and postdoctoral fellows (no more than 20%), independent verification and validation to be performed by a contract research organization, or costs associated with applying for a business license in Virginia. Awardees may also be required to participate in D2RI programming aimed at teaching the awardee how to cultivate funding for a startup, build out a business plan, take a product from concept to market, and participate in the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP) offered by Virginia Small Business Development Center Network. Periodic reporting will be required. By the end of the program the Awardee must have applied for a Virginia Business License. Indirect costs (IDC) are NOT eligible costs in the proposals submitted in response to this RFP.
PIs and co-PIs are expected to participate in CVN meetings, present findings at CVN and CCI poster sessions, and responding to data collection requests by CCI, and may be asked to present their research at other CCI engagements as required. Any publications that result from this project must include the following statement (contract numbers will be assigned during the award process):
This work was supported [in part] by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, an investment in the advancement of research, innovation, and workforce development at the intersection between cybersecurity, autonomous systems, and intelligence, under the contract number xcxxx. For more information about CCI, visit www.cyberinitiative.org.
Schedule
- Request for Proposals Released: May 17, 2024
- Last Day for Q&A: June 7, 2024
- Proposals Due: June 14, 2024
- Award Notification: Prior to August 1, 2024
- Project Dates: August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025
Proposal Format
Proposals should use 1-inch margins, an 11-point (Calibri or Arial) font, and single-line spacing. Follow the outline below:
- Title Page (1 page)
- Title of proposed product, names of faculty/student team, contact information for Principal Investigator (PI) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs).
- Proposed Product (1 page)
- Description of product
- Past performance: description of past successes and lessons-learned related to product
- Discussion of relevance to CVN focus area
- Commercialization Potential (1 page)
- Description of unmet need and how the proposed product meets that need
- Potential obstacles to success
- Confirmation that an invention disclosure form has been submitted to Innovation Gateway
- Budget (see template; 1 page)
- Budget items and justification
- Budget must be approved by OSP
- Biographical Sketches (see template; 3 pages)
- Required for PI and all co-PIs
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted via jotform (CCI CVN Proposal Form) no later than the close of the business day (5:00pm) on Friday, June 14, 2024. All proposals must be uploaded to the jotform as a single PDF document. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. The CVN proposal jotform can be found at: https://vcu.jotform.com/team/engineering/CCICVN_ProposalForm
Evaluation Criteria
The applications received in response to this RFP will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers and scored according to the following criteria:
Commercialization Potential (20%)
- Clearly defined problem/unmet need
- How will proposed technology address this problem/need
- Technical feasibility
- Data or prototype available
- Strength, experience, and engagement of team
Market Potential (20%)
- Market size or opportunity
- Strength of competition and competitive products
- Ability of proposed solution to capture market share
- Ability to secure long-term competitive advantage including IP protection
Development Plan and Budget (20%)
- Clear and appropriate budget that aligns with technology development plan
- Plan can be achieved in allotted time frame with requested funding
- Milestones have defined end points and deliverables
- Scientific/development methods are valid
Value of Funding (20%)
- Commercialization funds will move technology to clearly defined next stage or inflection point
- Value of potential technology development greatly exceeds the risk-adjusted cost of funding
- Achievement of milestones will de-risk technology and/or validate market opportunity
- Funds will have proportional impact on moving technology forward with CCI goals
Focus Area (20%)
- Relevance to CVN’s focus areas which include cyber physical systems, autonomous systems, IoT as it applies to medical device security and smart city technology
Contact Information
For questions or technical assistance with submitting an application, contact: ccicvn@vcu.edu
Templates
Budget Template – Click Here
Biographical Sketch Template – Click Here
[1] National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2021. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2021. Special Report NSF 21-321. Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/wmpd.