We have generated this list of frequently asked questions to assist you with your application process.  Questions are divided into the following categories:

• General Questions
  
• Who Can Apply
• Likelihood of Funding
• Preparing to Submit
  
• Submission Process
• Post Submission: What to Expect
• Sustainable Vision Grants Program-specific FAQ's

Have a question that does not appear on this list? Email us at grants@nciia.org or call the NCIIA office at 413-587-2172.  We look forward to receiving your proposal!

General Questions

Where does NCIIA get its grant funding?
The majority of NCIIA's grant funds come from The Lemelson Foundation.

We have solicited / received other funds for the same project we are submitting a proposal for to NCIIA (because we need additional funding). Will this be held against us?
No, in fact this will demonstrate to reviewers that your idea has merit.  Please clarify what you propose to use NCIIA funding for versus what you will use other funds for.  Be sure your proposed budget fits NCIIA’s grant program guidelines.

How long is the proposal?
The narrative is a maximum of FIVE pages for Course and Program and Advanced E-Team grants, and a maximum of EIGHT pages for Sustainable Vision grants. Up to 10 appendices may be uploaded in addition to the narrative. We are working on creating a preview of the online proposal, we hope to have this functioning by the end of the year.

Are matching funds required when applying for a grant?
No.

What is an E-Team?
NCIIA defines an E-Team as a multidisciplinary group of faculty, students, and industry mentors working together to bring a product or technology to market.  The "E" stands for excellence and entrepreneurship.

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Who can Apply

Do we need to be an NCIIA member to apply for a grant?
Yes, you need to be a current member. Membership information (including renewals) can be found here.

Can organizations other than institutions of higher education apply for a grant?
Currently, we only offer grants to US institutions of higher education.

Can we partner with another academic institution and apply for a multi-institutional grant?
Yes, as long as the applicant is connected with a domestic university, international or other partnerships are acceptable.

Can students apply for grants?
Students may apply for a grant, but they must have a faculty member as the Principle Investigator to support and review the proposal.

Can non tenure track faculty apply for grants?
Grants are usually awarded to tenure track faculty for Course and Program grants because we want to ensure that the course or program will have a stronger chance of being institutionalized if successful. Technically, a non tenure track faculty CAN act as Principal Investigator, but we would need to understand how the course or program would be supported by the department and what would happen if that instructor moved on. For Advanced E-Team and Sustainable Vision proposals, we can accept non tenure track personnel as the PI.
 

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Likelihood of Funding

How many applications do you normally receive per round?
We generally receive approximately 100 grant applications during each grant round.

How many applications do you typically fund?
Based on the quality of applications received and the amount of funds requested, we generally fund 24%-27% of the applications.
 

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Preparing to Submit

Roles of grant personnel: Definitions

• PI: The Principle Investigator is the faculty/staff member taking primary responsibility for the proposal and will be responsible for the reporting requirements
  
• AC: The Administrative Contact is a grants administrator or fiscal officer authorized to commit the institution to the terms of the grant. Often, the AC works in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs or the Office of Contracts and Grants. The AC is NOT faculty. Please note that the PI and the AC CANNOT be the same person.
  
• DF: Dean of Faculty (or equivalent)
  
• DC: Department Chair (or equivalent)

When can I start the proposal?
The proposal can be started once the RFP is active, usually six weeks before the grant submission deadline.

What is the official deadline (date and time) for grant submission?
Upcoming grant deadlines can be found on our Grants web page. The proposal must be submitted by 11:59pm Eastern on the day of the deadline, however, technical support will only be available until 5pm Eastern that day.

Do I need to submit the grant online or can I send in a paper copy?
All grant applications must be completed and submitted online, via our online system.  We do not accept proposals via email or hard copy.

Does the grant application need to be single spaced or double-spaced?
Single spaced, but please make the margins reasonable to make it easier on the reviewers.

Who do I coordinate with (and seek approval from) at my University before I apply for a grant?

For Course and Program and Sustainable Vision grants, you will need approval from the following "advisors":

• Principal Investigator (unless you are the PI)
  
• Administrative Contact
  
• Department Chair
  
• Dean of Faculty
  

For Advanced E-Team grants, you will need approval from the following "advisors":

• Principal Investigator (unless you are the PI)
  
• Administrative Contact
  
• Department Chair
  

Please note that you should provide a draft of your proposal to these parties in advance of the deadline so they have time to read it.

Can I discuss my proposal with NCIIA before officially submitting online?
Yes, we encourage you to email us at grants@nciia.org for feedback on your abstract. You may schedule a time to discuss either an abstract or a draft with someone from our grants team. Please note that we will only be available to review and provide feedback on abstracts and drafts up until 2 weeks prior to a grant deadline.

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Submission Process

Can I return to the proposal to edit it before officially submitting it?

Yes, you can begin your application and return to it as many times as needed. You will be unable to modify the application after it has been submitted.

What is the verification process?
The online verification process mimics the “sign-off” process of old, whereby the applicant solicited signatures on a cover sheet, indicating support of the proposal prior to submission. Verification demonstrates to NCIIA that your idea has institutional support that will enhance the likelihood of programmatic success and continuity beyond the end of the grant period.

What are verification emails?
As part of the online proposal process, you will enter email addresses and request verification from the required “advisors” on each proposal. Advisors will receive an email from NCIIA asking him/her to verify their support by clicking on a link and entering their intials. It’s a simple process, but you should let your advisors know that their response is required before you can submit the proposal.

One of my verifiers has not received the system-generated email. What do I do?
Please follow the following steps:

1. Check the spam filter to make sure the email was not blocked.
2. If the email is not in the spam filter, call the NCIIA offices at 413-587-2172 or email us at grants@nciia.org and we will resend the email.

Am I required to use a template for the grant budget and what it should address?
Yes.  The Budget templates can be found in the grant program guidelines, in the "How to Apply" section, under Step 4:

• Sustainable Vision guidelines
• Advanced E-Team guidelines
• Course and Program guidelines

Can a portion of the faculty stipend be applied to support staff for project management?
No, funding for project management can come out of the 5% allocated for overhead.

Can funds from the budget line item "Faculty Stipend" be shared among faculty and graduate students?
Yes, but the total amount for this line item may not exceed $5,000.00, as stated in the Course and Program guidelines.

What appendices are required?
In addition to the proposal narrative, you are allowed to submit total of 10 appendices. Required appendices include:

• Requested budget (using the NCIIA template)
  
• Curricula vitae for advisors (no more than 3 pages each)
  
• Your school's IP policy

Review the grants program guidelines for more information on appendices.

What other appendices are allowed/encouraged?
We strongly recommend that you include letters of support with your proposal, as well as any additional information that could help reviewers learn more about your project, demonstrate institutional and/or industry support, etc.  Links to websites and/or videos are allowed in addition to uploaded documents.

If you are applying for an Advanced E-Team grant, we encourage you to include a video pitch to help introduce your team and differentiate your project in the minds of the reviewers. We recommend keeping the video pitch to 60 seconds or less. State the problem, the innovation, and the impact of your team's solution.

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Post Submission: What to Expect

How are the grants reviewed?
Grants are screened by NCIIA and groups of reviewers from academia, industry, and venture capital firms, who independently evaluate the proposal based on the given NCIIA guidelines. Grants are grouped by relevancy and are matched with reviewers with expertise in that field. After independently reviewing the grants, reviewers meet to discuss their opinions, and an overall consensus on funding recommendations is established. NCIIA finalizes the funding decisions and approved budgets.

When can I expect to hear whether my proposal will be funded?
Grant notifications are announced approximately 90-120 days after the submission deadline.

Can I resubmit my grant application in a following round if it has been rejected in the current round?
You may resubmit a grant application in a following round and address reviewer feedback. You will need to start a new proposal in our online system but can re-use documents as appropriate. Please note that a new group of reviewers will likely be reading the resubmission. You are invited to contact us at grants@nciia.org or 413-587-2172 to receive a more detailed (anonymous) summary of the reviewers' comments.

Do you provide feedback when rejecting the grant application? If so, in what form?
Principal Investigators will receive an email notification that includes a written summary of reviewer feedback approximately 90-120 days after the proposal deadline. The email is followed by a notification letter with a summary of reviewer feedback, which is mailed to both the Principal Investigator and the Administrative Contact using the addresses provided in the proposal.

What does Invite Resubmit mean?
Invite Resubmit means that reviewers found your proposal worthwhile, but felt that a few changes or further work may be required before it could be funded. Often in their feedback, they will suggest changes to make your proposal stronger, and invite you to resubmit the improved proposal during the next grant round.

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Sustainable Vision Grants Program-specific FAQ's

Does the grant have to have an international partner?
No, the partner does not need to be international, but we do require a partner outside of the university, such as a nonprofit, other university, NGO, for-profit, or other partner.

Does the grant have to have an international focus?
No, we are in fact interested in both domestic and international programs but the focus must be on people living in poverty. We do not define a level of poverty.

Can the grant funds be shared with other organizations outside our university system?
Funds are awarded to US institutions of higher education but the funding can be divided between various organizations identified in the proposal.  Please specifiy this in the budget request.

What specific areas do we need to address in our SV grant application?
Focus on solving a real problem with innovative technology and/or an innovative application of technology, experiential learning, economic sustainability of the program and any ventures that come out of the program, positive social impact and the ability to scale.

What is the overall focus of the grant – economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, or program sustainability?
All of the above. Please see the Sustainable Vision grants program page on our website, and read the Sustainable Vision guidelines for more informaton.

What does "sustainable" mean?

• No negative environmental impact
• Intended program sustainability post grant period
• Intended economic sustainability of product/company/service
  
• Sustained partnerships

I plan on using undergraduate students for research and data gathering. Can I pay them a stipend from the grant?
Yes, a total of $5,000 is available for student stipends.  Please review the elligible/inelligible expenses in the program guidelines.

How does a Sustainable Vision grant differ from a Course and Program grant?
This is a COLLABORATIVE program grant that is focused on people living in poverty; the program must go beyond a curricular emphasis and educational experience to ventures or products/services that can be commercialized.

How does a Sustainable Vision grant differ from an Advanced E-Team grant?
Advanced E-Team grants typically focus on one project idea, moving that idea along the path to commercialization (from idea, to drawing, to prototype, testing, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and launch). While NCIIA hopes to see this kind of activity result from SV grants, the SV focus is broader, and is intended to fund a program out of which many E-Team-type ideas and activities may ideally come.

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