Reminder: These instructions and the associated template are for use for EXISTING Centers of Excellence which are applying for renewal of that Center.
A PI who wishes to apply for a new Center should use the appropriate template.
Please use the Template to develop your proposal. The Director reserves the right to eliminate from consideration an incomplete proposal or one that does not follow the proposal template. Please use the CORRECT template for your application.
Submission Timing
COE Renewal Proposals for existing Centers for FY 2007-2008 are due in the COEP office on or before 5 PM on February 28, 2007.
Please submit your COE RENEWAL proposal electronically ONLY. Please complete this proposal and return it IN PDF FORMAT ONLY to Sharon Cox via email (scox@utah.gov) (the signature page ONLY can be either included in the PDF or faxed separately to Sharon’s attention at 801-538-8888). This form must be received by the Centers of Excellence Office on or before 5 pm on February 28, 2007. Any Questions on submissions may be directed to Sharon Cox (scox@utah.gov) or by phone at 801-538-8770.
Instructions:
The objective of the renewal-specific application form is to simplify the renewal process for existing Centers, while increasing the information available to the COE Advisory Council about what has actually been accomplished in moving the technology closer to market. At the same time, as new reviewers do join the Council, a certain amount of background information is required, although this should be consistent with former proposals. Please highlight NEW information for reviewers who have worked with your Center before.
The essence of the main part of the Renewal proposal is to:
1) Identify what you committed to accomplish with the 2005-06 Centers funding
2) Identify and describe what actually was accomplished with that funding
3) Perform a gap analysis and explain any gaps (including ongoing work)
4) Identify next year’s work plan
In addition, many Centers, upon examination with the new Business Teams, have revealed a wide range of business opportunities. It is desirable to capture for the Advisory Council which of these opportunities seem to be the most likely to generate a Utah-based success, without requiring a full business plan for each market as many are still in evaluation.
Therefore, there are two areas of information relevant to this year’s Commercialization Plan. First is the Go to Market Strategy Section in the template. This allows the teams to summarize for the Council the most promising market opportunities available and provide some sense of the size and attractiveness of those markets. This section is consistent with the New Center Full Proposal Template to provide the Council with consistent information.
At the same time, if a business has been planned or is rolling out, it is very important for the Council to be able to assess progress towards that plan as they evaluate the various Centers for renewal. Therefore, if a business plan has been made for a pending or newly established spinout, please attach a 3-5 page summary of the business plan for that business in Appendix D. If the business has received outside funding or a contract/revenues totaling $500,000 or more, special circumstances may apply, see the policy at the bottom of this document.
If a license in one of the key markets has been made to a Utah company, please include in Appendix D summary information about the arrangement and field of use, and if available, about any products that are coming or have come to market.
If a license in one or more of the key markets has been made to a non-Utah company (a company that does not have a Utah presence or is not going to generate jobs or economic value in Utah), a description of the arrangement must be made for the Council and included in Appendix E. In addition, a cogent explanation of why such a license was made, the range of Utah-base alternatives that were explored, and why these alternatives were not feasible MUST be included.
Proposal Format
The proposal body should not exceed 20 pages (excluding the appendices and the summary) and should be single-spaced and may be double-sided on 8 1/2 x 11" paper. Margins should be 1" top, bottom, and sides. Font size should be no smaller than 11 point Times or equivalent. Begin each main section on a new, right-sided page. Renewing Centers are strongly encouraged to write less than 20 pages if at all possible.
In the Footer, please identify any pages of the proposal that are Business Confidential. Business confidential information is information that would harm the Center, the University, the State, or a licensee or spinout business if it were disclosed to third parties.
Do not forget to insert PI name and Center title in the footer of the Template.
A common question is the relationship between and Center and a licensee, updated information is below
The following Centers of Excellence Program Guideline Change was approved by the State Advisory Council on Science and Technology
Feb. 13, 2006
(see complete set of guidelines here)
Centers support for licensed technologies
- Past: once a technology was licensed to a company, the Center could no longer be funded or support the technology.
Opportunity:
- Permit a Center to continue to support a licensed technology for a certain period of time or under certain conditions in order to better support the transition from university to industry.
New Guideline:
- When a Center-supported technology is licensed to an existing established firm, the Center can use the COE funding to support that technology through the end of the current fiscal year (i.e. current contract).
- When a Center-supported technology is licensed to a startup/spinout, the Center can use the COE funding to support that technology through the end of the current fiscal year (i.e. current contract).
- In addition, the Center may apply for renewal of funding from the COE program (subject to the normal term of up to 4 years), to enable the Center and Business Team to continue to support the technology AND those commercial applications UNTIL a) the startup/spinout completes an arms-length financing transaction with a value equal to or greater than $500,000 or b) the startup/spinout is awarded one or more contracts with a value equal to or greater than $500,000.
- In all situations, if there are still significant applications of the technology available for licensing (other vertical markets) the Center may apply for renewal of funding from the COE program on a competitive basis.