Fourth Edition - 2025

The 4^th Edition of the InnOValley PoC Fund (IOV PoC) is here. The IOV PoC is co-funded by the Municipality of Oeiras and the following Academic Institutions: ITQB NOVA, NIMSB, and INIAV.

Apply now and turn innovation into impact! APPLICATION FORM here.

SCOPE

The goal of InnOValley PoC is to identify and fund projects in a translational stage that have shown promising and exciting results with innovation potential and need further validation/proof of concept in any of the scientific fields of ITQB NOVA, NIMSB and INIAV. All proposals should have a clear translational focus and address an unmet need.

IOV PoC aims to help projects move forward in the translational pathway to stages where the data package is robust enough to fill for Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and/or be engaged in activities with industry and/or investors. The PoC is not intended to fund the creation of spin-off companies per se. The scheme typically supports projects in line with the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 2-4

The total budget for the 4^th edition 2025 call is €200k. Awards are typically in the range of €40-50k directly incurred costs only, for up to 12 months. Projects seeking lower amounts could be considered. The InnOValley PoC is fully aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely SDGs 2, 3, 9, and 15.
 

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY

IOV PoC provides funding for projects that:

• Propose new solutions to unmet needs in any of the scientific fields of the Academic Institutions;
• Have already demonstrated successful results in the research environment and need further validation;
• Have progressed beyond the stage where research funding opportunities are typically available, but capital from industry or an investment partner is unlikely to be secured at that stage.
• Already have secured IP or have freedom to operate to secure new IP through the implementation of the IOV PoC

IOV PoC shall NOT provide funding for projects:

• That are basic research, to generate models, new ideas with no previous preliminary data, or assess the feasibility of a research project;
• If the majority of the preliminary results are not owned by the Academic Institutions.

If your project had prior funding by any other source, i.e. industry sponsorship, an investment partner, or research grant support please confirm with ITQB NOVA Innovation Office that you are eligible.

Applicants must contact their Institutions’ Innovation / TT Office before submission, to access project eligibility.
 

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

1. Applicants can include one or more Principal Investigators or Post-Doc researchers.

2. All applicants must agree to and comply with the internal rules of their affiliated institute.

3. If a Post-Doctoral researcher serves as the lead applicant, it is mandatory for the respective PI to endorse this application.

4. There is no limit on the number of applications allowed per research group; however, only one project can be awarded to the same research group.

5. Co-investigators from other organizations can be added to the application under specific conditions:

• Such co-investigators must already share ownership of prior results or agree to share or assign future rights to the Academic Institutions as applicable.
• In these cases, a joint ownership or similar agreement must be in place, or minimum terms and conditions for joint ownership must be agreed upon in advance among institutions.
• Co-investigators from other organizations can contribute to a maximum of 10% of the project, and their associated costs are not eligible for funding from the IOV PoC.

   6. If an applicant leaves their institution, the award does not follow the applicant.
 

PROJECT SUBMISSION AND SELECTION

PROJECT EVALUATION

1. Applications will undergo evaluation by an external international panel of experts.

2. The ITQB NOVA Innovation Office will manage the call but will not have voting rights in project decisions.

3. The selection process will be based on the following factors:

• Unmet need: Will the solution have a significant impact in fulfilling a market/social need?

• Competitive advantage: What distinguishes this approach from that followed by others? What is the competitive advantage?

• Feasibility: Does the proposed research appear achievable with a likelihood of success? Are the proposed resourcing, timeframe and budget realistic? Are the timeline and tasks realistic?

• Intellectual Property: How novel is the intervention to be developed? Does it seem plausible that IP will be secured/reinforced by the end of the project?

    4. Applications will be ranked, with the top scored advancing to the second evaluation stage, involving presential interviews. During this stage, the panel will assess a brief presentation by the applicant and engage in a question-and-answer session.

    5. The announcement of awarded projects is scheduled to take place at the Biomeet 2025 event at Tagus Park on September 29/30^th.
 

CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR FUNDING

In addition to eligibility and selection criteria, a detailed plan is crucial for securing funding. This plan should encompass:

• Clear steps and milestones.
• At least one mid-term milestone, as specified in section 5.2 of the application form.
• Timelines.
• A budget that identifies Go/No Go decision points and outlines alternatives for development.
• One page of supporting data as an appendix within your application is highly recommended. Make sure to reference these figures in the application text.
   

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) CONSIDERATIONS

1. All IP related to the proposal must belong to the Academic Institutions, as applicable, and should be available for licensing (i.e., not encumbered by any prior obligations, such as existing licenses, sponsored research agreements, ongoing collaborations with industrial partners, licensing negotiations, or consulting agreements).

2. In the case of jointly owned IP, there must be a joint ownership or similar agreement in place, as applicable taking a lead role in commercialising the technology.

3. Any new intellectual property developed as part of the funded PoC project must be assignable to the Academic Institutions, as applicable, unless funds are matched from other institution.

Other benefits:

The StartUp Research Program is a post-graduation program developed in partnership between ITQB NOVA and NOVA SBE, designed to create awareness among researchers of the value their science can generate. This program intends to bring scientists, entrepreneurs and industry together, and provides all scientists, science managers and executives with an advanced scientific degree aimed at managing innovation and businesses. IOV PoC winning projects will have reserved seats for up to 2 team members to participate in the Startup Research program. This condition is extended to lab members of co-investigators from other research institutions.

Safeguarding inventions through robust patent protection is crucial to valorize the technologies developed. Patentree is a Portuguese firm, distinguished by its quality and extensive experience in patent drafting and prosecution across various technical fields. Their multidisciplinary team offers services such as patentability assessments, freedom-to-operate reports, and strategic IP management, ensuring comprehensive protection for innovations. Patentree will select one of the winning projects and support drafting a provisional patent application or equivalent to 10 hours of IP strategy consulting.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. Compliance with project progress reporting, written reports, and/or oral presentations is a requirement for accepting the InnOValley PoC award.

2. The award will not include overhead charges. When completing the budget table, focus on the "directly incurred" total costs and exclude overheads. It is advisable to include costs related to intellectual property (IP) protection.

3. There is no limit to the number of applications allowed per research group. However, only one project can be awarded to the same research group.

4. Only projects that surpass the cut-off score determined by the panel will receive funding.

5. If your project involves the use of biological materials, such as animal work, human data, human samples, or pluripotent cell lines, you must submit a PDF copy of valid ethical approval as part of your project submission. If you haven't obtained approval yet, you should have an understanding of the rules and timelines for obtaining it and consider this process when defining the project's starting date, if awarded. Projects should not be delayed due to pending ethical approvals.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Please email the completed and signed application forms, including the budget and Gantt chart, along with any optional one-page supporting data, as a single PDF file, named and subjected as “IOV PoC 2024 – LEAD APPLICANT NAME” to ITQB NOVA Innovation Office (innovationunit@itqb.unl.pt), until July 18^th, at 5pm PT time.