FAQs

1) Who is CIMIT and what is it's role? 
CIMIT is the Consortium for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology a Boston Based consortium. CIMIT is providing administrative and outreach support to TRISH as well as helping teams prepare proposals. Teams are encouraged to contact CIMIT and ask for help. Please contact Dr. Steve Schachter at sschacht@bidmc.harvard.edu.

2) Who retains the rights to any intellectual property generated by a proposal?
Management of intellectual property will be determined by the proposal applicant’s institutional policies, with “walk-in” and “use” terms consistent with the U.S. Federal Government’s SBIR program.

3) Should I disclose any unprotected proprietary information in the submission?
Protecting proprietary information is the responsibility of the applicant and the applicant institution. Consistent with NIH policy, applicants are discouraged from submitting information considered proprietary unless it is deemed essential for proper evaluation of the application. However, when the application contains information that constitutes trade secrets, or information that is commercial or financial, or information that is confidential or privileged, identify the pages in the application that contain this information by marking those paragraphs or lines with an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the paragraph. Indicate at the beginning of the Research Plan which pages contain asterisks and a note stating: "The following sections marked with an asterisk contain proprietary/privileged information that [name of applicant] requests not be released to persons outside the Government, except for purposes of review and evaluation." When information in the application constitutes trade secrets or information that is commercial or financial, or information that is confidential or privileged, it is furnished to the Government in confidence with the understanding that the information shall be used or disclosed only for evaluation of this application. If a grant is awarded as a result of or in connection with the submission of this application, the Government shall have the right to use or disclose the information to the extent authorized by law.

4) Who can apply for this grant call? 
In order to be eligible, applicants must be employed by a US-based business operating in the U.S., and the primary award recipients will be their companies.

5) Are international companies outside of the United States eligible to participate?
Companies that are based outside of the US are not eligible to apply. Non-US companies can be paid fees for service to a US-based company, but not fees for research activities.

6) When are applications due? 
Proposals are due by 11:59pm EST January 25, 2019.

7) How much funding is available?
Applicants may request up to $100,000 per Validation Award for an expected duration of 3 to 6 months of work and up to $250,000 per Accelerator Award for an expected duration of up to one year of work. The cap can be exceeded in special cases with prior approval. Please contact Dr. Steve Schachter at sschacht@bidmc.harvard.edu.

8) Who reviews the applications?
CIMIT screens all the applications to ensure they meet the requirements. The TRISH review panels are made up of practicing clinical specialists, engineers and scientists with broad experience in medical innovation and space health.

9) Is there anything "special" that applicants should know?
Key elements of a strong application are experienced investigators, a history of strong collaboration, innovation, and commercialization potential. Proposal teams should be aware of the unique environmental factors of spaceflight, and particularly deep space away from Earth and the Van Allen belts. This includes microgravity, substantially elevated cosmic and solar radiation, acoustic and electromagnetic noise from the spacecraft, limits on mass/power/volume/crew-training time, etc. The article "From the bench to exploration medicine: NASA life sciences translational research for human exploration and habitation missions" is a helpful reference.

10) What "types" of proposals are of interest?
TRISH is looking for disruptive science and technology, not incremental advances. Hence, TRISH is unlikely to fund any approaches that are incremental, or approaches that have been funded previously by NASA.

11) Who should I list as collaborators?
List only individuals who are considered key personnel or significant contributors to the work that will be performed, and who have agreed to their role.

12) Will you accept a video showing how my system works?
Videos are not accepted.

13) Are there any budget restrictions or limitations?
All funds are intended to be used for steering the product towards spaceflight applications while in parallel moving the product along the commercialization path. Funds can be spent on technical work, clinical proof of concept, etc., but not for “business activities” (e.g. a “market study”, patent prosecution, FDA documentation, etc.). Capital and non-capital equipment must be well justified to the purpose and exclusive need of the project. Alterations and renovations will not be supported. Company "match" funding can be used for "business activities". For more detailed information please follow this link.

14) Are indirect costs provided?
The award amounts are total costs. Budgets should include direct and indirect costs.  If you are using an indirect cost rate, it must be a federally negotiated rate.

15) When would I receive my funding?
The timeliness of your revisions to the administrative materials and obtaining any necessary protocol approvals will affect when you receive your award. We plan to provide funding as soon as possible after notification. However, if your work involves human subjects, data or tissue derived, or live animals, the necessary IRB and IACUC approvals must be received prior to the activation of your award.

16) What are the reporting requirements?
The reporting requirements vary by award type and are as follows:

•  Validation Award reporting requirements: The PI shall submit a Quarterly Technical Progress Report within 15 calendar days at the end of each quarter, followed by a Final Technical Report. The Final Technical Report shall be submitted within 60 calendar days of the award performance end date. Final payment is contingent upon receipt and approval of the Final Report.
• Accelerator Award reporting requirements: The PI shall submit an Annual Technical Progress Report within 15 calendar days of the anniversary of the award, followed by a Final Technical Report. The Final Technical Report shall be submitted within 60 calendar days of the award performance end date. Final payment is contingent upon receipt and approval of the Final Report.