Request for Proposals

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We recommend that you also download and examine INSTRUCTIONS FOR REVIEWERS, as well as print out the BUDGET FORMS. The instructions, together with the specific review criteria ennumerated in the RFP, will provide you with a complete picture of the issues which will be raised during the review of your proposal.

The Indiana 21st Century Research & Technology Fund was established by the State in 1999 to support the expansion of the high technology sector of Indiana's economy, with the expectation of creating significant economic impact and job growth. The Fund seeks to leverage in a variety of ways its investments in Indiana, to increase the capacity of Indiana institutions of higher education, Indiana businesses, and Indiana nonprofit corporations and other organizations to compete successfully for federal or private research and development funding; stimulate the transfer of research and technology into marketable products; and assist with diversifying Indiana's economy by focusing investment in biomedical research and biotechnology, information technology, and other high technology industry clusters requiring high skill, high wage employees; and to encourage an environment of innovation and cooperation among universities and businesses to promote research activity.

The Fund implements these goals through the creation of academic-commercial sector research and development partnerships. Such partnerships within and between the academic and commercial sectors provide: comprehensive expertise to projects which may not be within the capability of a single entity; broaden the economic and societal impacts of projects; provide an academic/commercial interface for the transfer of technologies and through which students move freely; and provide a means through which every part of the state can participate in technology-based economic development by providing an opportunity to academic and commercial entities, wherever they are located in the state, to involve Indiana's most outstanding talents in technology commercialization. If justified, Indiana companies can also involve regional or national expertise or technology in developing a project. The only requirement in this regard is that major elements of the commercialization process will occur through an Indiana company or division.

In providing support, the Fund intends to broaden the ties between Indiana academic institutions and the commercial sector. Such ties provide fertile ground for innovation, the crucial bridge between basic discovery and next generation products, and for training the future high technology workforce. These investments are intended to create new commercial ventures as well as significantly expand existing commercial activities. This broader focus on achieving economic impact and job growth involves both long and short-term goals, and clearly distinguishes 21st Century Fund awards from federal grant-in-aid, center, or SBIR/STTR programs, although the 21st Century Fund intends to leverage its investments against such Federal programs, and the infrastructure they provide, as well as against commercial/private sector support.

Prior to completing a proposal, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the material below as well as other information available on the Fund's web page, including the Instructions to Reviewers and any specific directives from the Fund's Board which may have been posted independently. Fund staff is available to help with proposal development questions. Contact information is provided on the Fund's web page.