PBIAA First Call for Early-Stage Commercialisation Projects

Call Summary

Please note that you must read the full Call document guidance before submitting your proposal

Call type: Invitation for proposals

Closing date: 30^th September 2024 at 16.00 p.m.

Funding Available:

PBIAA funding is available for up to 15 early-stage commercialisation projects that require support from expertise and facilities available at Cardiff University Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) or Swansea University Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Manufacture (CISM). PBIAA funding is limited to £35,000 per project of up to 6 months duration.  Successful applicants may apply for further Follow On funding from the SWCS PBIAA, up to seven awards at £50,000 each for a further six months will be available.

Early-Stage commercialisation funding can be used to fund costs associated with advancing the innovation concept (including staff time, travel and subsistence and consumables costs), and to access expertise and/or facilities time at the Institute for Compound Semiconductors at Cardiff University and / or the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials at Swansea. This includes design, epitaxial growth, fabrication and characterisation / analysis.

How to apply: Cardiff University is managing the administration and award of applications. Enquiries and applications should be submitted by email to Dr Rachel Morgan, PBIAA Programme Manager (MorganR60@Cardiff.ac.uk).

Assessment Process: a two-stage review process will be followed. Submissions will be considered by a minimum of two Assessors from an independent panel and then the SWCS PBIAA Management Board.

Key Dates:

Summary

Funding is available for fifteen innovative, early-stage commercialisation projects, each being limited to £35,000 and a maximum of six months duration. Successful applicants may then apply for further Follow On funding from the SWCS PBIAA, up to seven awards at £50,000 each for a further six months will be available.  Projects must be early-stage or feasibility studies for commercialisation and not research studies.

The South Wales Compound Semiconductor Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (SWCS PBIAA) is led by Cardiff University in collaboration with Swansea University, working closely with industry and public sector partners within the South Wales compound semiconductor cluster, branded as ‘CSconnected’. SWCS PBIAA leverages unique regional expertise, translational research infrastructure and critical manufacturing capabilities as innovation assets and aims to make a step-change in the expansion rate of the ‘CSconnected’ by attracting CS academics and researchers from across the UK to set-up and innovate in South Wales.

Early-Stage commercialisation funding can be used to fund costs associated with advancing the innovation concept (including staff time, travel and subsistence and consumables costs), and to access expertise and/or facilities time at the Institute for Compound Semiconductors at Cardiff University and / or the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials at Swansea. This includes design, epitaxial growth, fabrication and characterisation / analysis.

Eligibility

This call is open to anyone who has an existing employment contract in an academic, research or technical role at a UK Higher Education Institution that will extend to include the duration of the project. If awarded, funding, employing institutions must confirm applicants will have an employment contract that covers the full duration of the project.

Applicants must be prepared to locate, at least temporarily, in South Wales and make use of the CSconnected cluster capabilities at the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM) in Swansea University or the Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) in Cardiff University.

Please see full applicant and panel guidance notes on application and assessment review process and consideration of:  Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Responsible Research and Innovation; Trusted Research and Intellectual Property.

How to Apply

Cardiff University is managing the administration and award of applications. Early Stage-Commercialisation applications should be submitted to Dr Rachel Morgan, PBIAA Programme Manager (MorganR60@Cardiff.ac.uk). The completed form must be received via email by no later than 16:00 p.m. on the 30^th September 2024. 

Applicants must ensure the following:

• All applications should be submitted on the application form provided.
• Proposed projects and activities must clearly align with SWCS PBIAA aims and objectives, and clearly demonstrate the need and intended workplan for engagement with CISM and/or ICS.
• All projects must fall within the early-stage commercialisation/proof of concept SWCS PBIAA funding is not suitable for early-stage research and development, or feasibility studies and such applications will not be considered by the assessment panel.
• If successful, all projects must be ready to start within three months of 1 January 2024, with a maximum duration of six months.
• If successful, employing institutions must confirm the lead applicant will have an employment contract that covers the full duration of the project.

Applications must:

• Include descriptions of tangible deliverables from the project by each party that demonstrate progress towards full-stage commercialisation;
• Include a full justification of resources and completed costs table - costs for CISM and/or ICS facilities access must be supported by quotes from CISM and/or ICS.
• Include practical timeframes for key tasks and deliverables required of each party.
• Adhere to the maximum word count provided for each section on the form.

Award-holders will be required to provide detailed mid-term (3 months) and end of project (6 months) reports summarising progress against key tasks, deliverables, main achievements, interaction with CSconnected cluster organisations, identified risks and challenges, and budget position.  

Award holders will also be expected to participate in networking events in person in South Wales and/or online, and to engage with the wider CSconnected community and SWCS PBIAA activities (including knowledge transfer, advanced skills training and public and school engagement) where aligned with their interests.  Further ED&I funding is available to support engagement with these activities if required – please see ED&I section below for details.

Assessment Process

Scored applications will then be moderated by the SWCS PBIAA Management Board. All Assessors and Board Members will be required to sign confidentiality agreements and disclose any potential conflicts of interest with applicants, their employing institutions, or organisations named in the proposal as part of the assessment process - all identified conflicts will be managed by Cardiff University.   The Management Board will confirm the final allocation of funding.

Applications will be assessed and scored against the following key criteria:

1. Quality, Clarity and Credibility

• Does the project deliver high quality early-stage commercialisation /proof of concept outcomes?
• Is the approach credible, demonstrating the proposed project team will be able to deliver identified tasks in the timescale outlined?
• Has the project been appropriately costed with clear justifications, and is the level of PBIAA funding requested clearly necessary?
• Is the choice of ICS/CISM, and other partners or sub-contractors (if any) clear and appropriate?

2. Value for Money Against Realistic Ambitions

• Will the proposed project be undertaken in an efficient way and is the applicant requesting only resources that are essential to the project?
• Do the importance and the quality of the proposed activities and associated outcomes justify the amount of resource required?
• Has the proposal demonstrated an understanding of the volume of work to be done and identified the level of staffing, travel and subsistence and other costs that will be needed in order to achieve the aims of the project?

3. Potential Impact and Opportunities

• Does the proposal present suitable levels of challenge and ambition?
• Is the project high risk, high-return/impactful? Is there scope /potential for follow-on funding).
• Are the intended outcomes clear?

4. SWCS PBIAA Alignment

• Does the proposal complement existing and proposed activity within the SWCS PBIAA and is it of benefit to the South Wales CSconnected cluster?

Will the project deliverables/outcomes support the development of further funding applications, industrial or academic collaborations or commercialisation support?

Key Dates:

Contacts

For more details, please contact the PBIAA Programme Manager, Dr Rachel Morgan (MorganR60@Cardiff.ac.uk), or ICS and CISM contacts given in the full call guidance Applicants are also advised to consult their university or departmental research office ahead of submitting a proposal to this call.

**Please note that this funding is discretionary and completing the below application form does not guarantee that the SWCS PBIAA will offer the amount of support requested, unless agreed by the panel of assessors and Management Board.