Kentucky Commercialization Fund Program (KCF)

Announcement: KCF-010 RFP (08-16-2009)-- KSTC announced a new Request for Proposals (RFP), KCF-010 (Round COMM-09-RFP-010) under the KCF program. This round of funding is open to ALL accredited Kentucky colleges and universities. See below for tutorial, program description, details and important dates.

• Important Dates/Deadlines for KCF-010
  1. Pre-Proposal online application opened: September 16, 2009.
  2. Pre-Proposal online submission closed: September 22, 2009, 4PM ET.
  3. Face-to-face interviews (by invitation only): September 28-29, 2009, at KSTC, 200 West Vine Street, Suite 420 [i.e. Fourth Floor of the PNC Bank Building], Lexington, KY 40507. See 'KCF Program Description...Submission Instructions' link below for face-to-face interview details.
  4. Invitation to submit a Full Proposal: October 2, 2009.
  5. Full Proposal online application (by invitation only) opened: October 2, 2009.
  6. Full Proposal online submission closed: October 23, 2009, 4PM ET.
  7. Signed budget and cover sheets due: October 26, 2009, 4PM ET. Electronic submission through Office of Sponsored Research ONLY.
  8. Award decisions are anticipated mid to late December 2009.
• How to Apply -- KCF-010 Pre-Proposal
  1. Read the KCF-010 RFP and the KCF Program Description, Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions (sections revised 09-16-09 and 10-12-09 clearly marked) for submission requirements, page limits, allowable expenses, review criteria, etc.
  2. Carefully review the KCF Pre-Proposal Application Tutorial for detailed online application instructions with screenshots and upload directions (NOTE: Now you may simply copy and paste images onto the application tool).
  3. Begin a Pre-Proposal application at http://commfund.kstc.com. To be eligible for an invitation to submit a Full Proposal, a COMMFUND-09-RFP-010 Pre-Proposal must be created and submitted online. The complete Pre-Proposal should be 5-7 pages in length.
  4. Finalize the online Pre-Proposal application and submit electronically before the submission deadline.
• KCF-010 Full Proposal -- by invitation only
  1. If invited to submit a Full Proposal, carefully review the Program Description, especially the NEW narratives section content, and the KCF Full Proposal Application Tutorial.
  2. Prepare and submit the online application electronically before the submission deadline.
  3. Print and submit your signed cover and budget sheets to your grants management officer for electronic transmittal by the required deadline.
• Important Considerations
  1. KSEF must receive the complete online electronic submission no later than 4PM ET on the due date. Each submission is electronically time-stamped. The applicant is solely responsible for timely submission.
  2. Proposals submitted on or around the time of closing are more likely to run into server errors and high internet traffic. It is the applicant's responsibility to submit the online application on time and consider the risk of submission failure at a time of high demand.
  3. Applicants in previous rounds have required a minimum of three to four hours to complete their online applications.

Contact -- Maria Labreveux, PhD, Senior Program Manager R&D and Commercialization.

KCF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Kentucky Commercialization Fund Program (KCF) supports efforts made by faculty in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to commercialize a technology, product or process that they have developed but not yet licensed. The KCF mission is to commercialize the technologies developed in any of the State's identified five research focus areas: Biosciences, Environmental and Energy Technologies, Human Health and Development, Information Technology and Communications, and Materials Science and Advanced Manufacturing.

The Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation (KSEF) staff manages the KCF program. KSEF was created to invest in research and development activity to promote innovation and build a pipeline of new ideas and technologies that will add value to the growth in the Commonwealth. Created under the Kentucky Innovation Act of 2000, the mission of KSEF is to build science and engineering capacity and excellence by investing in ideas, technologies, human resource development and technological innovations in Kentucky.

KSEF is an initiative of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC), and is managed in partnership with the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). KSTC is a private nonprofit enterprise founded in 1987 to enhance capacity of people, firms and organizations to develop and apply science and technology and compete responsibly in the global market place.