United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund launches COVID-19 Ignition Grants

Deadline: 15 May 2020

The United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) seeks to support and foster joint applied R&D to generate public good through the commercialization of technology developed through sustained partnerships between U.S. and Indian researchers and entrepreneurs. The current global crisis underscores the importance and relevance of USISTEF activities.

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In keeping with its’ mission and vision, the United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund announces a Call for Proposals under the category of Ignition Grants. USISTEF encourages out-of-the-box, innovative ideas from the community to address the COVID-19 challenge. Ignition Grant proposals should address proof-of-concept based on sound science and engineering research, potential for commercial viability and practicality of the idea/innovation/technology.

Objectives

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USISTEF would select and support promising joint U.S.-India S&T based entrepreneurial initiatives that address the “development and implementation of new technologies, tools, and systems to address COVID-19 related challenges including monitoring, diagnosis, health and safety, public outreach, information and communication”. These initiatives can originate from government, academic, non- governmental or commercial entities, and any combination thereof provided they focus on applied R&D, and have commercial potential.
USISTEF would also consider proposals related to technologies/products that can be re-purposed to address COVID-19 in the current scenario. USISTEF encourages projects that demonstrate a high degree of innovation leveraging advances in science and technology.
Program Structure

The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) would solicit proposals under two categories:

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Ignition Stage I:To help early-stage creative ideas develop a proof-of-concept and/or build a prototype [Grant support up to INR 50,00,000/- or approx.. USD 66,000/-]
Ignition Stage II:To support a team with a workable, validated prototype and/or with the ability to repurpose existing innovative solutions to meet the COVID-19 challenge [Grant support up to INR 1,00,00,000/- or approx.. USD 133,000/- ]
Funding and Award Information

It may be noted that Endowment Fund is an Indian Rupee Fund and all the awards are denominated in Indian rupees (INR) only. Awards are made in tranches according to project milestones and instalment amounts are fixed in Rupees. For U.S. Awardees, the award is transferred after converting it to USD at the prevailing exchange rate as on the date of disbursement with no adjustment made for foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
Awards will be released in a phased manner based on successful completion of milestones. All milestones for the awards will be specified at the time of the award.
The Board reserves the right to limit its award to selected project activities and milestones and in doing so approve partial funding.
The teams should indicate willingness to accept the Terms and Conditions of the Award (T&C) in case the proposal is approved.
Eligibility Criteria

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Proposals must have at least one Indian and one U. S. partner for the complete duration of the proposed project. Primary partners from both sides must have significant and synergistic roles in the development and commercialization of technologies for the specific application described in the proposal.
The relationship between the U.S. and Indian partners must be clearly defined, including ownership of intellectual property rights for the technology proposed to be developed and commercialized.
At least one of the partners must be an entrepreneurial entity (preferably a small or medium- scale enterprise) and the team may include any combination of the following:
Incorporated companies including start-ups; or
Non-incorporated entities; or
Academic, governmental and non-governmental research institutions or their consortia
Individuals
For more information, visit https://covid19.usistef.online/login