A PROGRAM OF THE GORDON AND BETTY MOORE FOUNDATION
MGH Internal Call for Pre-Proposals
Internal Deadline: Monday, October 16, 2023 – 5:00 PM
DESCRIPTION OF THE AWARD
“The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation seeks to identify outstanding inventors and innovators who harness science and technology to enhance the conduct of scientific research, strengthen environmental conservation, or improve the experience and outcomes of patient care.
The Moore Inventor Fellows program focuses on supporting scientist-inventors at a critical prototyping stage to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. The foundation seeks to provide freedom and support to promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative and disruptive innovations.
Gordon Moore’s contribution to the development of microelectronics helped produce the exponential growth of the digital revolution. In the spirit of Moore’s passion for science and penchant for inventing, the foundation seeks to support people who create new tools, technologies, processes, or approaches with a high potential to accelerate progress in the foundation’s three main areas of interest: scientific research, environmental conservation and patient care."
The Moore Foundation aims to support inventions at an early stage that could lead to proof-of-concept of an invention or advance an existing prototype that tackles an important problem. The foundation seeks "innovations that promise to make a long-lasting and meaningful impact by addressing underlying problems in their field, but a clear path toward commercialization is not a requirement. ”
MGH is eligible to nominate two candidates. Pre-proposals will be reviewed and assessed by the ECOR Subcommittee on Review of Research Proposals (SRRP).
DEADLINES
MGH Internal Pre-Proposal: Monday, October 16, 2023
Submit Basic Nominee Information to Foundation: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 5:00pm (PT)/ 8:00pm(ET)
Full Application Deadline: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 5:00pm (PT)/ 8:00pm (ET)
AWARD AMOUNT
The foundation plans to allocate nearly $34 million through 2026 to support 50 Moore Inventor Fellows. Each fellow will receive funding for three years at a level of $200,000 per year from the foundation. In addition, the foundation will provide the host institution with $25,000 each year to cover costs associated with administering the grant award, resulting in a total three-year award amount of $675,000.
The mentor and or department/unit will be required to contribute $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work. This can be “in kind” as released time or access to special facilities for which there is normally a charge. The foundation expects each fellow will be personally engaged in pursuing their invention and they require each fellow to devote at least 25% of their own time to their invention. Fellows may use the grant funds to support their own salary to create this opportunity. They may also hire research personnel and purchase services, equipment, or supplies.
This funding opportunity is not exempt from the 20% indirect cost (IDC) floor minimum. However, ECOR policy states that for MGH investigators selected through a competitive process as the institutional nominee for the Moore Inventor Fellows, in which the grant will bring in less than 20% indirect cost (IDC), ECOR will cover the IDC gap up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.
ELIGIBILITY
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Applicants must have a full-time faculty or postdoctoral appointment at MGH at the time of application.
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Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (MS, PhD, or MD; received on or after 2014).
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Proposed projects do not need to fall within the foundation's current funding priorities but should be broadly within the program areas of foundation interest (science, environmental conservation and patient care). For patient care, inventions should resonate with their focus on improving the experience and outcomes of patients with solutions that improve clinical diagnosis.
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For this opportunity, the foundation "is not interested in supporting fundamental research projects or projects already at a stage where significant venture capital is available. As with all our grants, they seek to measure progress toward a defined goal during the three years of support. The foundation’s policy is that intellectual property that results from a grant must be managed and disseminated in a manner that leads to the greatest impact."
In the first round, the following questions are used to evaluate each application:
• Rate the candidate’s capabilities as an inventor.
• Rate the potential of the proposed invention to make a difference in the foundation’s areas of interest: scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and/or patient care.
• Rate the potential for measurable progress within a 3-year period.
In the second round, the following questions are used to evaluate each application:
• Rate the candidate’s capabilities as an inventor.
• Rate the potential impact of the proposed project.
• Rate the plausibility of the invention to achieve its stated impact.
• Rate the potential for measurable progress within a 3-year period.
• Rate the overall application, taking into account both the inventor and invention.
SPONSOR EVALUATION CRITERIA
“The selection process has two stages. In the first, each submission will be reviewed by foundation staff with advice from external reviewers. In the second, ten finalists will be invited to make a virtual video presentation to a panel of advisors on the importance, plausibility, status and possible impact of their proposed line of work. After these presentations, the advisory panel and foundation staff will make recommendations to the foundation president for the 2024 fellowships.”
PRE-PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
The MGH pre-proposal must include the following 8 items (PDF documents only):
1. Project Title
2. Terminal Advanced Degree. List the month and year that you received your terminal advanced degree. Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (MS, PhD, or MD; received on or after 2014).
3. Statement of Invention (2 pages maximum, including citations) including:
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Description of invention, the problem it seeks to address and its potential impact
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Importance to science and patient care
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Stage of invention
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Current funding
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Feasibility
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Approach for measuring progress during the grant term
4. A Current Biosketch in the NIH Format. Please include the month and year of all faculty appointment(s) and completion of post doc training. Click here for the NIH format.
5. Other Support including all current and pending support with dates and dollar amounts. The NIH formatted Other Support is required. Click here for the NIH Format.
6. Budget Narrative (1 page maximum) Outline how the grant funds will be used
7. Signed Department/Mentor Contribution Form. Please assure that the nominee has at least 25 percent of their time to devote to their invention and $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor's work. Describe how the $50,000 in annual direct support will be used. Please click here to access the form.
8. One Letter of Reference from a mentor or department/unit chief (2 pages maximum). The letter should address the promise of the applicant and the invention.
HOW TO APPLY
ECOR accepts all applications online via the MGRI Online Grant Management Portal. This user-friendly system will allow MGH researchers to submit electronic applications to ECOR. The system has been designed to allow users to:
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Create a personal profile, which will auto-populate your future ECOR applications
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Assign a delegate to submit an application to ECOR on behalf of the applicant (optional)
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View current calls and apply to open opportunities
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Save and edit current applications in progress
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Submit completed applications to ECOR
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View all your ECOR applications that have been submitted via the online grants system
Instructions for Applying Online
1. Create your account: Login using your MGB credentials and fill out the profile information.
2. Complete the application: Once your profile is complete, you will automatically progress through the online application. If you cannot complete the application at one time, “save” the application and return to it at a later time to finish. Before submitting your application, you will have the ability to make changes to the application.
3. Submit your application: Once you have completed the application click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page. Once you submit it, you will not be able to make further changes unless you send a request to ECOR (note that once the deadline passes, requests to make changes will not be accepted).
Useful tips:
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To avoid losing your work, remember to save frequently
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You can only upload PDF documents
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If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current
Click 'Apply' below to begin the application.
QUESTIONS
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For further information, click here for the Gordon and Betty Moore website
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To view the application guidelines, click here.
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To view the FAQ page, click here.
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To see a list of previous recipients, click here.
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Any questions regarding the internal submission and process please email ECOR.