Research Innovation and Commercialization Grant

Faculty of Science Research Innovation and Commercialization (RIC) Grant is a competitive funding opportunity available to all faculty and graduate students at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Science who wish to initiate, explore and develop activities toward commercialization of research, with up to 12 months of funding.

Goals

The RIC Grant aims to provide seed funding, making the applicant more competitive for future grants and funding opportunities. Research Manitoba’s Innovation Proof of Concept Grant is an example of that.

Funding streams

The Faculty of Science (FoS) RIC Grant offers 2 funding streams:

1. FoS faculty members
2. FoS graduate students, with the support of their supervisor or co-supervisor who will be holding the funds.

Please note that no more than one grant can be awarded to a single research group.

While the purpose of this grant is to support researchers within the Faculty of Science, academic collaborators external to the Faculty may be involved in the project, provided that a science faculty member or graduate student is leading the project.

Project activities

Project activities could include, but are not limited to: 

• Market analysis
• Business incubator/accelerator activities (for example, North Forge and Lab2Market)
• Proof-of-concept studies
• Prototype development (including prototype consultation services)

Funded concepts

Funded concepts may include, but are not limited to: 

• Tools that a group or individual has developed to solve a research problem.
• Breakthrough technologies related to a research discovery.
• Novel applications directly or tangentially related to an area of research.
• Fee-for-service applications related to a research group’s area of research.

2025 competition

The RIC Grant will have two funding streams:

• One award of $30,000 is to be awarded to a faculty member to support their research commercialization initiative (not to be used for student stipend support).
• Two awards, each worth $10,000, are to be awarded, with priority given to graduate students who submit their own proposal to explore a research commercialization project related to the research project approved by their supervisor or co-supervisor.
  • The two $10,000 graduate student RIC Grants will be placed into the accounts of the graduate student’s supervisor or co-supervisor and used to support the project’s development (not to be used for stipend support).
  • The idea for this project may be conceptualized by either the graduate student or their supervisor, however, the student is expected to make significant contributions to the project activities, irrespective of who applies for the award.

Applications will be assessed based on the following criteria.

Impact

What problem does this project solve? Does this solution create a measurable societal, environmental, economic, and/or ecological benefit?

Barriers to entry

What does this project have that prevents other groups from competing in this market? This could include intellectual property generation (for example, patents), established partnerships and/or the requirement for highly specialized skills or equipment. Projects demonstrating greater barriers to entry and particular consideration of intellectual property strategy will be ranked more highly.

Feasibility

Will this product or service be economically viable, effective and/or desirable compared to currently available solutions?

Customer validation

Applicants are highly encouraged to speak to their proposed customers or end users and incorporate feedback into the application. Does this product or service solve a real problem and/or provide a significant benefit?

Budget

The budget is appropriate and reasonable, does not overlap with other funding and is not used to support graduate or undergraduate stipends. Funds can be used to support projects already in progress but should be supporting new initiatives aimed at increasing the Technical Readiness Level or bringing the technology to the consumer. 
 

Application support

The Faculty of Science will provide support for submissions through a mentored concept development session, consisting of project-specific feedback to assess and revise concepts to improve the feasibility of proposed projects. It is required that successful applicants have a quarterly meeting with Daniel Heschuk, program development specialist from the Faculty of Science Innovation Hub, to discuss the progress made throughout the project. It is highly recommended that new applicants establish contact with our program development specialist at least 2 weeks before submission.  

The deadline to submit the applications is Monday, April 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CST.

Post-award administration

Applications will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee, and feedback and results will be announced in May 2025. The granting period will run from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

A 1-page written report to the Associate Dean of Research (copied to Daniel.Heschuk@umanitoba.ca) providing a synopsis of the progress or results generated by the funding will be required at the end of the grant period. Successful applicants are encouraged to use the initial work to pursue future external funding opportunities. Every effort will be made to help applicants explore additional funding, resources, mentorship and supports beyond the funding period.

Preparing the project description document

Please include the following sections in a text document with the file name "[your project title]-project-description" and upload it in the "Project description" section on the application form. The text should be single-spaced (no more than 6 lines per inch) in Aptos regular 12 pts or any comparable font, and margins set at 3⁄4 of an inch.

• Problem statement (Maximum 1 page): Describe the problem that your innovation aims to solve. Who are your likely customers or end-users, and what feedback (if any) have you received from them? What is the unique value of your solution? You may also include information related to a proof-of-principle study, prototype or other study aimed at demonstrating the potential commercial feasibility of the research. Figures are allowed in the document’s appendix, and legend text must be readable at 100% zoom.
• Detailed project plan (Maximum 2 pages): Describe the anticipated timelines and outcomes of the project.
• Project justification (Maximum half a page): Describe the opportunity for innovation and commercialization of research.
• Long-term project benefits (Maximum half a page): Describe the longer-term benefits and goals of the proposed research, including opportunities for collaboration with industrial partners, future funding support, commercialization, student training or other benefits.
• Budget request and budget justification (Maximum 1 page): Total dollar amount requested, allocation of requested funds (use a table) and justification of budget request. Funding cannot be used towards student stipends or equipment (defined as non-consumable items over the period of the funding) over $5,000.

The deadline to submit the applications is Monday, April 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CST.

2019 recipients

2021 recipients

2023 recipients