CBB Seed funding

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Applications are open now for CBB Seed Funding Round 6 until January 2023!

How to Apply

The principal applicant must be a CBB member. Please fill out this form to apply for CBB membership.

Application forms are available in PDF and Word (.docx) formats and should be submitted via email to cbb@uwaterloo.ca along with an electronic cover sheet and the principal applicant's CV.

Application details are as follows:

Objectives

The overarching objectives of CBB's seed funding program is to:

Enable CBB’s vision and mission
Help develop sustainable research programs by facilitating applications to external agencies
Support multi-disciplinary research across UW faculties
Mentor and support the next generation of CBB researchers
Communicate CBB’s research impact both locally and globally

Please note that all seed fund applicants are expected to seek subsequent external support. A plan for applying for external support should be clearly outlined in the application.

Awards

$5,000 award
$10,000 award
$15,000 award (available to members who successfully apply to one of two CBB priority funding pools)

A principal applicant may only be granted one award per competition. An individual may apply as a principal applicant on only one application per round but may be included as a team member on other applications during the same competition period.

Priority funding pools

Two priority funding pools are available in this round: the Health and Medical Professional Development priority funding pool and the Access to Data priority funding pool.

Applications to one of CBB’s priority funding pools must outline how the project will address the objectives of the funding pool.

'Health and Medical Professional Development' priority funding pool objectives:

Develop relationships with regional, national and international organizations and societies to enable awareness of unique educational materials available on UW campus.
Enable content creation and sustainable delivery of educational materials.
CBB will consider applications that will produce and deliver interdisciplinary training materials for health and medical professionals, graduate students, and Postdoctoral Fellows.

'Access to Data' priority funding pool objectives:

Develop relationships with regional, national, and international organizations and societies to increase access to health data for the University of Waterloo community.
Explore opportunities to enable the management of health data on campus at Waterloo.

Important Dates

November 1, 2022	Open to applications.
January 10, 2023	All applications must be received by 11:59 pm EST via email (cbb@uwaterloo.ca). Principal applicants will receive acknowledgment of receipt within one week of submission. Late submissions will not be accepted.
March 1, 2023	Principal applicants will receive written notice of the decision.

If you were interested to apply for CBB’s 'Transition to Practice' funding pool, please consider the Transformative Health Technologies Graham Seed Fund.

Principal Applicant Eligibility

The principal applicant must be a CBB faculty member (definite/continuing term) at Waterloo and will serve as the contact person for the seed fund.

The principal applicant on the subsequent external fund application must also be a Waterloo faculty member.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a qualified review committee and scored based on the following criteria:

Demonstrated relevance to CBB’s supported research areas and the potential impact of the proposed research.
Bringing together new teams or significantly strengthening teams led by Waterloo faculty.
Potential collaborations across disciplines at Waterloo, and on a regional, national, or global level.
Clearly describing the appropriate use of the requested funds (i.e. dollar amount requested should match the scale of activities planned, and the budget outlined should clearly explain how funds will be used).
Clearly describing how a seed fund award will help facilitate future external funding. A plan for applying for external funding or creating a revenue model should be clearly outlined.
Alignment of your proposed project with priority funding pool objectives (applicable to Health and Medical Professional Development or Access to Data priority funding pool applicants only).

Preference will be given to applications that involve:

Interdisciplinary teams.
At least one training opportunity (i.e. grad student or postdoc involvement).
Engagement of non-academic collaborators.
Applicants who have not previously received research seed funding from CBB.

NOTE: Applicants who have been previously funded by CBB but have not submitted their final report (see reporting requirements below) within the specified timeline are not eligible for further support from CBB.

Proposals that most closely align with  Seed Fund objectives  will be given preference.

CBB Review Committee and Decision Process:

Review committee:

A committee will be appointed by the CBB Executive Director to review applications. 
Any conflicts of interest will be declared in advance (i.e. co-applicants, principal applicant from own department, etc.) and reviewers will not participate in discussions or decisions related to applications for which they have a conflict of interest.

Decision process:

Applications will be scored according to the stated evaluation criteria and the alignment with seed funding objectives, and will be declared either approved for funding or not-approved for funding.
Approved applications will be ranked from highest score to lowest score and funds will be awarded as requested (to a maximum of $10,000 or $15,000 per application), starting with the highest-ranked application and moving down the list until all approved applications are funded or seed funds are depleted, whichever comes first. 
Principal applicants will receive written notice of the decision.

Requirements of Successful Applications

In-kind support to CBB:

Successful applicants are required to:

Participate in a research event/symposium for CBB seed funding recipients, and

Participate in a review committee for future CBB seed funding proposals.

Reporting Requirements:

CBB Seed Fund recipients are required to report on outcomes resulting from the award. A brief narrative report will be requested at the end of the funding period (i.e. description of the use of funds, update on the team, progress towards external funding, etc.) and further follow-up will occur to track the outcomes of external funding applications.

Acknowledgment of Support:

Successful applicants must acknowledge funding support from the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB) in all public announcements, presentations and/or publications related to their funded project.

Suggested acknowledgment statement:

This research was funded by the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB) at the University of Waterloo.

Ethics Requirements:

Where applicable and consistent with the University of Waterloo's Guidelines on Research Involving Human Participants and/or Guidelines for the Care and Use of Animals in Research and Teaching. Projects must undergo prior ethics review and clearance through the Office of Research Ethics (ORE). This requirement applies to all research involving humans or live, non-human vertebrate animals regardless of whether the procedures used are invasive or non-invasive. Where applicable, funds will only be transferred after receipt of ethics clearance.

Acknowledgment of Responsibility:

Prior to the release of funds, principal applicants as well as the applicable chair/director must sign an agreement.

Questions?

If your question is not listed, contact cbb@uwaterloo.ca