NRF PROOF-OF-CONCEPT GRANT SCHEME
APPLICATION FORM
1.
Project Title
____________________________________________________________________
2.
Team Composition
2.1
Principal Investigator (PI)
Name
Designation
E.g. ABC
2.2
E.g. Assistant Professor
Department and
Institution
E.g. NUS, NTU, NYP, etc.
Other Team Members (if any)
Name
Designation
3.
Project Details
3.1
Summary of Project
Department and
Institution
Please give a brief summary (no more than 300 words), with minimal technical terms,
of the objectives and the scope of the project. The summary should clearly state the
concept, and details of proposed application/applications. It should elaborate the
novelty and the significant improvement or innovations over any incumbent
technologies for potential commercialisation.
3.2
Background Intellectual Property (IP) / Underlying Technology
Description
Type of IP
Brief description of the IP / E.g. Patent, previous
technology
work done by team
members, work done by
others
3.3
Owner (if applicable)
If background IP is
proprietary
(e.g.
patent/patent pending),
please state the owner
of the IP.
Detailed Technical Description (Maximum 6 pages)
Please describe the technical merits and application of this projects in detail. You
should include a brief description of the methodology of how the proof-of-concept will
be carried out experimentally, and the expected outcomes and deliverables of the
project (e.g. prototype, device, animal trial results, etc). You should also state
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As at 22 Dec 2011
succinctly how your technology is better than the current state of the art (i.e. your
secret sauce).
3.4
Project Milestones
Describe specific project development in terms of “project months or weeks” such as
fabrication, testing, refinement, field tests, etc.
Start
e.g. Month 0
Month 2
3.5
End
Month 2
Month 6.5
Description
Budget
Manpower
- Number and type of manpower (e.g.
research assistants)
Equipment
- List of equipment and accessories
OOE
- Breakdown of items
Total
S$
S$
S$
S$
3.6
Funding Sources
Please provide details of all grants currently held or being applied for by any of the
team members
4.
Commercial Viability Assessment
Path to Commercialisation and Commercial Potential
Please provide details on the preferred “path to commercialisation” 1 – i.e. the
expected product/service that is to be developed, how the team expects to get there
(e.g. licensing the technology, or forming a start-up) and an estimated timeline for the
commercialisation to take place. Highlight the aspects of this work that would attract
investors or companies to develop the prototype or product from this POC work into a
commercial entity.
1
Which is essentially a process or cycle of introducing a new product into the market. This includes the
need to consider how the prototype or device can successfully enter the market in a sustained, and longterm manner. It should also consider the likely customers or users of this new technology.
POC Application Form
As at 22 Dec 2011
4.1
Market Assessment
The team should perform a simple market assessment by answering the questions in
the table below. It should consider the initial market (i.e. who the first customers of
the product/service will be). If the technology has broad applications, the team should
elaborate on these, and make a market assessment of the broader market that the
technology could be developed form.
Market Segment
Application
Market Potential
4.2
Who is your potential customer?
What problem does your technology solve for your customer?
What is the estimated size of your market?
Competitors
Please provide details of some potential competitors in the same/similar market space
in the following table. (Note: We do not expect applicants to perform an extensive
analysis of the market for potential competitors. What is expected is for applicants to
conduct a simple online search, which would also help applicants to familiarize
themselves with the market and the competitors.) The team should also compare the
team’s technology/concept to be developed with that of the competitors’ (i.e. how the
team’s technology is better, and what weaknesses there are).
Competitor / Competing
Technology
Description and Comparison of Competing
Technology
4.3 (Optional) Endorsements by Potential Investors or Customers
Please provide details of industry assessment in the potential outcome of the POC.
Industry assessment should be sent to NRF separately by the assessing organization
in confidence using the structured template provided in RITA. Assessment provided in
other forms will not be accepted. Any industry endorsement of the potential benefits,
commercial value and marketability of the project outcome, or company
incorporation as part of the pathway to commercialization during the POC, or presecured post-POC funding/customer orders, will be favourably viewed. If future
funding support/customer orders is contingent on certain KPIs being met during POC,
please make sure that these KPIs are included in this section.
4.4 (Optional) Private sector participation in POC team
POC teams that comprise of private sector personnel, such as mentors,
entrepreneurs in residence, or anyone in the local business community with
expertise working with emerging technologies, will be favorably viewed. The role
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As at 22 Dec 2011
and deliverables of these private sector personnel must be clearly stated in this
section. Active roles such as development of go-to-market strategies, project
managing the POC etc is highly desired. However, note that the POC grant will
not fund the portion of the developmental work conducted by these people.
POC Application Form
As at 22 Dec 2011