The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has announced the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Request for Proposals (RFP) for FY2016. The solicitation opens on October 30, 2015 and Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due by Friday, December 4. Award announcements are planned for early June 2016.

The CRCF grows Virginia’s economy by supporting high-potential technology commercialization projects at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities, the private sector, and nonprofit research institutions. A single solicitation for $3.4 million will be offered in FY2016, with five programs available for funding: Commercialization, SBIR Matching Funds, STTR Matching Funds, Matching Funds, and Eminent Researcher Recruitment.

Awards from the CRCF further the goals and industry opportunities set forth the in the Commonwealth Research and Technology (R&T) Strategic Roadmap.Eligible technology sectors for all programs this round are cyber security, energy, information technology – specifically data analytics, life sciences and unmanned systems for air, land, sea or space.

Details for the FY2016 solicitation, including the link to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), are available on CIT’s website at http://www.cit.org/initiative/crcf/fy2016-solicitation/. Thewebsite provides additional resources, including program guidelines, webinars, FAQs, sample applications and templates. Please direct questions to [email protected].

CIT issued one solicitation in FY2015 resulting in $2.8 million invested in 38 projects across the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth’s investment was used to leverage approximately $5.6million in additional matching funds. To date, the Fund has announced nearly $16.5 million for184 projects; outcomes include companies formed, jobs created, intellectual property created, regulatory approvals, new investments made, and technology licensed.