OFI Seed Fund – Round 8

Oceans, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Deadlines

Academic Unit: Inquire within unit

Memorial Deadline: RIS review not required

External Deadline: Friday 30th, June 2023

Description

Memorial applicants should submit their proposals to both OFI@dal.ca (copied to OFI@mun.ca) and also to the MUN Researcher Portal by the deadline of June 30, 2023. MUN researchers must contact their Grants Facilitation Officer, Associate Dean (Research) or equivalent unit signatory to obtain information on deadlines and processes, as well as, obtain UNIT approval (s) prior to submission to OFI.

OFI’s Seed Fund supports innovative projects that have the potential to advance research, commercial or social concepts relating to the ocean. To qualify, applicants must be current faculty, staff, technicians, postdocs, or students (Please note: students, postdocs, and technicians that are awarded funding must be supervised by a current faculty member who would be identified as the grant holder and assume responsibility for distribution of funds and terms of the deliverables).

Funding amount & duration

Awards will typically range from $10,000 to $15,000 with particularly compelling ideas considered up to a maximum of $30,000
Funding is intended for projects to be undertaken and completed within a 12-month time frame
Award recipients are expected to contribute to OFI reporting. Report requests are expected to occur at the end of the approved award period
OFI requires Seed Fund recipients to showcase their work publicly through an event and/or media outreach. OFI will assist with this communication
Successful applicants may receive added experience learning about funding relationships with this round’s sponsors
OFI will actively support completed Seed Fund projects that have commercialization potential to advance commercialization plans through the next stages of the ocean ecosystem, such as Lab2Market Oceans, Ocean Startup Challenge, and CDL Oceans
Some Seed Fund co-funders require a commitment of matching funds.

Application submission

The following information must be compiled and sent to ofi@dal.ca and ofi@mun.ca as one PDF document:

Applicant information (name, title, affiliation, address, phone, email); students and postdocs must also provide contact information for a current faculty member who would act as the project supervisor and grant-holder
Applicant Curriculum Vitae (please limit to two pages)
Title and summary of proposed research (250 words)
A brief description as to how the project would promote/foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility
Description of expected outcomes arising from the project, its significance, and how these outcomes will be achieved (500 words)
Clearly state how this project acts as a seed for future projects; how the proposed project could potentially catalyze a new initiative and grow in the future (250 words)
A brief description of how the project supports (or aligns with) OFI research priorities (250 words)
If applicable, alignment with areas of interest to co-funders
– Genome Atlantic: focus on enabling socio-economic impact through genomics innovation
– NSERC: includes evidence of training and partnership
Work plan: Project start and end dates; identify key milestones
Names and contact information of team members: collaborators, partners, students
Indicate the role of co-investigators (who, their background, and their role in the project)
A budget that itemizes general categories of expenses and a brief justification for these expenses (please also send this as an excel spreadsheet in addition to the compiled PDF)
Indicate if you, your department, or your institution have matching funding available to support this project. Please provide an overview of the amount available, timeline associated with the matching funds and sourceMore information can be found here.The deadline to apply is June 30, 2023, at 11:59pm (Atlantic Time).