Proposal Matching Program

Purpose

The Oregon BEST Proposal Matching Program is intended to assist Oregon BEST Member Faculty and research teams to win competitive proposals for research grants/contracts, research equipment acquisition, and product development/commercialization. Our desire — in close collaboration with the campus research offices — is to approve matching funds in all cases that meet our criteria (detailed below). This might or might not be realistic depending on the volume of requests received.

The proposed use of Oregon BEST matching funds can be mostly at the discretion of the Principal Investigator (PI), and ideally provides support of activities that strengthen the competitiveness of the proposal that might be difficult to fund with the primary funding agency's funds. The funds must be used to strengthen the PI's (and PI's institution) research capacity and long-term competitiveness.

Types of  Matching Grants
Matching Funds for extramural research proposals Matching funds of up to 10% of the non-state funding secured, as described in the proposal sent to the funding agency
Matching amount may be increased to up to 15% at the discretion of the Oregon BEST Research Committee in the case of collaborative proposals with substantial involvement by two or more Oregon BEST-affiliated institutions. If the Oregon Nanoscience & Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) is also matching the same proposal, Oregon BEST's match will be reduced to 8% (or 12% for multi-institutional proposals).
Matching Funds for equipment acquisition Oregon BEST will consider providing up to 33% of the total/actual acquisition cost for equipment for shared use, normally in a designated Oregon BEST (or Oregon BEST approved) shared user facility. At least 33% must come from competitive extramural sources. Equipment matches are available for research and development/commercialization applications. The funding source may be a grant or donation from federal, private or industry sources.
Installation and set up of donated equipment Oregon BEST will consider providing up to 33% of the actual market/“street” value (convincingly documented) of donated equipment for moving, installation, and initial spare parts inventory.
Matching Funds for development or commercialization Oregon BEST will consider providing matching funds, up to 10% of the non-state funding secured, for the University portion of a development or commercialization projects where a University PI partners with an industry partner to win external funding from a competitive source, such as a venture capital fund or SBIR grant.

Oregon BEST's Board of Directors will periodically review and approve a “risk budget” for proposal matching based on estimated financial exposure. This will govern the total availability of Oregon BEST matching funds. In most cases, a maximum of $200K will be committed to a single project.

Award of Matching Grants
In all cases, the following considerations will apply:

  1. Requests for funds must be made in advance of proposal submission and the commitment of those funds used to increase the competitiveness of the proposal. Thus, requests for matching funds will not be granted after grants have been awarded.
  2. Preference will be given when there is a stated requirement for matching funds, i.e. an Oregon BEST matching funds grant is critical for winning the proposal.
  3. In order to avoid overcommitting the matching funds too quickly, Oregon BEST grants will typically be limited to $200K/proposal, although consideration will be given to larger requests, which should be expected to require additional justification and processing time.
  4. Campus agreement to “backstop” the matching requirement in the event Oregon BEST funds are exhausted is required.

Application Process
Principal Investigator(s) must be Oregon BEST Member Faculty and submit proposals for matching considerations at least three weeks prior to submission deadline for the final proposal. Oregon BEST might not be able to respond to later requests.

At the time of filling out the online application form, please submit a pre-proposal or draft proposal (including a description of how the requested matching funds will be used) to the Oregon BEST Executive Director at: david.kenney (at) oregonbest.org.

To apply for an Oregon BEST Proposal Match, please complete the online application by clicking the following link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dH...

Before filling out the online application, make sure to have the following information readily available:

  • Project budget information, including other sources of funding and amount of matching funds being requested from Oregon BEST
  • Estimated probability of funding
  • Estimated cash flow timing
  • Agreement from participating campuses

Review Process

  • Requests will be reviewed by the Oregon BEST Executive Director who oversees any necessary revisions and makes recommendations for matching commitments to the Oregon BEST Research Committee.
  • The Oregon BEST Executive Director and the Research Committee will review and approve requests on a rolling basis through meetings, e-mail exchanges, and/or conference calls.
  • Notice of Oregon BEST matching commitment will be given to the PI(s) prior to final proposal submission to allow adequate time for institutional review, approval of final proposals and associated budget detail, and provision of a support/commitment letter from Oregon BEST (if requested).
  • Upon notification from the PI(s) that a proposal has been funded, Oregon BEST will execute the necessary contracts/statements of work with the university research office to enable the flow and tracking of funds.

Reporting

  • On a quarterly basis during the grant period, the PI(s) must provide a one-page progress report, and, at the end of the grant period, the PI(s) must provide a copy of the final technical and financial reports made to the primary funding agency.
  • The PI(s) and university must provide payroll information to Oregon BEST each quarter related to the number of full or part-time positions created or retained by proposal match funding for Oregon BEST to report to the Oregon Business Development Department.
  • In addition, a final assessment of project performance relative to Oregon BEST objectives must be submitted.
  • All such documentation shall be provided to Oregon BEST in a timely fashion, typically within 30 days of the end of the project period.

Download a pdf of past Oregon BEST Matching Grants.