2024 Catalyst Prize

Eligibility

Applicant/Principal Investigator:

• Investigators must be affiliated with and conducting research at an eligible institution for the entire duration of the grant. Academic appointments must have been approved by the proposal submission deadline.  This grant is primarily intended for early-career investigators.
• The Principal Investigator must be considered an independent researcher at their institution. Such an individual normally holds the rank of assistant or associate professor; can initiate and direct their own independent lines of research as principal investigator; has full responsibility for running their laboratories; has full control of their research funds; and is permitted to supervise trainees (if applicable, as per their institution’s policy).
• Adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply.
• Postdoctoral fellows and other trainees are eligible to apply with the support of a supervisor.

Projects:

• Research projects with established seed funding of greater than $25,000 are not eligible.
• Research projects with established projects with established seed funding of less than $25,000 are only eligible if a budgetary shortfall is demonstrated in the budget of the present application, with appropriate accompanying justification.
• Applicants can have any background in education or research, but the resulting proposal must be related to medical/clinical/health research or have a resulting application to one of these fields.

Summary

Let’s Get Proof is a medical research crowdfunding platform, looking to make medical research more efficient, inclusive, and impactful. The Catalyst Prize is a grant/crowdfunding hybrid that is democratizing the granting process and giving an equal chance for any researcher at any institution to win. Researchers must crowdfund a certain portion of their budget, as well as meet other social engagement metrics, to become eligible for the prize. Moreover, the goal is that, even for the projects that do not win the research prize, they will have crowdfunded sufficient money and built enough of a community that they can continue forward with their research proposal without the prize funding.

Applicants must submit a project proposal via the Let’s Get Proof platform. Upon submission of a project proposal, the Let’s Get Proof team must approve the project to go live on the platform (see Terms of Use to see the guidelines for project approval). In addition, for a project proposal to be eligible for the prize, they must provide two versions of a budget in the Budget section:

• The formal budget, in which the researcher can input each budget line item, must constitute a feasible budget should the researcher NOT WIN the $25,000 prize.
• In the budget description, the researcher must then include further details as to how the $25,000 prize would change their research project.

Following approval, the researcher must meet the following metrics on their project to be considered eligible for the $25,000 prize:

• $1,000 crowdfunded in pledges.
• Comments from 10 unique users.
• 25 likes/favourites.

Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis starting March 1, 2024. The deadline to reach the eligibility targets is May 31, 2024.

Submission Process

This competition will be part of the Research Management System (RMS), and approvals will be obtained electronically. Research Funding Application Approvals (RFAA) forms are not required as approvals are collected electronically in RMS.

Full Proposal

The Full Proposal, plus approval in the Research Management System (RMS) using a Pre-Award/Application record, must be submitted to RSO at least 3 business days prior to submission to the funding agency. Please be sure to select 'Submitted for approval' (under Save & Progress) in RMS in good time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the RSO internal deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Do not submit to the agency until RSO's approval has been granted in RMS. Once this institutional approval has been obtained, the Principal Investigator will receive an automated message from RMS to their @ucalgary email address. You can then proceed with submitting your application to the Let's Get Proof platform.

Program Resources

• Terms and Conditions

Overhead

Indirect costs directly attributable to the project or activity being performed are eligible. Please contact Katie Cupello (katie.cupello@ucalgary.ca) for assistance.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

RESOURCES

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Support for Knowledge Engagement:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation is available through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage.

Support for Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca OR research.data@ucalgary.libanswers.com.

Support for EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Support for Research Security:

The new Research Security Division is available to offer guidance and support on safeguarding research and ensuring that principles of research security are upheld while conducting leading edge research. Learn more on their webpage or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application