The Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Matching Funds Program assists qualified organizations in commercializing research or technologies with high potential for economic benefit to Virginia and/or leveraging federal and private funds designated for commercialization. Each application and award is to address the research or commercialization of a discrete technology. A one-to-one match is required.

LOI: This year the LOI will call for more information about the proposed technology and why funding its development would be a good investment for the Commonwealth. LOIs are to be a maximum of 2.5 pages and prepared using the template with Arial font, size 11, and with .5" minimum margins. The response for each section should be no more than 1200 characters, including spaces. The LOI is due by noon on November 6, 2019 and is mandatory.

Note that the competition is limited to four submissions per institution, so this may become a limited submission if interest peaks. Please contact OSP as soon as possible if you intend to apply so that we can keep track of our applications. As budgetary information is not a requirement of the LOI, university approval for submission will not be required at this stage.

Registration is open for the 2019 Noftsinger Celebration of Madison Scholarship and Recognition Reception , scheduled for Wednesday, November 6 ^th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Festival Ballroom. The purpose of the event is to showcase ongoing scholarship by faculty at the university and is open to all who wish to support their colleagues and learn more about their work. Make sure to REGISTER by October 30 ^th . We hope to see you there!

As of September 16th, departmental Small Purchase Credit Card transaction limits and eVA orders have been increased to $10,000. This means that equipment, skilled services contracts, and other purchases up to $10,000 no longer need to go through Procurement before purchasing, however mandatory contracts and JMU Financial Procedures still need to be followed.

Equipment is still defined as purchases $5,000 and over with a use life of over one year. Equipment purchases between $5,000 and $9,999 that do not need to go through Procurement still need to be tagged by Fixed Assets. Make sure to prepare a "Receiving Report" for these purchase for your departmental records that include the date received.

For more information on how this new policy will effect grant management, please see OSP's Pre-Award Guide for Procurement.

On September 30 leadership from across campus, including representatives of Research and Scholarship and the Division of University Advancement, were invited to tour the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) facilities and learn first-hand about faculty-mentored undergraduate research taking place in the college. One attendee commented “We had the opportunity to hear from both faculty and their students on their innovative scholarly endeavors. I was truly delighted to see the impact research and engaged learning experiences have on JMU students.” 

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research and Scholarship worked with Parking Services to obtain one parking space for our visitors in front of our building. When you come to OSP for meetings or to drop off paperwork, you may now park in the available spot without the risk of receiving a ticket. If the spot is full when you arrive, you must either park in Anthony Seegar or the Chesapeake Parking Deck as the other spaces are reserved for Facilities and Maintenance vehicles.

Did you know that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a podcast series covering various topics? The September 23, 2019 installment discussed letters of support including required content, what should be omitted, and how letters of support differ from other letters submitted as part of an application. If you would like more clarification on letters of support an MP3 and Transcript are available. More information on the entire series, including ways to subscribe and past installments can be found here.

Did you know that many federal funding agencies encourage grant seekers and recipients to reach out to their staff for questions? NIH is no exception to this rule and has a plethora of resources for those involved in external funding to access the help that they need. After browsing the NIH Grants & Funding website for information, the NIH encourages grant seekers and recipients to reach out to their staff for assistance. Use the Contacts link to view the roles, responsibilities, and contact information for NIH staff at each stage in the grant seeking process to find the best person to get in contact with.