Application Requirements

Note: The information below is an overview of requirements for MIPS funding applications. Actual requirements are subject to change. An official MIPS application must be submitted. To receive access to an application, please contact the MIPS office.

MIPS makes every effort to keep the proposal process simple for applicants. However, in order to make well informed and fair judgments in a competitive situation, the MIPS Evaluation Board will need certain basic information, including.

• Description of the proposed project;
• Faculty and student on-campus involvement;
  
• Company's participation in project performance;
• Schedules and budgets;
• Company's intentions for commercialization;
• Potential benefits to the company, the state and the university;
• Company's matching commitment;
• Agreement to progress reporting during and after project.
• Company must be in good standing in the State of Maryland

Startup Firms

If your company is a start-up firm, you are required to submit with your application an executive summary of your business plan (8 pages maximum). The executive summary should, at a minimum, include: year established, value proposition (customer, problem, solution – and why yours is better), market (size, segmentation, growth projections, competition), company team (who, expertise, relevance, track record), and business model (how you create, deliver, and capture your value). A current financial statement (balance sheet) and a financial pro forma (income statement projection for 3 to 5 years forward) are also required. Submission of a full business plan is optional and only in addition to the executive summary and may not get read by the reviewers.

Small Firms

A Small company is defined as one with 21 to 100 full-time employees. As a Small company, you are required to submit a Small Company Supplemental Business Summary (summary form provided) if you do not wish to provide an executive summary business plan. You may also apply as a Small company if you have 1 to 20 full-time employees, are in full time operation, and you do not wish to provide company financial information as is required with a Start-up Company.

Out-of-State Companies

An out-of-state company that does not have a substantial portion of its manufacturing or service or research and development operations in Maryland, but is planning to establish such operations in Maryland within the year in which an award is received, should write a letter advising MIPS of this intent and enclose the letter with its application. The letter should include information about the planned Maryland facilities and workforce.

Any MIPS award to an out-of-state company will require the company to pre-pay both the MIPS and company portion of the award.  MIPS will reimburse the company for the MIPS portion after the Maryland facility requirements have been met.

Conflict of Interest

The state of Maryland has very stringent ethics standards and rules regarding conflict of interest for its employees. For this reason, each proposing company will be required to disclose any substantial ownership position in the company by an employee of the state or any other potential conflict of interest situation involving a state employee.

Funding Requirements

The minimum requirements for industry matching funds are dependent upon the company size and type.

Size categories for MIPS matching determination are established as follows:

• Large firm: more than 1,000 full-time employees
• Medium firm: 100 to 1,000 full-time employees
  
• Small firm: fewer than 100 full-time employees
• Start-up firm: see definition below

Definition of a Start-up Firm

General guidelines for start-up company qualifications are as follows:

• A new company in product development mode;
• No public stock offering;
  
• Annual sales do not exceed $2,000,000;
• A minimum of one full-time employee and no more than 20.

Matching Requirements

Cash
Matching requirements are based on the University Budget for the project.  Both MIPS and the company contribute cash, the total of which equals the University Budget.

In-Kind
Companies are required to make an in-kind contribution in addition to their cash contribution.  An in-kind contribution is the company's budget for its work on the project.  This includes salaries and wages, materials and equipment, travel and other company expenses budgeted for the project.

Large Firms
Company cash contribution is at least 50% of the University Budget.  Company's in-kind requirement is at least equivalent to 25% of the University Budget.

Medium Firms
Company cash contribution is at least 50% of the University Budget.  Company’s in-kind requirement is at least equivalent to 25% of the University Budget.

Small Firms
Company cash contribution is at least 20% of the University Budget.  Company's in-kind requirement is at least equivalent to 30% of the University Budget.

Start-up Firms
Company cash contribution is at least 10% of the University Budget.  Company's in-kind requirement is at least equivalent to 35% of the University Budget.

MIPS Funding Limits
MIPS awards are limited to $100,000 per project per year for large, medium and small companies and $90,000 for start-up firms. The minimum is $5,000 per project per year. University overhead, as well as company overhead, are included in the matching-fund computations. Each institution of the University System of Maryland has its own overhead structure.

Selection Process & Criteria

Each proposal is subjected to a thorough review. First, it is screened by a MIPS staff member. If information is incomplete or unclear, the staff member may work with the company to solve the problem. Second, a small group of technical experts in the subject area rates the proposed project on its technical merits. Third, a small group of business experts evaluates the business, cost, and economic development aspects of the proposed project. Finally, an Evaluation Board recommends projects for MIPS matching funds.

The most important criteria for selection are: technical feasibility and economic development factors. The proposed project first undergoes scrutiny with respect to the likelihood of success from a technical viewpoint. At the same time, the project must have the potential to create or help retain jobs in Maryland, to improve the company's competitive position or to help the state's economy in some other way. Thus, each proposing company must discuss in the proposal its plans for commercializing the research results and the extent to which commercialization is expected to affect its business.

Additional considerations are given to companies which exceed their required minimum contribution, especially if it is in the form of cash. Donated equipment is considered more favorably than other in-kind contributions.

Other factors which are considered in the selection process are: level of commitment by the company, contribution to the goals of the university, affiliation with university-based incubators, association of company founders with the university, and any enhancements to university/industry interaction, such as personnel exchanges and student internships. Other factors such as equitable geographic, industry, business-size, and campus distributions may be considered in the evaluation. In the case of a start-up company, the summary business plan is subjected to careful scrutiny.

Multiyear Projects

Both one-year (one-phase) projects and two-year (two-phase) projects are eligible for MIPS funding. In the case of a two-year project proposal, the evaluation is made upon the technical and economic development merits of the entire project. One MIPS evaluation factor is the total cost of the project to MIPS; therefore, other considerations being equal, a one-phase project may be more attractive to MIPS than a two-phase project.

If a two-phase project is selected, it is funded for the first year. Its status is reviewed by MIPS near the end of the year, and if satisfactory, a proposal for year two may be funded. The second year or phase is awarded on a non-competing renewal basis, subject to satisfactory progress having been made in the first year of the project.  The Phase II proposal is awarded and authorized using an amendment to the existing contractual agreement. Thus, the terms and conditions remain the same for both phases of the project.