Announcing Project Call 5.0
BioMADE is pleased to issue Project Call 5.0 for projects related to Technology and Innovation, Education and Workforce Development, and 4S (Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility). White paper submissions for projects that contribute to building a sustainable, domestic, end-to-end bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem will be accepted from Dec. 13, 2024 to January 22, 2025.
New this Year: NSF partnership for Technology & Innovation Projects
Project Call 5.0 includes the opportunity for NSF researchers to participate as part of an integrated project team. Proposers will choose whether they are applying for BioMADE funding or for joint BioMADE and NSF funding as an integrated proposal.
Technology and Innovation
Project Call 5.0 focuses on advancing bioindustrial manufacturing by developing underlying tools and technologies to support diverse applications. Focus areas are:
Data acquisition for AI/ML predictive modeling
Reducing drivers of cost
Standardization of TEA guidelines
Successful proposals will describe how the project aligns with the focus area(s) and the BioMADE Technical Roadmap. Proposals must also have a plan to advance Biomanufacturing Readiness Level status for each bioproduct or process.
Integrated project proposals should include both NSF fundable basic research and BioMADE fundable MRL 4-7 research. Proposals should align with participating NSF programs and with the BioMADE Project Call focus areas.
The Technical Roadmap is available to BioMADE members (all except Training tier) as a member benefit through the BioMADE Member Portal. If you don’t have a Member Portal account set up yet, please reach out to memberportal@biomade.org to request one.
Education and Workforce Development
This Project Call uses the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) process as a framework for Education and Workforce Development initiatives to address complex and dynamic EWD challenges. Learn more about applying the DBTL process to bioindustrial manufacturing training and education in the Project Call. Focus areas are:
Work-based learning
Broadening the audience and increasing awareness
Successful Education and Workforce Development submissions will include innovative strategies to meet and exceed the challenge of preparing the future bioindustrial manufacturing workforce.
4S (Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility)
This Project Call, Aggregating and Disseminating 4S Practices, is advancing the well-being of people, communities, and environments in all of our work in the bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem. The 4S program area aims to maximize positive impact and minimize risk related to Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. This Project Call emphasizes the development of individual program areas resources that will benefit the broader BioMADE community. The 4S Project Call will build upon 4S Committee work that defined each ‘S ‘and their subcomponents. Projects may collate knowledge about these subcomponents that is already within the ecosystem, package it, and disseminate it, in order to provide the ecosystem with easily accessible strategies for incorporating 4S into everyday operations.
Focus areas are:
Case study
EWD/4S integration
Resource aggregation
4S Subcomponents:
Safety: People safety, environmental safety, process safety
Security: Data security, Intellectual Property (IP) security, cybersecurity
Sustainability: Measuring sustainability, articulating sustainability and its value proposition
Social Responsibility: Community and public engagement and responsiveness through inclusivity, capture positive social impact, foster a culture of social responsibility
Informational Webinars
Join BioMADE staff for informational webinars covering Project Call focus areas, logistics such as cost share, and time for questions and answers. These webinars will be recorded and shared in the Member Portal.
November 19, 1:00 ET / 10:00 PT: Technology and Innovation recording
November 20, 12:00 ET / 9:00 PT: Education and Workforce Development and 4S recording
Teaming Webinars
BioMADE encourages teaming among organizations for this Project Call. BioMADE will be facilitating two teaming webinars:
November 19, 3:00 ET / 12:00 PT: Technology and Innovation
November 20, 3:00 ET / 12:00 PT: Education and Workforce Development and 4S
At these webinars, attendees will have the opportunity to briefly present information about their organization’s capabilities, areas of interest, and/or what gaps you are trying to fill with a partnership. You are not required to share a teaming slide to attend the webinar.
To participate, download and complete the teaming slide template. Organizations may have one slide and roughly 2 minutes to present.
Send the completed slide to proposals@biomade.org with the subject line “Project Call 5.0 Teaming – [Technology] or [EWD/4S]” by November 18.
Please note: This teaming webinar will be open to organizations who are not currently BioMADE members. Please do not share any proprietary or confidential information in your slides.
Members who share this slide with BioMADE are opting in to having the slide and your contact information shared in the BioMADE Member Portal. Please let us know if you would not like this information shared in the Portal. The slides for non-members who participate in the teaming webinars will not be shared in the Portal.
Key Dates
Key dates for proposal submission and decisions for Project Call 5 are as follows:
November 13, 2024: Project Call 5 is released
November 19 & 20: Informational and teaming webinars
December 13, 2024: White paper submissions open
January 22, 2025: White paper submission due by 5:00 pm PT
March 3-6, 2025: Notification of advance/decline
April 18, 2025: Full proposals due by 5:00 pm PT
June 23-27, 2025: Notification of funding decisions
Early September 2025: Target full execution
NSF Partnership
Project Call 5 includes the opportunity for NSF researchers to participate as part of an integrated project team. Proposers will choose whether they are applying for BioMADE funding or for joint BioMADE and NSF funding as an integrated proposal.
Integrated proposals should describe the breakdown of scope of work and budget for the basic research (NSF-funded portion, MRL 1-3) and the translation research (BioMADE-funded portion, MRL 4-7). Proposers are expected to describe the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts of the proposed work to the scientific community.
Eligibility and Membership Requirements
All organizations seeking BioMADE funding must be BioMADE members in good standing, with a signed membership agreement, at the time of white paper submission (no later than January 22, 2025). Membership is not required for partner organizations who are exclusively receiving NSF funding and exclusively contributing to the NSF-funded project components. If an organization seeking BioMADE funding is not a current BioMADE member, the organization will need to return a signed membership agreement to BioMADE by January 17, 2025 to ensure the membership agreement can be fully executed by January 22, 2025.
BioMADE members in the Training Tier are not eligible to lead a Technology and Innovation project and/or contribute to technology development efforts. Training tier members may participate in a Technology & Innovation project by contributing in EWD-related capacities.
Cost Share
BioMADE funded projects or BioMADE funded components of an integrated project must include a minimum of 1:1 cost share from awarded teams. Cost Share of greater than 1:1 is strongly encouraged and will be judged favorably in review.
If applicable, the NSF funded portion of a project, designated as the MRL 1-3 level work, has no requirements for cost share.
Submission of Materials
White papers should be submitted electronically via BioMADE’s Proposal Submission Platform. Late submissions will not be considered. Project leads are responsible for collecting details on the budget and cost share for all proposed team members. If invited to submit a full proposal, submission materials and instructions will be provided at that time. Please contact proposals@biomade.org should any issues with document submission arise.
Download White Paper Templates:
More Information and Questions
Find answers to frequently asked questions about project funding here. For questions about the submission process or to set up an optional meeting with a Program Manager to discuss your idea, reach out to proposals@biomade.org.