The Higher Education Research Council (HERC) has released the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the FY 2026 Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) Grant Program. These funds are to be used as seed funding for strengthening Idaho’s future by strategically investing in the development of expertise, products, and services which result in state economic growth. Funding priorities include biotechnology/biomedicine, energy, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, human-environment interactions, and microelectronics/semiconductors. Priority will be granted to those proposals that can show a strong collaborative effort between institutions as well as the private sector or exhibit high potential for near term technology transfer to the private sector.
Tracks and Award Levels
HERC has three tracks. The earliest stage is the Proof of Concept , the next developmental stage is the Initial Startup , and the third stage is the Commercialization Track where commercialization is expected. These tracks leverage a phased approach to research development and enable the applicant to demonstrate activity progress in a scaffolded and timely manner.
- Proof of Concept – $400,000 for 1 year
- Initial Startup – $600,000 for 1-2 years
- Commercialization – $1,100,000 for 2-3 years
Key Submission Dates
The IGEM-HERC submission process has two stages: pre-proposal and full proposal (by invitation). Due to a high volume of activity in Pre-Award, a Notice of Intent process will be implemented for the pre-proposal stage. Below are the key submission dates for this opportunity:
- October 7, 2024 by 5 pm – Notice of Intent to submit Pre-Proposal due to preaward@boisestate.edu.*
- October 21, 2024 by 5 pm – Pre-Proposal, final and ready for submission, due to Pre-Award.
- October 28, 2024 – Pre-Proposal due to IGEM-HERC.
- December 12, 2024 – Notification of Pre-Proposal decision and full proposal applications requested.**
- February 21, 2025 – Full proposal due to Pre-Award.
- February 28, 2025 – Full proposal due to IGEM-HERC.
Important Notes:
*Only the total amount requested for the project is required for the Pre-Proposal – no detailed budget is required at this time. If you would like assistance building a draft budget prior to Pre-Proposal submission, please indicate this in your Notice of Intent email.
**Investigators should contact the Pre-Award team immediately upon notification to submit a full proposal to IGEM-HERC.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with Brett Adkins (brettadkins@boisestate.edu), Director of the Office of Technology Transfer, to discuss project alignment with IGEM-HERC before submitting a Pre-Proposal.