Launchpad Innovation Pilot Awards
Request for Proposal
Application Deadline – March 31, 2023 @ 12:00 noon
Click here to download full RFP in PDF format
Purpose – Launchpad for Innovation Pilot Awards
The Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst is seeking to fund collaborative proposals for novel and innovative approaches designed to establish proof-of-concept demonstrations that advance at least one of the Baton Rouge Health District priority areas of Healthy Place, Health Education & Workforce, Health Innovation & Research, and Coalition Building.
The 2023 Launchpad Innovation Pilot Awards funding will provide reimbursement for allowable direct costs (for more information on allowable costs see the Budget Requirements and Use of Funds Section of this RFP) incurred by award recipients for up to 12 months following award announcement. This RFP anticipates funding a minimum of two “pilot projects” with an award ceiling of $30,000 per pilot project.
Budget Requirements & Use of Funds
The allowable direct cost ceiling is $30,000 per proposal. Indirect costs are not allowable costs. Funding for allowable costs will be distributed as reimbursements when submitted to the Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst, up to the awarded amount. Each project can include outside funding to supplement the overall project funding if needed.
Awards may be used to pay salary and benefit expense for staff and direct project personnel, as well as to fund other direct project-related expenses (i.e. equipment, software, materials) as outlined in the applicants submitted budget information and pending approval by the Health-Tech Catalyst.
Additional funding requirements include:
No indirect costs or overhead charges will be considered for reimbursement
IRB approval, if necessary, or IRB waiver documentation is required prior to reimbursement of funds
Funding will only be provided for actual expenditures, up to the amount of the award
Reimbursements will be issued for up to 12 months following the latest project start date of June 1, 2023
Eligibility
Eligible proposals must be submitted by a lead applicant (individual) who holds employment at one of the current Baton Rouge Health District member institutions or any of the member institution’s owned affiliates. Current member institutions include Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Ochsner Health, Woman’s Hospital, Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, and Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
Competitive and preferred proposals are envisioned as collaborative, either comprising co-applicants across Health District member institutions or between Health District and external academic and commercial partners.
Inclusion and integration of other Baton Rouge Health District researchers/clinicians and community or commercial partners/stakeholders is highly encouraged and will be a key consideration in pilot project funding decisions. Non Baton Rouge Health District member institutions who are interested in applying are encouraged to partner with one of our members. Interested nonmember organizations, needing to be matched with a member institution, should contact Kate King, Program Manager with BRHD, for consideration (contact information found at the end of this RFP).
There is a particular interest in proposals with vision to leverage results from the pilot awards, either in facilitating future external funding opportunities or contributing to milestones that may lead to further implementation or scale-up. All pilot projects should have clearly described next steps in terms of future opportunities.
Preference will be given to applications that propose projects that:
address a well-documented health concern or problem
have practical implications for patient care, health services delivery, or the broadly interpreted environment of care
have potential for application and future growth/development by leveraging Health District assets or member resources
Eligible proposals and applicants must meet all the following criteria to be considered:
Demonstrate how the proposal advances Baton Rouge Health District priorities of Healthy Place, Health Education & Workforce, Health Innovation & Research, and Coalition Building
The lead applicant must be an employee from a Baton Rouge Health District member institution or an owned affiliate
Individuals who serve on the Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst steering, and advisory committees are not eligible to be the lead applicant on a Launchpad innovation award application
Translational research projects must have a PI or co-PI who is a faculty member or employee at a Health District member institution with an appointment that allows them to serve as PI on externally sponsored research projects
Faculty or employees from non-Health District member institutions (e.g., healthcare organizations, education institutions, or industry partners) are encouraged to participate as co-applicants but may not apply as lead applicants
There is no limit to the number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution, division, department or individual
The lead applicant must obtain a letter of support from someone with the appropriate signature authority within the Health District member organization that they are employed with and that demonstrates their approval of the Innovation Pilot award if funded.
The letter of support can be submitted either through the online google form application or via email to kai986@brhealthdistrict.com as part of the proposal application.
Project must be limited to one year (12 months) in scope and have a start date no later than June 1, 2023
Project activities may be submitted under other funding sources for consideration, but an award from the Health-Tech Catalyst may only be accepted if not already funded elsewhere
Review Criteria
Submitted proposals will be subject to preliminary review by a Health-Tech Catalyst internal review panel with no direct conflict of interest to any Health District Member Institutions. Preliminary review will ensure proposal eligibility based on criteria outlined in this RFP and alignment to Baton Rouge Health District priority areas. Finalists will be invited to present their pilot proposals at an Innovation Forum Launchpad Pitch Night event on May 9, 2023. A presentation template will be provided to selected finalists. Finalists will be announced by April 17, 2023. During the May 9, 2023, Launchpad Pitch Night event, an external review panel of subject matter experts will determine the technical and innovation merits of each application.
Reviewers will rate proposals on a 1-9 rating scale for the following criteria:
Anticipated meaningful outcomes/significance of the work
Novelty/innovation of the idea
Soundness of the proposed approach/methods
Feasibility of accomplishing the stated project goals within the one-year project period
Degree of alignment with the goals of the Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst and priorities of the Baton Rouge Health District
Proposals with the following elements will be given strong consideration:
Cross-disciplinary, multi-partner, and diverse teams
Promotion of equity and inclusivity
Potential for being positively disruptive
Scalable and sustainable ideas
Award Details
All questions regarding the awarding of funding should be directed to the contact listed in the notice of award. Prior to the awarding of funding, the lead applicant must submit required paperwork and provide the following information, if applicable:
Institutional Review Board approvals, if applicable, must be obtained prior to receipt of an award, but are not required to apply. Prior to receipt of an award involving human subjects, IRB approval from all participating sites and human subjects training certification for all key personnel will be required.
Awardees will be required to submit a mid-way progress report and a final report to the contact listed in the notice of award.
Funds will be dispersed on a reimbursement basis. Each award recipient will be responsible for ensuring funds are properly accounted for, invoices and documentation can be provided to Baton Rouge Health District, and Universal Guidance compliance is followed when appropriate.
If for any reason the awardee is unable to fulfill the requirements of adhere to the policies of the award, at the discretion of the funding mechanism leadership, the award may be revoked.
How to Apply
Launchpad Innovation pilot project proposals can be submitted either online or via email:
To complete online use the 2023 Launchpad Innovation Pilot Awards Application (please note: if you choose to utilize the online application, you will have the capability to submit the required attachments within the online application. However, if you have trouble uploading your attachments in the google form you can still complete the application questions online and email the required attachments to kai986@brhealthdistrict.com prior to the March 31, 2023 at 12:00 noon)
To email your proposal, complete the questions within the fillable 2023 Launchpad Word Document Application. Email both your completed application questions and required attachments to kai986@brhealthdistrict.com prior to the application deadline.
You will receive an email confirmation to verify Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst receipt of any emailed proposal components. The application deadline is March 31, 2023, at 12:00 noon. Both a completed application and email with required attachments must be submitted prior to this deadline. No late submissions will be considered for funding.
Timeline
Application Deadline: March 31, 2023, at 12:00 noon
Pitch Night Finalists Announced: April 17, 2023
Pitch Night & Award Announcements: May 9, 2023
Pilot Commencement: latest possible date June 1, 2023
Pilot Implementation Timeline: 12 months following receipt of award
Award Administration & Reporting
Award recipients will be required to invoice for incurred direct expenses for which they would like reimbursement during the 12-month period following the award announcement
Award recipients will be required to submit half-way and final progress reports
To view the previous progress report questionnaire, click here
Awardees will be required to present progress and/or results as part of anticipated innovation forum events
Baton Rouge Health District Technical Assistance Contacts
Kate King, Program Manager e: kai986@brhealthdistrict.com p: 225-763-2919
Katie Pritchett, Operations Director e: kat408@brhealthdistrict.com p: 225-763-2946
Use the QR code below to access the Launchpad 2023 webpage:
