Welcome to the Chancellor's Discovery and Innovation Fund Portal!

The CDI Fund focuses on supporting healthcare technologies that are addressing unmet clinical needs with translational gap funding. The funds are deployed to support specific milestone-based objectives with the intention of unlocking future development or commercial opportunities. The fund is opportunistic in nature and will fund projects on a rolling basis.

Funding Levels

While there is no hard cap on the funding amount requested, ranges of $10k - $250k are within our expectation guidelines. We also take into consideration the type of technology that you are trying to develop (digital health, software, medical device, pharmaceutical) and what is reasonable in providing the funding needed to achieve a meaningful milestone. Complex multi-milestone proposals may receive separate tranches of funding as milestones are met.

Applicants are encouraged to reach out to their CU Innovations contact or cuinnovations@ucdenver.edu with any questions about eligibility, and/or to discuss ways in which their applications may be strengthened, especially with regards to the commercialization milestones section of the application.

Who Should Apply?

You should consider applying for CDI Fund if you meet any or all of the following criteria:

• Developing a digital health or software technology
• Developing a medical device technology
• Developing a diagnostic technology
• Developing a pharmaceutical product
• Developing a healthcare product 

Eligibility

1. The applicant must be an eligible principal investigator. To check for eligibility, click here.
2. If the invention/technology is already licensed/optioned, please talk to us first.
3. Projects should have a plan for commercialization in mind.
4. The applicant must have an external 3rd party letter of support. The letter of support should discuss how filling a missing gap experiment/study/development would unlock a downstream opportunity. The proposed CDI Fund milestone award would fund this gap. Examples of this requirement are shown below;
   • 3rd party would be willing to fund your work but a critical experiment/study/development must be completed.
   • 3rd party would be willing to become a customer of your technology/solution but a critical experiment/study/development must be completed.
   • 3rd party would be willing to become a development partner of your technology/solution but a critical experiment/study/development must be completed.

Guidelines and Key Deadlines

• Please fill out the application form online at the APPLICATION FORM link above
• Proposals will be reviewed on a monthly basis by CU Innovations, select Entrepreneurs-In-Residence, and the Chancellor's Office.
• Funding will be awarded no later than 60 days after the monthly review. 

Let's Have a Conversation

The CU Innovations office is excited to work alongside the Chancellor's Office to administer this new funding program. As it may be evident from the guidelines above, engaging with CU Innovations to talk about this opportunity is strongly recommended to access this funding source and position your project for success. CU Innovations hosts a number of other supporting programs (SPARK, Gates Grubstake, Entrepreneurs-In-Residence, educational seminars, etc.) that may be helpful to you in accomplishing your stated milestones. We encourage all who are interested in applying to the CDI Fund to reach out (and get access to the application passcode).

Questions? Help with your application? Stop by our office and we can assist you.

Fitzsimmons Building
13001 E. 17th Place Suite W5130
cuinnovations@ucdenver.edu