The Texas Ignition Fund (TIF) is a proof-of-concept (POC) grant program designed to stimulate commercialization activities at UT System institutions by providing grants up to $50,000 for the development and maturation of research discoveries into marketable intellectual property. The TIF program addresses a crucial funding gap and reinforces the many other elements of the innovation ecosystem that define a culture of commercialization at UT System institutions.

Each UT institutions may request, through its executive in charge of technology transfer, up to $50K per application to accelerate the commercial development of a technology created at that institution and owned by the Board of Regents. TIF goals are to:

1. Support a culture to promote innovation, translation and commercialization of new ideas and technologies on the campuses of the 15 University of Texas institutions.
2. Nurture viable technologies to avoid abandonment due to a lack of commitment or seed capital.
3. Create a robust infrastructure for developing discoveries arising out of UT System research, to support validation of discoveries, external mentorship and commercialization.

Download the complete solicitation (PDF) and application (DOC).

Please submit the following materials electronically to limitedsub@austin.utexas.edu no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25:

1. Completed Application

** The Associate Deans for Research should rank the applications accordingly and submit all applications forward.

Once eligibility of selected applicants has been confirmed by Office of Technology and Commercialization, the applicants will be asked to submit a Proposal Review Form for OSP signature and submission to System.