Do you have a good idea? Seek support!

1. The idea. Describe the challenge the project addresses, and the approach / solution to the challenge. How innovative is the idea? What is new? How creative and ambitious is the idea? How solid and mature is the research basis for the idea? How significant is the improvement over existing ones solutions?
2. Value proposition. Describes the value of the innovation for the intended end user, and the potential impact of innovation on society, if realized. Describe possible applications.
3. The main delivery of the project. Concrete description of what a successful implementation of UiBs
   verification project will deliver.
4. The main project deliverable. Explain in concrete terms what a successful implementation of the project will deliver or enable. For example, which next step in the “innovation chain” will be accessible if funding is provided? Submitting a “disclosure of invention” (DOFI) to VIS could be an example of such a next step.
5. Follow-up plan. Describe what a successful implementation of the UiB idea project will enable, and what to do with the main delivery after the end of the project. Outlines potential follow-up plans and future collaborations necessary to achieve the goals. How can the project results passed on to the intended end users? What next step in the innovation chain will be available, and how realistic is the long-term realization of the innovation after the UiB idea's project end?
6. The project group. Describe the composition and competence of the project group (applicant, laboratory / research group where the project is anchored, potential partners and advisers; complementarity and innovation competence in the group). To what extent has the project access to the necessary resources and expertise to carry out this project? The extent to which there is a plan to involve relevant external actors (partners, customers, stakeholders, investors, mentors, social actors, etc.)?
7. Project plan and budget. Describes goals, milestones, budget, risk and risk reduction plans, etc. How likely will the outlined goals be achieved by following the project plan? To what extent is budget and financing plans realistic, cost-effective and clearly anchored in the project plans and resource needs?
8. 7. Ethics and sustainability. Issues related to research and social ethics requirements shall described as relevant. Prioritization of projects based on the effect on sustainability and the environment (cf. UN sustainability goals) among applications with equal quality assessment.

Applicants who meet UiB idé’s application criteria can be invited to present the project to a committee of internal and external members. The committee will submit a recommendation to the UiB leadership. Read more about the assessment in the program note for UiB idé.

• Materials / equipment
• Costs related to obtaining external expertise
• Payroll (only for employees and external consultants)
• Rent of incubator space
• Costs associated with prototyping

Costs that are not covered:

• Patenting costs can only be covered for students
• Costs related to basic research activities (equivalent to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1-2)
• Costs related to development costs in later phases (equivalent to TRL 4-9)
• Commercialization, marketing and communication activities

Up to NOK 200,000 can be set aside for particularly early clarification funds. Both scientific staff and students can apply for funding from UiB tidleg idé. The maximum allocation in UiB tidleg idé is NOK 25,000.

These applications will be decided by FIA on an ongoing basis. The goal is to develop ideas at a very early stage. It provides the opportunity to reach more people with the program, within the same financial framework. With UiB tidleg idé, there is a desire to reach out to broader academic environments, and make it easier to get innovation projects mature enough to qualify for other funds, such as an award from UiB idé or STUD-ENT.

Your idea is safe with us: The handling of your idea will be confidential, and the content of the idea will not be disclosed without your consent. Please notice that the title and abstract of the project will be published, so do not write confidential information here. Intellectual property rights (IPR) may be an important issue that needs to be explored during the project period. There is no general requirement that you must have filed a Disclosure of invention (DOFI) at the time you submit your application to UiB idé.

For projects where a patent application is relevant, it is important that the idea has not been published or made public, for example in articles or presentations at conferences.

In general, employees might share ownership to IPR with UiB, while students fully own the IPR of their products. Read more about the topic here, and feel free to contact Yves Aubert if you have questions about the rights to your idea!

Hans Steinsland works as a researcher at the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care (IGS). In one of his collaborative projects, he developed a new concept for a ingestible capsule that can be used to collect diagnostic fluid samples from the intestinal system. Today, such tests will not normally be taken because current procedures are both expensive and so invasive and uncomfortable that general anesthesia often has to be used. If his innovation proves to be successful, it will therefore have the potential to change how gastrointestinal diagnostics are performed in the future, and it will be able to contribute to increased patient safety and comfort, as well as to reduce health costs.

Before Hans embarks on an expensive and time-consuming commercial innovation project, he must prove that his idea will work. Among other things, he must show that it will be possible to communicate with the capsule so that sampling can be triggered remotely. With support from UiB idé, Hans can carry out such initial tests. If they succeed, the project can be transferred to UiB's technology transfer partner VIS by submitting a disclosure of invention (DOFI). With support from VIS, Hans will then be able to patent the technology and turn it into a full-scale innovation project. Alternatively, if these tests show that the idea of ​​innovation is impractical or impossible to implement, the project can be stopped or revised at an early stage, thus ensuring that product development is as cost-effective as possible.

Karolina Berg is a graduate engineering student in medical technology, and has an idea for a walker that can more easily overcome obstacles, such as curbs. In 2021, she applied for funding from UiB idé to be able to develop a prototype that can be tested by an end user. She also wants to establish contact with major players in the assistive technology industry for testing on a larger scale. Investigating the market for such a product, as well as securing intellectual property rights for it, is also part of the job in this phase. With the help of funds from UiB idé, Karolina can continue to work on an idea with few other financing options, but which can make the elderly and the sick more mobile and self-sufficient in the future.