Capital Program

The Center is pleased to announce the launch of an open solicitation for uncommitted capital dollars for a period of three years beginning in FY13 (Capital Program). The Center is interested in investing in high-potential economic development projects that promise to make a significant contribution to the state’s life sciences ecosystem. The Center has allocated up to $25 million in capital dollars for this open solicitation in FY13 and we anticipate comparable levels of funding for further open solicitations in the next two years.

Before and after photos of the renovation of the Loeb Laboratory Building at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, funded with a $10 million grant from the Center, matched by a $15 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The Center intends to manage the award of uncommitted capital dollars through a two-phased approach:

Phase I:  Submission of a short application and 2-page summary of the proposed project (see attached application). Applicants will have until 3:00 pm on April 29, 2011 to submit their completed application and “project summaries” electronically to: capital@masslifesciences.com. Once you have completed the application, please attach your 2-page summary and submit in .pdf format. These applications will be vetted by the Center’s staff for administrative completeness, a group of expert peer reviewers, and the Center’s Capital Planning Workgroup which is comprised of members of the Board of Directors. A short list of Phase I applicants will be selected for further consideration and invited to submit a Phase II application.

Phase II:  Based on Phase I review, applicants selected to move to Phase II will be notified by July 5, 2011. Only these applicants will be asked to submit a full proposal for evaluation, due to the Center by September 30, 2011 at 3 pm EST. 

These Phase II applications will undergo a full review by the Center’s expert review panel, our Scientific Advisory Board (as applicable to the project), the Center’s Capital Planning Workgroup, and a group of finalists will be asked to make presentations to the Board of Directors’ Investment Committee. Final recommendations will be brought to the full Board of Directors for approval.
An eligible applicant/project must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be not-for-profit entities or governmental instrumentalities. For profit entities are not eligible for capital funding.
• Entities that have already been designated within the Center’s authorizing statute for capital funding, regardless of whether they have already received their funding or not, will not be eligible. A University, for example, that has already received capital funding for a particular campus or school will not be eligible to apply on behalf of a different campus or school within that University system. Similarly, municipalities that have received targeted funding under the statute will not be eligible to apply for further funding.
• Entities that have not been designated for capital funding within the Center’s authorizing statute, but have received $5 million or more in capital funding from the Center will not be eligible.
• Project requests for funding must be a minimum of $5 million. (total project cost must be a minimum of $10M)
• Projects must be ready for funding beginning in FY13 (July 1, 2012) and completion of the project must not extend beyond FY15 (June 30, 2015).  Applicants may request single or multi-year funding.
• Applicants must be ready to use awarded funds in the year for which they are awarded. This means that the Center will carefully review the project’s status and spending schedule to determine if they are realistic.
• Applicants generally need to demonstrate at least a 1:1 match of funds from partners such as industry sponsors, other governmental funding organizations, etc.

The Center will be evaluating proposals in both phases of the process according to the following criteria:

• Capacity of the project to create and/or retain jobs in Massachusetts
• Contributions to the Massachusetts life sciences ecosystem and its “culture of innovation”
• Promotion of significant economic development in Massachusetts
• Realistic funding schedule and milestones
• Potential for the Center’s funding to make a difference in whether the Project goes forward or not (the “but for” criterion).

The selected finalists will be invited to present in-person regarding their projects to the Investment Committee of the Center’s Board of Directors on December 21st and the awards will be determined by the Center’s Board of Directors by the end of December 2011.

To apply, please download the application form via the link below.   If you have questions about the program after you have reviewed the materials on this website, please send us an e-mail to capital@masslifesciences.com or contact Pamela Norton at 781-373-7716. 

Click here to download the Phase I application (for information only; Phase I is closed)
Click here to download a PDF copy of the Solicitation
Click here to Click here to download the Phase II application (only invited applicants may submit a Phase II application)
Click here for a PDF copy of the Grant Agreement template