Accelerating Research through Collaboration (ARC) Eligibility Requirements and Evaluation

Program Design

Each project team must include a Massachusetts not-for-profit institution (Applicant) and at least one Massachusetts life sciences company (Company). Together, the partners collaborate to advance innovative life sciences technologies, products, and solutions toward commercialization.

ARC funds capital resources needed to execute a collaborative translational research project. Applicants are evaluated on both the scientific project and the capital resources requested to enable that work.

• Capital dollars are available to support equipment and other capital expenses at the not-for-profit Applicant. Each award is anticipated to be approximately $750,000.
• For-profit company partner must provide salary support for at least one newly hired postdoctoral scientist to be appointed at both the not-for-profit and industry partner, as well as other financial and in-kind contributions (equipment donations, salaries, reagents etc.) to leverage MLSC capital dollars
• Projects should be completed within 2-3 years post grant award
• There is no limitation on the number of proposals that may be submitted by each non-profit institution (Applicant), but Project Teams (Applicant + Company) are allowed to submit only one application per round.
• When applicable, teams are required to be inclusive of gender biology and other health equity factors, particularly as they relate to underrepresented and underserved populations. In addition to including racially/gender/age diverse subjects, the MLSC is interested in studies that address other social determinants of health, such as social capital, education, transportation, employment, food access, health behaviors, socioeconomic status, environmental exposure, access to health services, housing, public safety, and geography, in their approach to pre-clinical/clinical development. Results should highlight any differences observed between groups.

Program Eligibility

Applicants must be a Massachusetts legally organized “not-for-profit” entity such as an academic/research institution, hospital engaged in research, or other not-for-profit entity that would be eligible for capital funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Institutions that are exclusively healthcare providers and/or requests for the purchase of equipment associated with standard healthcare delivery would not be eligible for capital funding.

Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be non-profit institutions, including research institutions and academic medical centers.
• Each application must be submitted by a Project Team, consisting of a principal investigator(s) (PI) at Applicant institution and one (or more) Company(s).
• The PI must have a full-time or part-time faculty position at a college, university, or non-profit institute in Massachusetts. The lead Company must have a presence and be registered to do business in Massachusetts.
• The requested funding must support the performance of translational research that demonstrates a clear pathway to commercialization and economic development within Massachusetts. For purposes of this program, translational research includes activities designed to advance discoveries toward products, therapies, diagnostics, devices, digital health tools, research platforms, or other commercial applications. The requested funds can only be used to support capital costs (see Funding section below) at the MA non-profit institution.
• It is the expectation, when applicable, that projects are inclusive of gender biology in the approach to pre-clinical/clinical development.
• The Applicant will be required to provide documentation of a cash component from the Company to support at least one net-new postdoctoral scientist for the entire duration of the project following grant award. The salary must, at a minimum, follow the NIH payscale plus fringe.
• Projects will be evaluated, in part, based on the level of support offered to the Applicant in a commitment letter(s) which delineates the amount of cash, in-kind, and/or other contributions (equipment discounts, direct funds for the project, internal salary, waived indirect costs, etc.) to be provided by the Company and any other sources (grantee institution, etc.). The support for the newly hired postdoctoral researcher must be included in this commitment letter from the Company and detail the time and compensation commitment. Additional cash, in-kind, or third-party support may strengthen an application by demonstrating commitment to the project’s success.
• Applicants must demonstrate how they will work collaboratively with the Company to execute the project.
• These funds are intended to catalyze new life science discoveries and products. Therefore, sponsored research agreements (or other similar arrangements) executed before Nov. 6, 2026 between the parties will not satisfy the program’s required post-award collaboration agreement.
• The Applicant and Company must be in compliance with all other Center agreements, if any.
• Applicants must demonstrate anticipated use of proposed equipment, project datasets, and/or resulting products by other external academic and industry scientists. Resources developed/purchased under this award must be made available to other internal and external scientists.
• For data science solutions, the Applicant and Company must commit to making all data (including metadata and necessary tools) generated under this award publicly available.

Application and Review Process

Applications must be submitted online through the Submittable platform. The MLSC will conduct an initial screening for application completeness and program fit, then will submit applications to a panel of external experts for review. Applicants may receive invitations to present their proposals to address questions or provide clarification. The MLSC will provide final recommendations to its Board of Directors for approval.

For this solicitation, the MLSC is particularly interested in projects that demonstrate a clear pathway to commercialization and economic development within Massachusetts. Competitive proposals will articulate measurable milestones, meaningful industry engagement, and a well-defined plan for advancing technologies, therapies, diagnostics, devices, or other life sciences innovations toward real-world adoption and impact.

Funding

• Allowable costs for capital expenses include (with no minimum dollar amount): equipment, research supplies and reagents, purchase of hardware and software, datasets, or samples.
• This award is NOT able to fund: direct labor, overhead/indirect costs, renting space for data storage, monthly cloud storage fees, publication fees, other monthly subscription fees, software development, legal expenses, travel, paying off debt, paying board members, paying for operating costs such as rent and utilities and activities funded by other funding sources.
• Following execution of the grant agreement, funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis to the Awardees according to the approved project budget.
• Reimbursement is contingent on MLSC’s receipt of the following project Deliverables:
  • A fully executed grant agreement with MLSC
  • A fully executed sponsored research agreement or similar agreement between Applicant and Company dated after Nov. 6, 2026
  • The first paystub of the newly hired postdoctoral researcher
  • Required Progress Reports
• The maximum allowance for Supplies and Reagents for these awards must be combined into at most, 10 invoices per fiscal year.
• The maximum allowance for expenses purchased from the for-profit industry partner for these awards is $100,000, exceptions may be made for equipment purchases.
• Priority will be given to projects with budgets that include in-demand equipment or datasets.
• The number and amount of awards will be determined by the quality of the proposals.
• The Center reserves the right to adjust the requested amount of funding for each proposal.

Resources

Post-award Deliverables, Confidentiality, and General Conditions

D.A.T.A. (Databases, Algorithms, Tools, and Analyses) Repository

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Please contact MLSCIndustryPrograms@masslifesciences.com for questions regarding ARC applications.