You can count funds from another university as matching, but only the same kind of funds that are acceptable from UofT; for example, salary funds for faculty members and TAs wouldn’t count as matching funds, nor does ordinary equipment, whereas special student funding, like Work Study and specialized equipment (unique to complete the project) would be ok.
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Q: Is there a minimum amount of matched funding? For example, if we had $3, 000 in cash from other sources, and $1,000 of in-kind. Could we apply for $4,000 from ITIF?
Yes, you can combine different sources of matching funds.
Q: Could someone be awarded the maximum award for a one-year project ?
There are no one year projects. Everyone gets two years to do it. If you do it faster, good on you.
Q: I see that interdisciplinary/interprofessional is a criteria in the evaluation of the current ITIF call for proposals. Would projects that are not interdisciplinary or interprofessional be considered ineligible?
Projects that are not interdisciplinary or interprofessional are certainly eligible. Interdisciplinarity (if I can make up that word) is only one factor on the rubric.
Q: Does it matter whether the source for matching funds is from UofT or external?
No, the matching funds do not have to come from a UofT source. But you do have to prove that you will be getting those funds, with an official letter from the source.
Q: What is the minimum level of matching funds required? For example, if I ask for a total of $12k does this imply that 50% has to come from another source?
There may be some confusion in terminology. If the total cost of your project is $12K, then you would be asking ITIF for no more than 50% ($6K)
(As an aside, you don’t always have to ask for 50% of the cost (e.g., if the total cost of your project is $12K, and you have another source that will give you $8K, then you only need to ask ITIF for the remain $4k). Many project proposals suffer from an obvious false inflation of the estimated cost to be exactly double the maximum one can ask for. The proposer should first get an accurate estimate of the true cost of the project, and then only ask for half of that.
Q: I am working on an REB protocol to evaluate the impact of the proposed project, but cannot expect to have either feedback from them or a protocol number before the deadline. Does an email confirming receipt of the protocol suffice?
Yes, some indication that you are engaging the REB process (and why) should suffice (remember, this isn’t a research grant application, this is for a development project, that you may wish to study).
Q: Does the matching component require money?
A: The matching component does not necessarily require cash, however it must have a measurable dollar value. It cannot, however, be the value of faculty time working on the project. The value of pay to students working on the project could be identified as part of matching, for example.
Q: Do we need to submit a budget if we are applying for the professional assistance stream?
No, a formal budget is not required, but applicants must submit a detailed outline and timeline describing exactly how the time will be used for your project.