Technology Adoption Awards

Submit your application here by November 30, 2023. Applications will be reviewed by SCN, and results will be returned within 30 days of application submission. Awards will be given out on a first-come, first-reviewed basis and this webpage will be updated once all the awards are distributed.

• A complete application package contains:
  • Completed application form
  • CV of the visiting researcher
  • Proof (award notification and project abstract) that the regenerative medicine project to be accelerated or enabled by the Technology Adoption Award visit has been previously peer-reviewed and funded by a granting organization/agency in Canada (e.g., CIHR, NSERC, or SCN)
  • A letter of support from the principal investigator/industry lead at the institution or company that will host the visit; the letter must outline their willingness and capacity to host the visiting researcher. The letter should include the anticipated visit date and duration, the technology that will be learned, as well as the name of the visiting researcher and their principal investigator/home institution.
  • If the visiting researcher is a trainee/HQP, the application must also include a letter of support from the supervising Principal investigator that outlines the qualifications of the trainee/HQP and the potential educational benefits of the visit, as well as the benefit to the lab’s RM research project and program.
    Letters of support should be e-mailed directly to Ellie Arnold, earnold@stemcellnetwork.ca at the point of submission of your online application. A confirmation email will be sent within 24 hours of SCN receiving the support letters by email. If a confirmation email is NOT received from SCN within 24 hours of submission it is the responsibility of the applicant to contact SCN and ensure that all application materials have been received by SCN.
  • The applicant must submit a detailed budget that will form the basis for their reimbursement amount, up to a maximum of $5,000 per application.

• The application must outline the importance of the technology to the translational program of the applicant’s academic lab, and how this technology will accelerate the progress of a specific regenerative medicine project, and the labs research program as a whole.
• The application must include a justification as to why this specialized technology is critically important to the applicant’s research program, why this expertise must be established “in-house” and cannot be out-sourced, and why the technology cannot be adopted into the applicant’s lab without an in-person lab visit.
• The application must describe how the knowledge gained through the visit will be implemented, disseminated and retained (long-term) in the home lab.

• The visiting researcher and, in the case of a HQP, their PI must be located at an eligible Canadian Institution at the time of both their application submission and the proposed visit. The PI of the visiting researcher (or the visiting researcher themselves, if the visiting researcher is an ECR) must meet the eligibility criteria for Tri-Agency funding.
• The host must be a Canadian academic or hospital research institution or a Canadian SME (a small or medium biotech enterprise, i.e., 499 employees or fewer).
• The regenerative medicine project to be accelerated or enabled by the Technology Adoption Award visit must have been previously peer-reviewed and funded by a granting organization/agency in Canada (e.g. CIHR, NSERC, or SCN).
• The technology adoption visit must be relevant to regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is the branch of medicine that develops methods to regrow, repair or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues. Regenerative medicine includes the generation and use of therapeutic stem cells, tissue engineering and the production of artificial organs. Research applications that are focused on cancer must be regenerative in nature and/or use stem cells for addressing the proposed problem.
• Travel outside of Canada is not eligible.

• SCN will allocate funding for at least 10 Technology Adoption Awards of up to $5,000 each before November 30, 2023, on a first-come, first-reviewed basis.
• The award is available to support the following activities:
  • Travel for the visiting researcher to the host site, including transportation and meal costs.
  • Accommodation costs for the duration of the visit.
  • Visits/access to facilities.
• Technology adoption awards are not a mechanism for supporting research projects and these awards cannot be used to fund:
  • Salary costs
  • Items of equipment
  • Other research costs including consumables
  • Conference or workshop attendance
• Only one visiting researcher may travel per application
• Awards are not transferable to a different visiting researcher or host institution/company without the prior permission SCN.
• The applicant’s home institution must be at least 150KM from the technology host institution/company.
• A lab can receive a Technology Adoption Award only once within a 2-year period.
• By accepting an SCN award, the recipient agrees to complete a survey describing the value of the training and networking opportunities made available through the award. This information will be used at SCN’s discretion on its website, newsletters and for the purpose of reporting to its funding agency. Please note that expense reimbursements will be processed only once the survey is completed.
• All visits must commence by January 31, 2024. Extensions to the visit start date beyond January 31, 2024, will NOT be considered.

• Applications will be evaluated by SCN on the following:
  • The value added to regenerative medicine and stem cell research project/program of the applicant’s lab.
  • The benefits likely to accrue from deployment of the technology in the applicant’s lab.
  • The impact of the technology and training opportunity and the expertise of both partners.

• SCN will consider regional representation and apply equity, diversity and inclusion principles when selecting successful applicants.