About this programme
SPARK-VT is a University of Vermont program that funds and guides faculty researchers trying to move a discovery toward the marketplace. It is run through UVM's Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), working with UVM Innovations, the university's technology transfer office.
The program's stated purpose is to accelerate the process of moving discoveries into the marketplace for the benefit of society, by pairing funding with expert commercialization guidance from an External Consultant Panel of legal, pharmaceutical, venture capital, technology, and regulatory experts.
How it works
Funded projects receive $25,000 to $45,000 total over two years, released in two annual tranches. Budgets cannot include faculty salaries.
Applications go first to an internal Steering Committee that checks completeness, then to Techpipeline, which produces a Preliminary Evaluation Knowledge (PEK) report on the proposal.
The External Consultant Panel then scores proposals; top-scoring applicants are invited to present to the panel directly.
Selected projects are assigned milestones and progress metrics to track against, and hold a progress report meeting roughly 12 months after the project starts.
For the 2026-27 cycle: Steering Committee screening completes by February 23, 2026, the Techpipeline PEK report is ready by April 2026, External Consultant Panel scoring finishes by mid-May 2026 with applicants notified of scores in early May 2026, selected presentations happen in June 2026, and funding decisions are made by mid-July 2026.
Who can apply
The applicant must be UVM faculty, or a researcher who meets UVM's Faculty Principal Investigator Eligibility Guidelines.
Any intellectual property from the project must be assigned to UVM, in line with UVM's Intellectual Property Policy.
Applicants must consult with UVM Innovations to review their project before submitting; skipping this pre-application consultation makes the application ineligible.
The project itself must address specific tasks that advance a discovery or technology toward commercial application.
How to apply
- Consult with UVM Innovations before submitting; this step is mandatory.
- Submit your application through the InfoReady internal competition website by the annual deadline (February 23, 2026 for the 2026-27 cycle).
- Prepare a project description (maximum 2 single-spaced pages, 11-point Arial font, half-inch margins) describing the proposed innovation, the underlying technology and its novelty, a product and market analysis, specific SPARK objectives, a development plan and commercialization path, and the applicant's credentials and collaborators.
- Prepare a budget with justification (maximum 1 page, same formatting), submitted as a PDF.
- If invited after scoring, present to the External Consultant Panel in June.
- If funded, meet your assigned milestones and attend a progress report meeting about 12 months after the project starts.
Documents you’ll typically need
- Project description, max 2 single-spaced pages, 11-point Arial, half-inch margins, PDF
- Budget with justification, max 1 page, same formatting, PDF
Frequently asked
How much funding can we get?
$25,000 to $45,000 total, released over two years in two annual tranches.
Can the budget cover our own salary?
No, faculty salaries cannot be included in the SPARK-VT budget.
Do we have to talk to anyone before applying?
Yes. A pre-application consultation with UVM Innovations is required, and skipping it makes the application ineligible.
Who owns the intellectual property that comes out of a SPARK-VT project?
IP must be assigned to UVM, under UVM's Intellectual Property Policy.
When is the application deadline?
For the 2026-27 cycle, the deadline is February 23, 2026, submitted through the InfoReady website.
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Reviewed 2026-09-25. Programmes change, so check eligibility, amounts and deadlines on the official page before you apply. CapEasy is a private firm and is not part of any government body.