Flash Grants

Funding Agency:
North Carolina Biotechnology Center

The Flash Grant program identifies and energizes creative ideas that exhibit early indications of exceptional commercial potential. Like a flash of inspiration, flash grants infuse a quick jolt of funding at a critical early point when a small, targeted influx of funds is crucial to shaping innovative research ideas into high-potential life sciences technologies.

Flash grants support short, tightly-focused research projects in these two categories:

  • To obtain initial exploratory, proof-of-concept, or feasibility data necessary to suggest the disruptive potential of a life sciences technology
  • To conduct the final experiment(s) needed to advance a basic life sciences research program into the translational research phase of development

These micro-grants provide funding for projects that ultimately generate follow-on funding, intellectual property filings, licenses, and startup company formation; however, the projects are too early for traditional grant funding mechanisms.

Funds are available to researchers at any North Carolina university or non-profit research institute.

FY2024 Deadlines:

Cycle 1
Wednesday, September 13, 2023 (noon)

Cycle 2
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 (noon)

Cycle 3
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 (noon)

Agency Website

Areas of Interest

Eligibility Requirements

At the time of submission, the Principal Investigator (PI) must hold a full-time, tenure-track, or tenured faculty appointment, or an appointment as permanent, full-time, clinical or research faculty at the applicant institution or hold an equivalent position. 

Amount

$20,000

Amount Description

A maximum of $20,000 may be requested for periods of up to 12 months. There is no match requirement for the Flash Grant Program.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty

Category

Engineering and Physical Sciences
Environmental & Life Sciences
Medical
Medical - Basic Science
Medical - Clinical Science
Medical - Translational

External Deadline

September 13, 2023