The University of Minnesota has joined the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), a consortium that includes approximately 95 other institutions and several hundred industry partners. Membership in this consortium entitles the U to apply for DoD funding that is open only to consortium members. Awards in the past have ranged from $50K to $25M. Greg Beilman in the Medical School and Joe Konstan in the College of Science and Engineering are serving as the academic leaders who can assist with questions about the program. See current MTEC funding opportunities.
The terms of this consortium membership are unique, and investigators should become familiar with the terms before they write a proposal. Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) has created a one page PI Quick Guide to help investigators understand what is involved with proposals and awards from this program. In brief, the unique terms are:
1. The awards will come in the form of an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). This is a form of federal award that is not a grant, contract, nor cooperative agreement and is intended to allow for maximum flexibility in terms. That generally also means more care, attention, and time for both the investigator and SPA. On the SPA side, these proposals and awards will be handled by Principal Contracting Officer Pat Struzyk rather than a PI’s regularly assigned SPA staff member.
2. The PI must pay a 2% fee to MTEC from non-sponsored dollars calculated on funding obligated by the sponsor. The fee is due 90 days after funding is obligated. In some cases, colleges may be willing to work with PIs to "loan" them the funding to pay this fee. Please be aware that there is no central fund source available to pay this fee, and the fee cannot be charged to the project. Contact Greg Beilman, Joe Konstan, or Pat Struzyk with questions.
3. The period of confidentiality on these awards is 10 years (rather than our usual 3 years), and the PI is responsible for adherence to that requirement for their entire team. Any special costs for managing that confidential data for an extended period may be charged to the project, but only during the period of the award.
For more information, please contact one of the program coordinators:
Greg Beilman, Medical School, beilman@umn.edu
Joe Konstan, CSE, konstan@umn.edu
Pat Struzyk, SPA, struz004@umn.edu