Gap Fund

Gap Fund 2025

Georgetown University’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) announces the launch of the fourth funding round for the Gap Fund in collaboration with the Office of Advancement and Georgetown’s Leadership. Established in 2021, the Gap Fund initiative supports projects with high commercial potential, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world applications. By funding additional proof-of-concept studies or prototype development, the Gap Fund paves the way for significant advancements across various fields. 

Letters of Intent for the Fourth Round of Georgetown Gap Funding 

Georgetown’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is seeking submission of Letters of Intent (LOI) beginning  January 14, 2025. The deadline for LOI submission is  February 18, 2025.  The grant award will be up to $75,000 per project for one year.   
 
To be eligible for this funding, an Invention Disclosure Form must have been submitted to OTC, a patent application must have been filed, or a patent issued.  

The Gap Fund was established in 2021 with a $1M gift from Georgetown alumnus Bill Baker (C’54, Parent’ 80, ‘84, ‘83) and his wife Ruth Baker. In today’s federal budgetary environment, there is a particularly acute challenge to getting earlier-stage and bench science “off the ground,” and many early-stage discoveries fail to realize their potential for impact due to a lack of funding after initial proof of concept. These research projects languish in the funding gap often called the “valley of death.” Georgetown’s Gap Fund is intended to overcome some of the funding barriers and to strengthen the impact on innovation from our research enterprise and translation into products or services for public benefit.  

For 2025, the fund’s scope has been expanded to support promising research innovations with commercialization potential and wider impact across various scientific disciplines. To strengthen the fund, 10% of licensing revenue designated for the President’s Office is being deployed into the Gap Fund. 

To learn more about Georgetown’s Evergreen Gap Fund, please visit the following link .  

Award Opportunity

The development milestone-driven Gap Fund award provides up to $75,000 for each award for one year with an opportunity to qualify for subsequent funding.  

Eligibility Criteria

Process