HP Labs Innovation Research Program

General program questions

Q. If I submit a proposal, will it be funded?
A. The HP Labs Innovation Research Program is a highly competitive, worldwide Request for Proposals. It is expected that many proposals will be received for each research topic, and only the best proposals will be chosen for funding.

In 2008, over 450 proposals were received, and approximately 10% of these were selected for funding, making for a highly selective program.

Q. Can I submit a multi-year proposal or one with a budget larger than $75,000 USD?
A. The standard award for the HP Labs Innovation Research Program will be in the USD $50,000-$75,000 range for one year. However, HP may choose, in some cases, to make larger or partial awards. Although initial awards will be made for one year, awards may be extended after the first year based on research outcomes and HP business needs.

Q. I noticed that matching funds are included as part of the Evaluation Criteria in 2009. Am I required to include a commitment for matching funds in order for my proposal to be considered?
A. The 2009 HP Labs Innovation Research Program seeks proposals that will leverage additional external resources. Therefore, proposals that offer significant university or third-party resources to expand the collaboration will receive particular consideration. However, a commitment to leverage external resources is not a strict requirement for submitting a proposal to the program.

Q. Can you provide some examples of external resources or matching funding that would be attractive as part of a proposal?
A. HP Labs is interested in proposals that can offer the possibility to enhance the impact of HP’s investment in a research project, allowing for more ambitious research goals.

Examples could include: a matching commitment of university resources to support additional dedicated graduate students working on the project; leveraging existing third-party (non-HP) research funding that provides additional dedicated resources to the project; applying for new research grants (e.g., via a government research-funding agency) that will directly support the project.

Q. Can more than one researcher from my university/institution submit a proposal?
A. Yes. Under the HP Labs Innovation Research Program, multiple proposals may be submitted from any university/institution. However, each proposal must be accompanied by a separate signed copy of the CRA Acceptance Letter in order to be eligible.

Q. If I applied to the 2008 Innovation Research Program but did not receive an award, am I still eligible to apply in 2009?
A. Yes. We encourage you to review the 2009 research topics carefully. If your previous proposal is relevant to one of the 2009 topics, you may resubmit it. You may also submit an entirely new proposal.

Q. If my university/institution has previously received an HP Philanthropy grant, am I still eligible to apply?
A. Yes. Philanthropic donations from HP do not affect your university/institution’s eligibility to apply to this program.

Q. If my university received a 2008 Innovation Research Program award, am I eligible to apply for another award in 2009?
A. Yes. You may apply and submit your proposal through the 2009 Innovation Research Program process, and you must provide an CRA Acceptance Letter signed and dated by your university for each proposal that you submit.

Q. Can my institution contact someone at HP to negotiate the terms of the HP Labs Innovation Research Program Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA)?
A. The program’s Collaborative Research Agreement is designed to provide a fair and reasonable framework for single-project collaborations between HP and participating universities and research institutes. Due to the large scale of this program, which encompasses HP Labs’ worldwide locations and research labs, HP Labs cannot conduct negotiations with universities/institutions on an individual basis.

Q. Is the 2009 Collaborative Research Agreement the same as the 2008 Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA)?
A. Although several sections have been shortened and/or clarified in 2009, the key provisions of the agreement remain the same as in 2008. Additional detail is available in the 2009 CRA Companion document.

Q. If my university/institution previously accepted the 2008 Collaborative Research Agreement, do I still need to submit an CRA Acceptance Letter?
A. Yes. All applications to the 2009 Innovation Research Program must be accompanied by a signed, dated CRA Acceptance Letter in order for the proposal to be considered. The CRA Acceptance Letter serves to indicate your institution's agreement to accept the 2009 Collaborative Research Agreement, should your proposal be selected for an award.

Q. I am a university researcher who is also an official of my university. Can I sign the CRA Acceptance Letter for my proposal myself?
A. No. In order to ensure that the applicant’s university has reviewed the HP Labs Innovation Research Program Collaborative Research Agreement prior to proposal submission, HP requires that a university authority other than the applicant signs the CRA Acceptance Letter.

Q. I received an HP Labs Innovation Research Program award in 2008. Do I need to re-submit my original project proposal to request funding for a second year?
A. No. Researchers who received an award under the Innovation Research Program 2008 Call for Proposals will be contacted regarding steps for submission of updated project information and a supplemental funding request.

Q. Can I include support for a post-doctoral position in my proposal budget?
A. No. Since a key objective of the HP Labs Innovation Research Program is to help HP build stronger relationships with professors and their graduate students, funding requests for post-doctoral positions will not be supported. Acceptable personnel costs may include professor or faculty researcher salaries, as well as stipends related to graduate or undergraduate student participation in the project. Post-doctoral researchers are encouraged to collaborate on the project, but would be required to secure complementary funding for their salary, provided by the university or a third-party (such as a government funding agency).

Q. The IRP Request for Proposals document states that awards are for one year only. In some countries, universities recruit graduate students based on a multi-year program and require guaranteed funding up-front for the entire program. Can researchers at universities with this situation still apply?
A. Yes. Applicants should indicate this situation clearly in the budget section of the proposal. Projects should specify the amount needed per year and also indicate any local funding requirements that would call for multi-year support. If the proposal is successful and receives an award, HP will work with that researcher/university to explore alternatives for meeting local graduate student funding requirements.

Q. I have been working with a colleague at another university. Can we submit a joint proposal to HP?
A. Yes. Applicants from 2 (or more) separate institutions may submit a joint proposal for consideration to this program. Each institution should submit a proposal, both of which should be essentially identical (i.e. same title and content) with the exception of the proposed budget. Budget requests from each institution should be detailed separately for administrative purposes.

Once the proposal has been created in the submission system, a Proposal Identification Number will be created. Each applicant should indicate the co-applicant’s corresponding Proposal ID in the system prior to completing his/her submission.

Q. The 2008 Innovation Research Program’s research topics were grouped by geography. Are there similar restrictions in the 2009 program?
A. No. In 2009, all of the research topics published will be available for all applicants, regardless of their institution’s home country.

Q. How will I know if my proposal is successful?
A. HP will contact all applicants to notify them of their proposal’s status beginning 22 April 2009.

Q. I am a university professor seeking an HP equipment or cash donation. Can I apply through this program?
A. The HP Labs Innovation Research Program is designed to fund breakthrough collaborative research projects with universities, and as such does not fund equipment or cash donations, nor can it support student projects, event sponsorships, or teaching activities.

Q. Is this program part of HP’s Philanthropy programs?
A. No. The HP Labs Innovation Research Program is designed to fund collaborative research projects, not to provide philanthropic support to universities. HP’s Philanthropy programs are separate from HP Labs and are part of HP’s overall Global Social Investment programs. More information on those programs can be found here.

Q. I am a researcher that is not associated with a university or research institution. Can I submit a proposal to HP through this process?
A. The HP Labs Innovation Research Program is only designed to fund collaborative research projects with researchers at universities or research institutes. If you are interested in sending your ideas to HP, please click here.

Q. I'm a student. Does HP have scholarships and internships?
A. HP does offer summer internships. Review current openings and submit your resume on-line at our Jobs@HP website.

Proposal submission system questions

Q. How do I apply?
A. Please review the IRP Call for Proposals and accompanying documents for information on research topics, proposal guidelines and eligibility requirements. Proposals must be submitted through our online proposal submission system beginning on 2 February 2009.

Q. What is the deadline for applications to be submitted?
A. Proposals must be submitted to HP Labs through the online submission system by Monday, 2 March 2009 by 5:00 PM Pacific Time.

Q. How does the online submission system work?
A. From 2 February to 2 March 2009, applicants will be able to access the online proposal submission system and create a user account.

Applicants will be required to register and provide summary information on their proposal in the online system, and to upload a file (in PDF format) containing their full proposal and any relevant appendices. Complete guidelines are detailed in Appendix 3 (Proposal Guide) of the Call for Proposals.

Applicants will also be required to upload a signed copy of the 2009 CRA Acceptance Letter, as well as a file containing the Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the primary researcher(s).

Q. Will be same system from 2008 be used?
A. No. The online submission system for 2009 will be a version of the open-source conference review software HotCRP. Key improvements from 2008 include fewer online fields to be filled out and the ability to revise submissions prior to the proposal deadline.

Q. Can I enter some information now and return to it later to complete my submission?
A. Yes. Once you create a user account, you may register and create one or more new proposals. Each time that you log into the system, you will be able to edit any proposal(s) linked to your account. Please note that you will need to complete upload of all required documents prior to the submission deadline on 2 March 2009.

Q. Can I upload a single PDF file for my proposal?
A. Yes. This is a significant change from 2008, and allows applicants more flexibility and convenience in preparing research proposals. You may include any relevant figures, tables or charts in the body of your proposal, or you may include them in an appendix.

Q. Is there a page limit for proposals in the 2009 Call for Proposals?
A. Yes. Proposals should be no longer than ten (10) pages, and should seek to address the main questions outlined in Appendix 3 (Proposal Guide) of the 2009 Call for Proposals. Any supplemental information (such as figures or data included as an appendix), however, will not count against the ten-page limit.

Q. Can my proposal be edited by my co-investigator?
A. Yes. When you register a proposal, you may also add co-investigators’ names to the proposal. Anyone with a user account on the system will have access to each proposal on which they are listed as a co-investigator.

Q. Can I upload a file in another format besides PDF?
A. No. All files uploaded as part of the proposal submission system must be provided in PDF format. The online system will not permit attachments in other formats to be submitted.

Q. Is there a size limit for each PDF file?
A. Yes. Each individual file (whether proposal, CRA acceptance letter, or curriculum vitae) must be no larger than 10 MB.

Q. I am planning to submit a proposal with a co-investigator as well as a graduate student researcher. How do I submit CVs for all 3 of us?
A. Please consolidate brief (1-2 page) CVs for each person into a single PDF file for upload.

Q. How do I identify a joint proposal in the system?
A. If you are submitting a joint proposal with one or more PIs at another institution, please provide your co-investigator with the Proposal Identification Number assigned to your proposal when you register it in the system. You should obtain your co-investigator’s corresponding Proposal ID. You both should then enter each other’s Proposal ID in the field marked “Joint Proposals”. Please note that joint proposals should have the same title and be essentially identical, except that budget requests should be detailed individually by each institution for administrative purposes.

Q. If I my co-investigator is at another university, but is not requesting funds from HP, do they still need to submit their own “joint proposal”?
A. Yes. Any proposal that involves collaborators from more than one institution is considered a “joint proposal” for administrative purposes. HP requires that each investigator submit a signed CRA Acceptance Letter from his/he institution along with the proposal. If your co-investigator does not plan on requesting HP funds, he/she should indicate this in the budget section of his/her proposal.

Q. How will I know that HP has received my submission?
A. Once your proposal is successfully submitted through the system, you will receive an email confirming that your proposal has been received.

Q. What happens if I need to make a change to my proposal after submission?
A. If you need to revise your proposal after submitting it, you may log into the system prior to the submission deadline and make changes. Please note that if you change any one of the files uploaded, all 3 files will need to be re-uploaded into the system. You will not be able to make any changes to the system after the submission deadline has passed.

Q. What happens if I don’t upload a signed CRA Acceptance Letter?
A. In order for a proposal to be considered, all of the required documents must be uploaded prior to the submission deadline on 2 March 2009. Proposals with incomplete documentation will not be reviewed.

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