IU Sustainability FAQs

• Scientists within Boehringer Ingelheim Discovery Research define the individual questions. We plan to share either biological or technical questions for only a short period of time during which we invite scientific experts from around the world to submit novel solutions and apply with a collaboration proposal.
• After this period, questions may remain published on opnMe.com. This is to allow scientists to contact us also at a later stage, should they come up with innovative ideas.
• The questions may have a strong practical component. Hence practical laboratory experience and access to a laboratory may be required in most instances in order to be selected as a winner of a call.

• The winner of this call can expect research funding of up to USD 80,000. Upon completion of the project, the actual costs of the project will be reconciliated versus estimated expenses and any unused funds should be returned to us. In the event the actual expenses are greater than the estimated expenses in the project budget, we will not be liable to pay the difference between the actual expenses and the estimated expenses.
• All results and all IP therein generated by the researcher will be jointly owned by the researcher´s institute and Boehringer Ingelheim. Each party may freely use the results, without further obligations to the other party. At the same time, we suggest that the parties agree that in order to contribute to the advancement of science for the benefit of the public and to allow the scientific community and industry to use any results following joint publication, they will abstain from pursuing exclusive intellectual property protection with respect to any results. In particular, neither party shall file for a patent right pertaining to any results anywhere in the world and in any field.
• As a winner of our More Green Grant calls, you will be encouraged to publish your results.
• The winner may be announced publicly in social networks and on the opnMe.com website.

• We highly recommend using our answer submission template to provide a 2-3 page non-confidential proposal plus potential references. The document consists of a “general” part that requires the contact details of the submitting scientists and their organizations. In addition, an “answer part” which allows the structured entry of your suggested approach to address our question.
• The scientist with the right answer may bring a specific technical expertise in his or her discipline that provides an answer to our question from a different, potentially unexpected angle. Hence, the scientific background might be different from the area of the question. Your expertise should be documented by key references and publications.
• Experts not directly linked to the subject or the field of the therapeutic domain are also highly encouraged to apply if they consider their solutions new or innovative for the question.
• Active access to a laboratory and the ability to implement the idea is required for this question.

Our aim is to find scientists with a novel idea to address our questions. We offer funding for collaboration with the winning scientists of our call.

All incoming answers are evaluated by Boehringer Ingelheim scientists and the selected ideas are normally pursued through a joint collaboration. Initial answers should be short and address the following areas to allow rapid evaluation of your ideas. The submitted proposal must not contain any confidential data. The following information is highly encouraged

• Title of the innovative idea
• Rephrasing of the question to be solved and outline of the answer including innovative aspects
• Information about potentially existing test systems and preliminary data
• Proposed collaboration project plan with key decision points
• Initial funding request
• Information on potential conflicting intellectual property rights of third parties and freedom to operate
• References

A template provided by us will help you to compile the information required.

We are seeking research collaboration proposals that contain:

• A well-structured proposal outlining a new and compelling scientific idea.
• A novel, testable working hypothesis distinct from those previously published.
• Framing the questions and the innovation aspects that includes a well thought-through project plan with key decision points and budget requirements.
• Proven record of accomplishment in the required field of expertise.
• Outlining the technical feasibility of the innovative proposed approach.
• The quality and feasibility of potentially existing data and/or the experimental plan that will be used to test the hypothesis.
• Specifically for this proposal the submitted idea must be implementable within a 12 month's time period.

If confidential data exists that would strengthen the proposal, you may indicate that confidential information is available to share under a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). If we find the non-confidential concept proposal sufficiently interesting, we will execute a CDA for confidential discussions.

You can expect funding of up to USD 80,000 if your submitted proposal has been selected as the winner by our internal review team (including all direct, indirect, overhead costs). Upon completion of the project, the actual costs of the project will be reconciliated versus estimated expenses and any unused funds should be returned to us. In the event the actual expenses are greater than the estimated expenses in the project budget, we will not be liable to pay the difference between the actual expenses and the estimated expenses.

Boehringer Ingelheim scientists with relevant expertise will provide you with an evaluation of your collaboration proposal within 6 weeks after the submission deadline of the individual question. Should there be mutual interest in proceeding with the proposed answer, you would be contacted by a Boehringer Ingelheim scientist to discuss the research plan in more detail and to understand how we can best support your idea. The timeframe for the start of a collaboration may be different for each collaboration.

No. Applications will be shared inside Boehringer Ingelheim amongst a team of scientists designated to evaluate proposals for potential funding. They will not be visible to, or shared with, scientists from other institutions.

All results and all IP therein generated by the researcher will be jointly owned by the researcher´s institute and Boehringer Ingelheim. Each party may freely use the results, without further obligations to the other party. At the same time, we suggest that the parties agree that in order to contribute to the advancement of science for the benefit of the public and to allow the scientific community and industry to use any results following joint publication, they will abstain from pursuing exclusive intellectual property protection with respect to any results. In particular, neither party shall file for a patent right pertaining to any results anywhere in the world and in any field.

If you would like to modify and re-upload your proposal, the easiest way would be to start a new submission process and submit your updated proposal that way. Please let us know of the initial proposal ID that you would like to retract, so we can delete it accordingly from our system and only consider your updated proposal for the evaluation process.