GRA Innovation & Entrepreneurship — Development Grants

GRA I&E Development Grant

Supports Georgia university teams with prototype development and commercialization validation.

The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public-private partnership funded in part by more than $728 million in State of Georgia appropriations since 1991. The I&E Development Grant is the mid-stage tier within GRA's Innovation & Entrepreneurship commercialization portfolio and is available to faculty researchers at GRA's eight partner universities: University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory, Georgia State University, Augusta University, Mercer University, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse School of Medicine. Development Grants fund $10,000 to $250,000 per project, covering a broader scope of pre-commercial activities than the Exploratory tier.

Eligible activities under a Development Grant include prototype refinement, technology validation, preclinical testing, pilot manufacturing, IP and regulatory analysis, and customer pilots — all oriented toward reducing technical risk and advancing a technology toward market. A key feature is that multiple sequential grants are possible: GRA may fund follow-on Development Grants for projects demonstrating meaningful progress, allowing cumulative investment beyond a single award. As with the Exploratory tier, indirect (F&A) costs are not covered; budgets must reflect direct project expenses only. The program operates across six annual funding cycles for planning predictability. Applicants must demonstrate clear progress toward real-world application and define go/no-go milestones in their proposals.

Applications are submitted through each university's designated GRA representative rather than directly to GRA. Researchers identify their representative through their institution's tech transfer office or by contacting Grants@GRA.org. Competitive proposals must present credible commercialization pathways, evidence of technological advantage over existing solutions, and realistic budgets matched to project scope. Specific cycle dates are available through university representatives or from Andrew.Short@gra.org.