Sandbox Rolling Grant RFP - 2024 Update.pdf

Grant Solicitation

Digital Health Sandbox Rolling Grant Program

Solicitation No. 2019-MeHI-02

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

75 North Drive Westborough, MA 01581-3340 http://www.masstech.org

Issued: 4/24/2019

Revised and Re-issued: 7/25/2024

Team Leader: Katherine Green

Applications Due: Rolling, see schedule below http://www.masstech.org/

1. INTRODUCTION

The Massachusetts eHealth Institute (“MeHI”), a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (“Mass Tech Collaborative”), is re-issuing this Grant Solicitation, or Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”), offering grants to fund projects to support companies looking to test and validate new products and services in a sandbox environment. MassTech Collaborative will award grants up to $25,000.

Mass Tech Collaborative acts as the contracting entity on behalf of Massachusetts eHealth Institute and will enter into an agreement with selected Applicants containing certain standard provisions (the “Sandbox Access Grant Agreement”).

2. GRANT OVERVIEW

2.1 Background

In 2017, the Massachusetts Digital Health Council released a report recommending a growth plan to establish Massachusetts as a leading ecosystem for digital health innovation. The Council recommended focusing on three priority areas: creating a distributed data network; improving the Commonwealth’s digital health ecosystem and connectivity; and supporting pilot environments and product validation. Under the last priority area, the Council recommended developing a network of sandbox environments to support the lifecycle of research and development for digital health companies. To help achieve that goal, MeHI established the Digital Health Sandbox Program and formed an Independent Steering Committee (“ISC”) to advise MeHI on the development of the program. The program launched in 2019 and as of 2024 there are 10 organizations in the Sandbox Network. The Sandbox Rolling Grant Program is one of the ways MeHI supports digital health companies through the Sandbox Program. To learn more about MeHI visit mehi.masstech.org. To learn more about the Sandbox Network and Program visit massdigitalhealth.org-sandbox program.

2.2 Grant Requirements & Guidance

MeHI released this NOFO for applications from Massachusetts digital health companies seeking support to test and validate their products or services in a sandbox environment. This is a rolling NOFO, and responses will be reviewed periodically, typically once per fiscal year, pursuant to the evaluation criteria set forth below.

MeHI, after receiving recommendations from the ISC, selected Massachusetts organizations that offer testing and validation capabilities and services to digital health companies to join the Sandbox Network.

Information on the participating sandboxes and their capabilities will be kept up to date on www.massdigitalhealth.org. Sandboxes will be periodically added as they are approved by MeHI.

Applicants should carefully review the information to determine which sandbox can support their testing needs and, as part of the application, they must include a letter from the sandbox detailing the services and resources the sandbox will provide and confirming the sandbox’s ability to support the proposed project. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to MeHI staff for advice and assistance on matching with a sandbox.

Applicants must complete the form linked below and attach all requested documents, including but not limited to a pitch deck, a high-level project plan, a high-level budget, brief bios of team members, and a signed letter of support from a sandbox. The application should indicate the sandbox they would like to work with and clearly describe the applicant’s organization, their proposed use of the sandbox, their expected outcomes during the project period, and the potential impact of the project on the applicant company, the Massachusetts economy, health equity, and the Commonwealth’s innovation ecosystem. If selected, in addition to contracting with Mass Tech Collaborative, applicants may be required to execute agreements with their selected sandbox. MeHI anticipates directing any award funds directly to the selected applicant’s sandbox and any award funds must be used to cover the sandbox’s costs and fees for the project. At the end of their project, selected applicants will be required to submit a final report summarizing their project, outcomes, barriers to completing the project, and plans for next steps.

Additionally, in order to evaluate and evolve the overall program, MeHI plans to follow up with selected https://masstech.org/procurements https://masstech.org/procurements http://mehi.masstech.org/ https://massdigitalhealth.org/mass-digital-health-programs/digital-health-sandbox-program https://massdigitalhealth.org/mass-digital-health-programs/digital-health-sandbox-program http://www.massdigitalhealth.org/ applicants for five-years after the grant period to understand the long-term impact of the program. Selected applicants are eligible for grant awards up to $25,000. Award amounts will be based on the cost of the applicant’s proposed project and the applicant’s company size. Applicants will be required to provide matching funding based on the applicant company’s size using full-time employee (FTE) counts at the time of application.

Fees will be fully covered for selected applicants with 5 or fewer FTE. Fees for selected applicants with 6 or more FTE requires the following company match:

5 or fewer FTE 0% company match 100% subsidy from MeHI

10 or fewer FTE 50% company match 50% subsidy from MeHI

More than 10 FTE 75% company match 25% subsidy from MeHI

Matching funding must come from either federal or private sources, or from the applicant company, and must cover the sandbox’s fees, not the applicant company’s staff time or product costs.

3. EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

MeHI will collect and prepare the applications for review with a rotating group of external evaluators. The external evaluators will make funding recommendations to MeHI based on their review.

The following evaluation criteria will be used to review Applicants:

Feasibility of the proposed project, including:

o Technical merit o Economic viability o Uniqueness of company or product in the digital health market

Potential impact of the project, including:

o Impact of the project on the company o Impact of the project on expanding and strengthening the state’s economy o Impact of the project on patients’ lives o Impact of the project on health equity

Projects addressing the following areas will receive preference:

o Health equity o Cybersecurity and privacy issues o Cost or access challenges identified by the Health Policy Commission or other public bodies

All applicants will be notified of final decisions via e-mail to the identified project lead.

4. APPLICATION PROCESS

4.1 Application and Submission Instructions

Applicants are cautioned to read this NOFO carefully and to conform to its requirements. Failure to comply with the requirements of this NOFO may serve as grounds for rejection of an application.

Applicants must complete the application at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/A5kCrcVjGq

a. Any responses, applications, data, materials, information and documentation submitted to Mass Tech Collaborative in response to this NOFO shall become Mass Tech Collaborative’s property and be subject to public disclosure. As a public entity, the Mass Tech Collaborative is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (set forth at Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66).

https://forms.office.com/r/A5kCrcVjGq

There are very limited and narrow exceptions to disclosure under the Public Records Law. If an Applicant wishes to have the Mass Tech Collaborative treat certain information or documentation as confidential, the Applicant must submit a written request to the Mass Tech Collaborative’s General Counsel’s office no later than 5:00 p.m. fourteen (14) business days prior submission of an Application. The request must precisely identify the information and/or documentation that is the subject of the request and provide a detailed explanation supporting the application of the statutory exemption(s) from the public records cited by the Applicant. The General Counsel will issue a written determination within ten (10) business days of receipt of the written request. If the General Counsel approves the request, the Applicant shall clearly label the relevant information and/or documentation as “CONFIDENTIAL” in the Application and shall submit a hard copy of the Application with the confidential material to:

General Counsel Massachusetts Technology Collaborative 75 North Drive Westborough, MA 02108

Applicants please note: By executing the Authorized Applicant’s Signature and Acceptance Form and submitting an Application in response to this NOFO, Applicant certifies that it (1) acknowledges and understands the policies and procedures for handling materials submitted to Mass Tech Collaborative, as described in this NOFO, (2) agrees to be bound by those policies and procedures, (3) acknowledges that the statutory exemptions from the Massachusetts public records law are very limited; and (4) agrees that Mass Tech Collaborative shall not be liable under any circumstances for any disclosure of materials submitted to in connection with this NOFO that is required by law.

b. Mass Tech Collaborative reserves the right to amend the Agreement at any time. Applicants should review the Sandbox Access Grant Agreement located HERE as they are required to specify any exceptions to the Agreement and to make any suggested counterproposal in their Application. A failure to specify exceptions and/or counterproposals will be deemed an acceptance of the Agreement’s general terms and conditions, and no subsequent negotiation of such provisions shall be permitted. Although Mass Tech Collaborative will be the contracting counter- party with the Applicant, for purposes of this NOFO (and except where the specific context warrants otherwise), Massachusetts eHealth Institute and the Mass Tech Collaborative are collectively referred to as Massachusetts eHealth Institute or MeHI.

4.2 Application Timeframe and Requirements

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. MeHI plans to meet with external evaluators at least once per fiscal year to review applications. Applicants must complete the online application here. As part of their application, Applicants must upload the following documents:

A pitch deck, video presentation, or other materials that describe Applicant’s company and its value proposition

A high-level project plan; download a template at https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation

A project budget; download a template at https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation

Signed letter of support from selected sandbox outlining the services and resources the sandbox will provide and confirming their ability to support the proposed project.

Brief bios for key team members

A signed copy of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Authorized Applicant’s Signature and Acceptance Form; download the form at: https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation

Applicant’s W9 https://masstech.org/procurements https://forms.office.com/r/A5kCrcVjGq https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation https://massdigitalhealth.org/digital-health-sandbox-program-solicitation

Applicants applying for an active pilot project must answer the additional questions on the application form

Applicants who have previously received funding from the Sandbox Program must answer the additional questions on the application form and attach the final project report for their first Sandbox project.

5. GENERAL CONDITIONS

5.1 General Information

a. If an Application fails to meet any material terms, conditions, requirements or procedures, it may be deemed unresponsive and disqualified. Mass Tech Collaborative reserves the right to waive omissions or irregularities that it determines to be not material.

b. This NOFO, as may be amended from time to time by Mass Tech Collaborative, does not commit Mass Tech Collaborative to select any firm(s), pay any costs incurred in preparing an Application or in connection with the award of any contracts. Mass Tech Collaborative reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to make no awards through this NOFO, to withdraw the NOFO, to engage in preliminary discussions with prospective Applicants, to accept or reject any or all Applications received, to request supplemental or clarifying information, to negotiate with any or all qualified Applicants, and to request modifications to Applications in accordance with negotiations, all to the same extent as if this were a Request for Information.

c. Unless otherwise specified in this NOFO, all communications, responses, and documentation must be in English, and all cost Applications or figures in U.S. currency. All Applications must be submitted in accordance with the specific terms of this NOFO.

d. On matters related to this NOFO that arise prior to an award decision by Mass Tech Collaborative, Applicants shall limit communications with the Mass Tech Collaborative to the Procurement Team Leader and such other individuals as the Mass Tech Collaborative may designate from time to time. No other Mass Tech Collaborative employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any questions or inquiries concerning this NOFO. Applicants may contact the Procurement Team Leader for this NOFO if it is incomplete.

e. Mass Tech Collaborative may provide reasonable accommodations, including the provision of materials in an alternative format, for Applicants with disabilities or other hardships. Applicants requiring accommodations shall submit requests in writing, with supporting documentation justifying the accommodations, to the Procurement Team Leader. The Mass Tech Collaborative reserves the right to grant or reject any request for accommodations.

f. Applicant’s Application shall be treated by the Mass Tech Collaborative as an accurate statement of Applicant’s capabilities and experience. Should any statement asserted by Applicant prove to be inaccurate or inconsistent with the foregoing, such inaccuracy or inconsistency shall constitute sufficient cause for Mass Tech Collaborative in its sole discretion to reject the Application and/or terminate of any resulting Agreement.

5.2 Posting of Modifications/Addenda to NOFO

This NOFO has been distributed electronically using the Mass Tech Collaborative, Mass Digital Health, and COMMBUYS websites. If Mass Tech Collaborative determines that it is necessary to revise any part of this NOFO, or if additional data is necessary to clarify any of its provisions, an addendum will be posted to the websites. Each potential Applicant is responsible for checking the Mass Tech Collaborative, Mass Digital Health, and COMMBUYS websites for any addenda or modifications to the NOFO. The Mass Tech Collaborative accepts no liability and will provide no accommodation to Applicants who submit a response based on an out-of-date NOFO.