Welcome to the SPARK Colorado Funding Program Application Portal!

The application period for our tenth cohort will open by the end of summer 2027. 

For more information and to determine if you are a fit for the funding program, please review the SPARK website and Principal Investigator Eligibility. Note that SPARK Awards support therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics addressing unmet medical needs. If you are developing a digital health solution, please see digiSPARK. 

This year, our LOI phase is intended to simply screen for eligibility and will be reviewed within 48 hours. If advanced, you will immediately have access to the full proposal and receive a notification. Details on the application process can also be found on the SPARK website.

Click here to see an example of the Application Form and Review Criteria.

About SPARK Colorado

SPARK Awards are the funding mechanism of the SPARK Colorado program at CU Anschutz Innovations. The goal of the program is to accelerate the commercial development of promising technologies that have proven science and a high potential to impact patients. Projects coming out of the program will be ready for licensing opportunities to industry or the next round of independent financing through startups competitive for small business development grants (SBIR/STTR) or private capital investment.

A SPARK Award is not a traditional grant. The funding program focuses on commercial product development and does not focus on supporting basic science research. Successful applicants will work with the SPARK and Innovations teams to develop product definition plans with critical go/no-go milestones.

A SPARK Award includes:

• Funding: Teams are awarded up to $200,000 for two years to develop novel therapeutics, medical devices, or diagnostics.
• Mentorship: Teams will be automatically enrolled in the HIE VMS program, which is modeled after the successful MIT Venture Mentoring Service. 
• Industry Network: Teams will have access to industry and subject matter experts with experience in commercialization, pharmaceutical and medtech product development, and regulatory, reimbursement, and go-to-market strategy. 
• Education and Resources: Teams will have access to the entire SPARK Education library and Startup Toolbox as well as seminars and workshops tailored to each cohort. Teams also benefit from monthly SPARK events where they share and receive feedback from our community.

Expectations of SPARK Fellows 

Since projects are supported on an individual basis and are marketed actively by the Innovations team, SPARK Fellows are expected to participate in product development and SPARK community events. Teams should expect to commit a minimum of 10 hours per month to commercial development activities. SPARK Fellows will: 

• Work with the SPARK and Innovations team to develop and hit commercially relevant milestones, 
• Lead regular meetings with their mentors, service providers, industry providers, or investors, 
• Provide quarterly updates to the SPARK community, and 
• Commit time to commercial development activities, collateral development, and translational story building.  

Expected Outcomes 

SPARK Awards support technologies that are within one or two key milestones of a commercial transaction or follow-on investment. Projects exiting the program will be ready for: 

• Licensing technology to an existing company, 
• Formation of a startup ready for SBIR/STTR submission and/or 
• Submission of Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant and/or 
• Receiving independent financing either through venture capital or non-federal funds or
• Major industry-sponsored research agreements  

For More Information 

For more information about SPARK Awards and the SPARK Program at CU Anschutz vist our website. Interested applicants are encouraged to reach out to our team at SPARKCU or your Innovations Case Manager before or early in the application period to discuss eligibility, program requirements, and application preparation.

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