Welcome to the SPARK Colorado Funding Program Application Portal!

Applications for our tenth cohort open Monday, August 31, 2026. This year, the Letter of Intent (LOI) and full application will run concurrently. LOIs close first, on Monday, September 28, 2026 at midnight, with the full application due shortly after on September 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM. LOIs will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they arrive, and eligible applicants will typically be notified within 24 hours so they can proceed with the full application in parallel.

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. There is no digiSPARK (digital health) cycle this year.

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.

What's New for Cohort 10

This year, SPARK Colorado is expanding in partnership with the CCTSI I-Corps program and Innosphere's Life Sciences Accelerator to give teams a deeper runway toward commercialization:

• Larger awards: Total program value increases to up to $300,000 per team, released in two phases (details below).
• Three-person teams required: Every applicant team must include a research lead, a clinical lead, and a business lead.
• Five teams selected: We anticipate selecting 5 teams for the 2026-27 cohort.
• I-Corps participation required: All applicant teams that advance past initial screening are required to complete the CCTSI I-Corps program as part of the selection process (see timeline below).
• Innosphere Accelerator partnership: The 5 teams selected for SPARK funding will also join Innosphere's Life Sciences Accelerator, beginning with a readiness bootcamp in winter 2027.

Selection Process & Timeline

• August 31, 2026: Applications open (LOI and full application run concurrently).
• September 28, 2026, midnight: LOI deadline.
• September 30, 2026, 5:00 PM: Full application deadline.
• Early October 2026: Initial down-selection to up to 10 teams, based on IP/patentability, commercial potential, strength and completeness of the required team (research, clinical, and business leads), and participation in the Amplifire training program. If we receive an especially large applicant pool, we may expand I-Corps to a second cohort.
• Mid-October to early November 2026: Down-selected teams complete the CCTSI I-Corps program, conducting structured customer discovery. Final I-Corps presentations, attended by Innosphere representatives, factor directly into selection of the final 5 SPARK teams. Key CCTSI I-Corps dates are as follows:
  • Session 1 & 2: October 15-16
  • Session 3: November 6
• December 2026: Final 5 teams confirmed and prepared for state OEDIT application submission.
• January 6, 2027: Deadline for submission of state OEDIT Advanced Industries application.
• Winter 2027 (tentative, late January/early February): Innosphere Readiness Bootcamp (one week) for the 5 selected teams, ahead of the Innosphere Accelerator.
• Early spring 2027: First funding installment released — $75,000-$90,000 directly to each team, plus a $10,000-$25,000 in-kind contribution to Innosphere on the team's behalf, covering their place in the Accelerator.
• Summer 2027: Second funding installment released once state contracting is complete — $150,000 in state (OEDIT) funding plus a $50,000 SPARK program match, for a combined $200,000.

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 $300,000 in total program value to develop novel therapeutics, medical devices, or diagnostics, released in phases as outlined in the timeline above.
• Team Requirement: Applicant teams must include a research lead, a clinical lead, and a business lead.
• I-Corps & Accelerator Pathway: Applicant teams participate in the CCTSI I-Corps program as part of selection, and the 5 teams selected for SPARK funding go on to join Innosphere's Life Sciences Accelerator beginning winter 2027.
• Mentorship: Teams will be automatically enrolled in the HIE VMS program, modeled after the successful MIT Venture Mentoring Service. HIE VMS runs in parallel to the program as a separate mentoring resource, alongside the Innosphere Accelerator relationship.
• 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 — including The Business of Science, our new Amplifire-powered adaptive learning platform on biomedical innovation and commercialization — 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, with the business lead in particular expected to commit real time to customer discovery efforts. 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 visit 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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