A collaboration in the service of innovation: the Grants Office and the DARRI working hand in hand

By Isabelle Spada, Administrative Coordinator – GO

Establishing an unprecedented collaboration at Institut Pasteur 

Supporting researchers in applying for funding for their projects is the Grants Office's (GO) top priority. The Direction for Research Applications and Industrial Relations (DARRI), meanwhile, sits at the heart of technology transfer, valorization, and the maturation of discoveries. 

Since 2024, Shauna Katz has been building a bridge between these two missions, providing day-to-day support to scientific teams in responding to innovation calls for projects.  

Anaëlle Labrue, an apprentice in innovation funding, has been working with Shauna for few months and provides valuable support, notably by facilitate communication and information transfer between GO and DARRI, communicate about calls for proposals, support researchers in their project submissions, or conduct a mapping of projects with innovation potential. 

A concrete application 

Since 2022, the FRM has been supporting the valorization of discoveries made by researchers it has previously funded. Two new types of grants have been introduced: "Pre-maturation" and "Maturation." These grants are designed to support research teams carrying out innovative scientific work with the potential to lead to concrete applications in healthcare.  

The "FRM Project Maturation" call for projects is open to projects supported through the FRM Teams and FRM priority areas calls for projects.   

Q:Could you explain what this "cross-cutting" positioning between the Grants Office and the DARRI involves in the context of the "FRM Project Maturation 2026" call? 

A:The FRM's call for proposals is a pre-maturation or maturation call for proposals. That is, a call that aims to finance a proof of concept AND/OR the development of a technology related to a medical need. The project must result in an innovation within the healthcare context. The intervention of GO is justified within the framework of the call for proposals for project development and writing to optimize the success rate of applicants. Regarding DARRI, as a technology transfer entity, it is therefore legitimate that it intervenes within the context of technology development, market access, and patents. 

This collaboration is essential to develop quality projects in terms of narrative, alignment with application conditions, market openness, legislation, and intellectual property.  

Q:What steps were taken to ensure effective mobilization across Institut Pasteur? 

A:The call for proposals was identified when DARRI's business development team invited the AAP manager to a startup breakfast event, enabling us to establish direct contact with the FRM representative and gather further details. We then disseminated the call summary to DARRI to identify potential projects within their portfolio. Simultaneously, we outreached eligible researchers from the Pasteur institution list, resulting in interest from researchers with coherent projects. This facilitated direct dialogue on project specifics. For researchers with existing projects, DARRI's involvement proved necessary, particularly on intellectual property and medical application matters. 

Q:What were the outcomes of these efforts, and what was your role in supporting the teams that decided to submit an application? 

A:This collaboration enabled us to identify researchers more quickly and efficiently and to minimize those who slip through the cracks thanks to targeted communication. On the other hand, researchers who were already in contact with us therefore already had privileged access within GO to inquire about the call for proposals and identify medical applications for their projects and the technologies they were in the process of developing. Finally, we aim to continue supporting and assist interested researchers in drafting their projects. 

 And what's next…  

Do you have a high potential project? Don't wait for the next call to talk about it. The Grants Office and the DARRI are here to support you from the very first spark of an idea. 

Contact shauna.katz[at]pasteur.fr for any questions and check  Grant Finder to stay up to date with calls for projects that match your needs.