On average, companies running Connect Campaigns initiate introductions with 15% of the opportunities submitted to each campaign. This means that around 1-in-7 of the submissions leads to a conversation with industry, with additional engagement also provided as feedback on unsuccessful submissions.
We're always striving to improve our introduction rates so that we can start more conversations across industry and academia, in turn helping biotech companies, universities and research organisations to secure more support and funding for their research. In this article we'll outline best practices for individuals and teams submitting to Connect Campaigns and how to increase your chances of engaging industry R&D decision-makers. You may also find our Connect Campaigns FAQs helpful.
There are two types of Connect Campaign, 1) an Industry Call for Opportunities (ICO), and 2) a Request for Proposals (RFP). The majority of our campaigns are ICOs. For these we accept submissions that fall under one of six categories, which are described in detail below. Not all campaigns will be accepting all submission types, but relevant submission types are outlined in their campaign document (see an example below).
Type of submission sought through Industry Call for Opportunities (ICO) campaigns:
It's vital to submit the right opportunity type, and tailor your submission to the needs of the campaign. Our industry community has often reported that a lack of campaign-specific information in a submission is a common reason for not progressing an opportunity to an introduction. To address this, the Connect Campaigns team recommends that all submissions outline, at least briefly, how you propose working with the company to reach a scientific solution together.
This is particularly true for Academic Profiles and Center of Excellence opportunities, where the summary typically focuses on research interests, relevant active projects, previous work, and accolades. For these types of submission, the company will have advised that it is beneficial to give an overview of the current research interests and how these skills and interests could be applied to the current campaign.
If in doubt, think about how a collaboration would benefit both parties, and outline how you might achieve this together with the company.
In our second style of campaign, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), companies are looking for bespoke submissions similar to a typical grant proposal/application. This type of campaign involves a mandatory submission form which the company will review in full before arranging introductions to promising proposals. It's important to complete this form with as much detail as possible (within any restrictions or word limits). Any additional information you'd like to share can also be included in the form of attachments. If you have any questions, please contact campaigns@inpart.io to speak to a member of our team.
How to tailor your submission to each campaign
A campaign brief is prepared by the Connect Campaigns team in close alignment with the company running the campaign containing all the information on what approaches are a high priority for them, which approaches are not relevant to their plans, and any avenues they may have already explored.
As you can see from the example campaign brief below, the company has outlined their areas of interest, some approaches they consider to be a good fit, and what research milestones have ideally been completed (i.e. Stage of Development). They have also shared some ‘Out of Scope’ approaches to be avoided.
Where possible, your submission should directly address the key requirements by outlining your approach, progress/validation so far, and your desired outcome from this connection. This would typically include:
- A concise title
- Opening summary: briefly summarise your submission and how it could address the company's challenge.
- Opportunity detail:
- Technical information related to the invention or research (E.g. current development stage of a therapeutic, potential clinical indications or patent coverage for the technology).
- Any relevant background information specific to the opportunity
- The opportunity’s applications and benefits
- Describe the research team behind the opportunity
- What the opportunity is seeking/offering. How would you hope to develop this work further in collaboration with the company?
- Closing summary: How do you foresee your submission addressing the campaign scope? What are the benefits compared to other approaches?
It can also be helpful to consider the development timeline for the opportunity and include this information in your submission:
- How long do you predict your proposed next steps to take?
- What support is needed to achieve your next development milestone?
- What is the potential commercial value of the approach?
Enriching your submissions to increase engagement
As standard, we recommend that you include any relevant publications, patents or supplementary information that shows how your interests align with the company’s requirements, or how your approach might be the solution they’re looking for. We find that submissions with more sources receive more positive engagement from industry.
If your submission is progressed to an introduction, the company will often ask for supplementary documentation prior to any meeting to discuss a potential collaboration, so providing sources early can help to move things forward more quickly.
Importantly, we ask for only non-confidential information at the submission stage. We appreciate it may not always be completely clear what information to share, and what to save for potential discussions if an introduction is made. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to campaigns@inpart.io and our liaison team will be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Differences between physical science and life science campaigns
Life Science
These campaigns can vary in scope, some focus on a particular niche (for example a specific drug pathway), whilst others are broader (perhaps with interest across a few related diseases). In either case, your submissions should outline how to address the problem described in the ICO, whilst providing any specific details where relevant (E.g. a drug/therapy would need information on disease specificity, targeted mechanism/target name, drug modality/name, validation etc.)
Physical Science
These campaigns are typically more focused on solving a specific problem, and therefore a good submission will propose a solution supported by any relevant past research or findings. You should include any important publications or figures to explain processes such as methods of organic synthesis. Companies typically also ask for technology readiness level (TRL) and how you intend to develop your research further (E.g. achieving a proof of concept, or how to scale up your approach).
Regardless of the campaign type, an important thing to remember is to include all relevant non-confidential information you can share, along with any appropriate supplementary source documents or links.
What happens after making a submission
Once you have finalised your submission, we will compile it into a report for the company, which is delivered 2 weeks after the closing date of the campaign. The company will then spend on average 6-8 weeks analysing this report and creating a list of the submissions they would like to connect with, as well as any feedback as appropriate. The duration of the review period can vary based on the size of the team involved with the campaign and the number of submissions received. We endeavour to let you know the outcome of your submission as soon as possible, for the most up to date status of your submission you can check the progress of your submission in your Inpart dashboard.
Updating your submissions
Submissions can be amended by contacting the Connect Campaigns team at campaigns@inpart.io and one of the team will assist you. If you received an email asking for your consent to include an opportunity in a campaign, you can edit your submission via the link provided in the email.
We recommend editing your submission to include any specific information relevant to the campaign (E.g. new publications or patents). This is particularly important if it's an opportunity previously put forward to another Connect campaign, where the specific focus and request was different. Alternatively, any additional information you wish to include can be shared with us via email, and we can supplement your submission before sharing with the company.
Institutes subscribed to the Connect Platform can visit the Institution Submissions area of the dashboard to check all their institutes submissions.
Best practices for submissions
This advice is designed to better equip you to make a successful Campaign submission and maximise your chances of converting it into a collaboration opportunity.
To summarize, we’ve included a checklist below of things to keep in mind when creating your submission.
- Have you selected the correct submission category?
- For submitting a technology owned by your institution, have you consulted with your Licensing Office or Technology Transfer Office? This may also be necessary for a spinout company, depending on your institution.
- Have you given the submission an appropriate title?
- Does the submission address the specific needs outlined in the ICO/RFP document?
- Have you tailored your submission to either a physical science or life science structure?
- Have you included all relevant sources?
Thank you for engaging with Connect Campaigns and best of luck with your submissions!