Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Incyte
Ingenuity Awards?

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards aim to provide funding to support innovative initiatives annually that address specific needs for people impacted by serious diseases, such as GVHD and vitiligo, including patients and their providers.

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in Vitiligo have been supporting the vitiligo community since 2022 and are currently offering two awards – one for an initiative up to $35,000 and another for an initiative up to $100,000. The 2024 program is now open for applications! Click here to learn about eligibility and how to apply.

The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in GVHD launched in 2020. Click here to learn more.

Who can apply?

Applications will be welcomed from:

  • Non-profit 501(c)(3), patient, policy, and caregiver organizations
  • Healthcare providers and mid-level/junior faculty of healthcare organizations (individuals submitting an application must submit in the name of their institution, not as individuals)
  • Individuals or other companies interested may apply by partnering with either a non-profit organization or a healthcare facility (i.e., hospitals, academic research centers, etc.) to be eligible

Programs must be independent of any ongoing activities, with the exception of considerably expanding an existing program. Additionally, programs cannot include indirect costs with the proposed budget. To be eligible, you and your organization must be US based (including Washington DC and Puerto Rico).

Applications will be disqualified if:

  • Focus is on a particular therapeutic agent, translational research, or clinical research that is interventional in nature
  • Program is based on an existing initiative, with no evidence of ingenuity
  • Organization is improperly identified as a 501(c)(3) organization
  • Application is submitted by a healthcare professional as an individual (individuals will need to partner with a not-for-profit or other organization to be considered)
  • Defined scope does not serve or plan to address a specific need of the vitiligo community
  • Request in funding exceeds 25 percent of an organization’s overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs
  • Application is submitted by an employee of Incyte, Real Chemistry, and/or other vendors, or members of the immediate family of any such persons
  • Program is duplicated, with multiple copies of an application submitted by the same organization
  • Program exceeds the maximum application limit per organization (more than five)
  • Program includes monetary support, gifts, or other items of monetary value to patients, either directly or indirectly
  • Applicant and/or organization are not based in the United States

Incyte reserves the right to modify the eligibility requirements at any time.

Can my organization
partner with another
organization?

When applying for an Incyte Ingenuity Award in Vitiligo, partnering on a project is encouraged. Eligible applicants, individuals or other companies can partner and collaborate with patient groups, professional societies and patient advocates within the community and apply for an Incyte Ingenuity Award in Vitiligo on behalf of a shared project.

Can individual healthcare providers submit ideas?

The judging panel will only consider an application made in the name of a healthcare institution or organization. Individual healthcare professionals are not permitted to submit an application on their own.

How do I apply?

The application process will occur in two rounds:

  • Round one: Interested applicants can apply by completing an online letter of intent or by filling out the PDF and submitting it via email to incyteingenuityawards@realchemistry.com.
  • Round two: Selected applicants will be asked to fill out a round two application form and respond to any specific questions asked from the judging panel via email. This will provide the judges with further information about budget breakdown, timeline of milestones, measurable elements, anticipated outcomes, challenges, and specific information and unique questions related to each individual application.

When are applications due?

Applications for the Incyte Ingenuity Awards in Vitiligo are due October 31, 2024.

Who evaluates the applications?

A judging panel consisting of up to five patient advocacy group leaders, physicians, nurses and/or social workers selected by Incyte will review all applications and select one recipient based on specific pre-established criteria. Incyte will not provide any advice or input during the judging process and all decisions made by the judging panel are final.

What are the judging criteria?

The judging panel will consider the following criteria when evaluating each award application:

  • Does the applicant meet the eligibility requirements?
  • Did the applicant collaborate with any other organizations to optimize the success of the initiative?
  • Does the application contain all of the necessary details and supporting documents? Will the program be impactful for the vitiligo community?
  • Does the proposal exhibit a thoughtful, creative and innovative approach to address a specific need within the vitiligo community? Does it add a new resource or method of support to the community (without providing financial support, gifts, or other items of monetary value to patients, either directly or indirectly)?
  • Can the proposal be completed within the one-year time frame?
  • Does the proposal demonstrate a clear purpose and rationale?
  • Does the proposal include a realistic and appropriate budget?
  • Does the proposal have clear and measurable outcomes? Does it follow the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) methodology for setting goals?

Incyte reserves the right to change the judging criteria at any time.

What information will be requested in the online application?

The following components must be addressed for an application to be considered complete:

  • Confirmation of eligibility criteria
  • Contact and organization information
  • Identification of any collaboration and connection to the vitiligo community
  • Indicate which award the project is applying for
  • Project proposal, including project name, objectives, and summary of how it addresses a specific need for the vitiligo community

What will round two of the application cycle entail?

Selected applicants will be asked to fill out a round two application form and respond to any specific questions asked from the judging panel. Specific information requested will include the following:

  • Realistic budget breakdown and timeline of milestones to execute initiative within one year of selection
  • Measurable elements and anticipated outcomes that will define success and demonstrate impact
  • Identification of any organizational challenges in execution
  • Specific questions, unique to each application, based on information the judging panel members would like the applicant to clarify and/or expand upon

How many applications can an applicant submit?

Only one application per applicant may be accepted for consideration for the award program.

When will applicants learn the outcome of round one?

Following the judges’ evaluation of round one letters of intent, invited applicants will be asked to fill out a round two application form and respond to any specific questions asked from the judging panel from the Program email account (incyteingenuityawards@realchemistry.com) by December 2024. The round two requests and questions will inquire about a budget breakdown, timeline of milestones, measurable elements, anticipated outcomes, challenges, as well as specific information and unique questions related to each application based on information the judging panel members would like the applicant to clarify and/or expand upon. Round two responses are due by January 2025, six weeks following notification for the judges to evaluate.

When will applicants learn the outcome of their applications and the judges' final selection?

Once the judging panel has made its final decision, the applicants for each award will be informed of the judges' selection by email and phone in the Spring of 2025.

When will the award recipients be announced?

Incyte will announce the recipients of the Incyte Ingenuity Awards in Vitiligo in the Summer of 2025.

How much funding is Incyte offering?

Incyte is offering two Incyte Ingenuity Awards in Vitiligo with differing amounts of annual funding based on the proposed projects’ needs and scope.

One selected proposal will receive a restricted grant of up to $35,000 from Incyte to launch the proposed initiative within one year of selection. Another selected proposal will receive a restricted grant of up to $100,000 from Incyte to also launch a proposed initiative within one year of selection.

Total amount requested in funding cannot exceed 25 percent of an applying organization’s overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs. The specific amount of funding provided by Incyte will be case-dependent for each proposed initiative and evaluated on the investment deemed necessary to implement and execute said proposal.

What are indirect costs and can they be included in the proposal’s budget?

Indirect costs are defined as the cost of day-to-day, general operating and/or administrative expenses not directly associated with a specific project. Examples of indirect costs include facilities expenses (rent, utilities, building maintenance, etc), administrative support fees (HR, general finance, IT, etc), or non-project related travel expenses. These are not costs associated with the delivery of your proposed program/project services, but the costs of maintaining and managing the organization through which your proposed program/project services are delivered. Indirect costs should not be included in your proposal's budget.

Incyte reserves the right to amend its indirect cost policy at any time.

What level of involvement will Incyte have in the execution of the awarded initiatives?

Incyte will provide no assistance in executing the awarded initiatives outside of providing the awarded amounts in funding. However, Incyte will collect and evaluate an interim and final review of the projects.

When will funding be received?

After the award recipients are selected, contracting with Incyte will begin. Each award is on its own timeline with no implication on the contracting process of the other. Once all paperwork is finalized, the awarded amounts of funding will be shared with the recipient for execution of the agreed upon proposal.

What is required of the award recipients?

Once the award recipients are notified, they will officially accept recognition by signing an agreement with Incyte. The recipient must:

  • Officially accept recognition, execution of a signed agreement, by Incyte and the recipient
  • Confirm that the total amount requested in funding does not exceed 25 percent of an organization’s overall annual budget and/or includes indirect costs
  • Commence planning for initiative within an agreed upon timeframe and milestones for reporting; Incyte will “gate” funds to meeting agreed-upon milestones depending on program outline
  • Comply with Incyte policies and government regulations
  • Report results to the community (eg, through webinar, advocacy day at Incyte)
  • When relevant, serve as a resource to subsequent recipients to pass along learnings as well as participate in media Interviews and/or promotional activities to raise awareness on behalf of the Incyte Ingenuity Awards
  • If deadlines are unlikely to be met, recipient must inform Incyte within a pre-determined timeframe, provide an explanation of roadblock and mutually agree on a solution and an updated project timeline