Grant Application & Invitation Terms

Program provider: Metriq Foundation, Inc., a Florida Not-for-Profit Corporation, acting through Metriq PRISM Laboratory. Version: LEG-04 / 1.2. Effective date: September 26, 2026. Program: PRISM-GRANT-2026, subject to recorded authorization and release capacity. Contact: [email protected].

1. The opportunity

The program contemplates up to USD $5,000,000 in noncash PRISM Research Credits across multiple approved projects. This is a program ceiling, not cash to be distributed, an award to every applicant, a market appraisal or a representation that the full ceiling is immediately available. PRISM releases capacity in approved cohorts and documents each award separately. A support amount is measured against the specified PRISM service price, not PRISM's internal research cost. Grant PRCs are nontransferable contractual service-use allocations, not money, gift cards, stored-value instruments, deposits, payment accounts or cash equivalents; they have no cash-redemption right and may be used only for the eligible PRISM research services identified in the executed award.

Applicants choose the question they want investigated. PRISM helps determine computational fit, a useful scope, evidence requirements and deliverables. Suggested topics and examples are illustrative, not a requirement that the applicant adopt PRISM's preferred question.

2. Applicants and authorization

Applications may be submitted by authorized representatives of eligible nonprofits, universities, public bodies and companies under the published cohort criteria. Individuals must be at least 18 to hold an account. PRISM may ask for evidence of legal identity, authority, rights to proposed inputs and the project's public-benefit rationale. Buying credits, donating, optional marketing subscriptions and testimonials are not conditions of application consideration. A disclosed co-funding requirement may apply to a selected pathway. Acceptance of an executed grant does require the public research output and factual partnership/name/logo/case-study permissions in Section 8; those duties are distinct from optional marketing consent and voluntary testimony.

An applicant must disclose material conflicts, restrictions, prior funding obligations and institutional contracting limits. No one may impersonate an organization, submit a duplicate to evade limits, misrepresent data availability or offer improper influence. PRISM will apply its documented review and conflict process and may request clarification or independent review.

3. Nonconfidential initial submission

Provide only a nonconfidential description of the question, objectives, prior work, expected uses, available evidence and known restrictions. Do not submit raw confidential data, credentials, personal or clinical records, export-controlled information, precise sensitive-species locations or material you cannot lawfully share. Describing that protected information exists is different from authorizing its transfer.

You retain your submitted intellectual property. You permit limited copying and review needed to evaluate and administer the application, using authorized staff, approved evaluators and approved service providers. That permission is not a publication, unrelated commercial-use or general-model-training license. Personal account/application information is handled under LEG-03. A nonconfidential intake label does not waive rights in inadvertently supplied protected material; notify PRISM promptly so access can be restricted and a lawful handling decision made.

4. Evaluation and decisions

PRISM considers the research question, computational fit, evidence readiness, technical merit, likely public benefit, rights, risk, conflicts and available capacity. It may request changes, defer, decline, conditionally select or propose a different scope. A decision does not promise a positive scientific answer or disparage an unselected question. Human staff make award decisions; automated assistance may support administration but cannot issue a binding grant by itself.

Applicants may withdraw before execution or ask for correction of factual errors in their application or review record. A decline does not prohibit later submission unless a stated restriction applies. PRISM does not reimburse application preparation costs absent a separate agreement. Public announcements, testimonials and use of names/logos require the permissions described below, not merely an application.

5. Invitation links, reservations and awards are different

A targeted letter, invitation code, shortlisted status or account showing a potential allocation does not independently create an executed research award. The invitation must distinguish a provisional ceiling, a conditional reserved allocation, and an effective award balance. Recipient restrictions and code validity protect account access; a verified email or domain alone is not authority to bind the organization.

An account invitation may prefill the organization name and display separately identified conditional support. Claiming it authenticates the recipient and establishes permitted membership; it does not waive a signed agreement, data review, capacity approval or other award condition. Replaying a link must not duplicate an organization or credit allocation. A code may be revoked for compromise, mistake or expiration without confiscating purchased credits or cancelling rights already granted by an executed agreement.

6. What creates a project commitment

A project becomes binding only when authorized representatives execute the Master Research Services Agreement, complete SOW, Grant & Co-Funded Research Addendum and required data/IP schedules, and PRISM records the specified activation conditions. The award identifies its ceiling, milestones, credit sources, co-payment if any, approved expenses, review standards, project period and public-interest output.

Newly awarded grant credits have a standard 12-calendar-month use period starting when the executed award becomes effective, unless the award expressly states a different lawful deadline. A provisional allocation or invitation does not start that clock. A reservation made during the valid award period remains available for its approved milestone under the executed project schedule. Previously executed awards retain their agreed deadlines. No application fee, unexpected co-payment, unused support clawback or automatic conversion to commercial pricing is created by these Terms. Co-funded scopes must separate grant-supported and paid milestones; the same work cannot be charged twice. Any new cash commitment requires express advance agreement.

7. Research scope and independence

PRISM performs computational research: mathematical analysis, statistics, optimization, algorithms, modeling, simulation, software and analysis of permitted existing evidence. PRISM does not conduct wet-lab work, physical experiments, field sampling or clinical interventions under this program. Necessary new physical evidence must come from a qualified external party under separate responsibility and approvals.

Findings follow the evidence. A negative, mixed, inconclusive or infeasibility result may be a valid deliverable. Neither funding nor publicity expectations can require suppression of a material limitation or a favorable conclusion. Independent peer review, publication, a theorem, a patent or a commercial return is not promised.

8. Publication and communications

An executed award must define a feasible public-interest research output and the treatment of confidential material, patent review, attribution and licenses. Publication is not automatic release of raw data or participant identities.

Grant publicity is an express condition of an accepted award. By executing a grant or co-funded award, the recipient grants PRISM the limited right to identify the recipient by organization name and approved logo, accurately state that the organization is a PRISM grant recipient/research partner, acknowledge the amount and noncash nature of PRISM support, and prepare an accurate factual case study concerning the project, subject to confidentiality, data-rights, patent-review and brand-guideline restrictions in the signed documents. The recipient will reasonably cooperate in factual verification of those materials. Applying for a grant does not itself grant these rights; they arise only from the executed award/addendum.

No favorable testimonial, positive quote, praise, endorsement, or statement of satisfaction is required as a condition of selection, funding, continuation, payment, or closeout. PRISM may request a voluntary quote or testimonial, and may publish one only if the speaker voluntarily provides or specifically approves the exact language and attribution. A recipient may disagree publicly with PRISM's conclusions, provided it does not misstate the research record or confidential information.

Operational application messages are separate from optional marketing consent. PRISM may update prospective program rounds and criteria, but it must not retroactively erase an executed award. Unresolved public-records, government procurement, charitable-governance or cross-border obligations require an appropriate rider before execution.

9. Governing terms and submission declaration

LEG-01 supplies governing law, notices and account rules, subject to mandatory law and any signed institutional rider. These application terms do not make a grant tax-deductible or establish a particular tax-exempt classification.

At submission, the representative affirmatively confirms: "I am authorized to submit this nonconfidential application for the named organization; the information is accurate to the best of my knowledge; I have identified material restrictions and conflicts; and I understand that submission or invitation acceptance is not an award or authority to begin research. I accept the Grant Application & Invitation Terms, version 1.2, effective September 26, 2026, and have had access to the Privacy Notice."

Notices: Metriq Foundation, Inc., 300 South Saturn Ave, Clearwater, FL 33755; [email protected]. Daniel H. Jeffery is the program, finance and security/data contact. Applications and invitations do not appoint a signatory for either party.