PITA Request for Proposal - Fiscal Year 2023

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) is a collaboration among the Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE) at Lehigh University and the Engineering Research Accelerator (ERA) at Carnegie Mellon University.  The mission of the PITA Program is to assist the Commonwealth of PA and its companies in increasing operating efficiency and enhancing economic development by:

1. conducting technology development projects with PA companies;
2. developing technology leading to new PA companies;
3. conducting educational outreach programs for the benefit of PA companies and students;
4. seeding research and technology development projects that attract funding from other sources;
5. creating an environment linking PA companies, agencies and students to increase the creation and retention of high paying jobs in the Commonwealth; and
6. enabling PA universities to remain at the forefront of engineering research and education.

Funding for the FY2023 PITA program has been appropriated by the Commonwealth of PA in its most recent budget.  I-CPIE is now soliciting proposals for PITA projects for the FY2023 funding period. These proposals should fit within the 7 Technology Focus Areas listed below, or if outside of these areas, justify as “Other” with a description of the technology focus area for consideration. Proposals are due by Friday, October 21, 2022.  Approval memos for selected projects are targeted to be issued by January 1, 2023.

The PITA Technology Focus Areas are listed below and reflect key infrastructure domain areas of interest to the Commonwealth.  These domain areas include:

• Transportation Systems
• Telecommunications and Information Technology
• Facilities
• Water Systems
• Energy and Environment 
• Public Health and Medicine
• Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery

The anticipated start date for funded projects will be January 1, 2023. The typical award period will run from January 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024. Typical project awards for PITA funds are expected in the range of $20,000 to $50,000 and require leverage (matching) funds at a minimum of $1 for every $1 of PITA funding, although proposals with leverage greater than $1:$1 are encouraged. Awards will not exceed $50,000.

In order to be considered for funding, a proposal must be submitted using the attached Technical Proposal and Cost Proposal templates, and if including a PA industry project partner, should include a support letter from that organization.  Please read the attached cover letter for additional important information related to the program and proposal submittal process.

Questions regarding the proposal content and final submittal of proposals should be addressed to Chad Kusko, PITA Associate Director at Lehigh University, at chk205@lehigh.edu or at 8-5299.