Feather to Flight Commercialization Award

Feather to Flight (F2F) is a commercialization-focused poster and pitch competition sponsored by FACIT, OICR’s strategic partner for commercialization.

The goal of F2F is to increase knowledge of commercialization as a potential path to accelerate the translation of oncology innovations towards research impact and patient benefits. 

Participants will transform into entrepreneurs to position their research project based on the market value and unmet need and then convincingly pitch the commercialization plan to investors (i.e., the FACIT team). F2F is strategically designed to be a low-risk, accessible and fun experiential learning opportunity for anyone interested in exploring entrepreneurship or the commercialization of research.

FACIT is pleased to offer the winner a $200 award.

Eligibility:
All OICR-funded researchers across Ontario.

Interested F2F participants do not need to be invited to the conference. Submit an Innovation Summary (abstract) as the intent to enter the competition. Pending review of the Innovation Summary and its commercialization focus, applicants will be entered into the competition and permitted to register for the conference*.

* FACIT reserves the right to select applicants based on the abstract and/or limit the number of F2F participants, if necessary.

Evaluation criteria:
Posters and pitches will be evaluated on their ability to clearly articulate the following key elements:

• Description of the innovation, the science/technology behind it, current development status, and potential intellectual property.
• What is the problem or unmet need that the innovation addresses.
• Explanation of the value proposition or differentiation compared to competitors or current gold standard.
• Identification of the target customer or patient group and the potential market value.
• Commercialization plan and next steps to advance development of the innovation.

Patient Partner Award

Patient partners attending the conference will choose up to three posters to receive an award of $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place.

After a review of the lay summaries submitted in the OICR Research Abstract Form, applicants will be informed if their poster has been chosen for the in-person round of the award.

At the conference, patient partners are invited to visit each of the selected posters and applicants are asked to explain their poster using lay language.

Eligibility:
All research posters are eligible. Applicants must indicate that they would like to participate in this award competition when submitting their abstract.

Evaluation criteria:
Posters will be evaluated on the following key elements:

• Abstract submission round:
  The lay summary effectively follows the lay summary guidelines included in the OICR Research Abstract Form. 
• In-person round (March 24, 2026 poster session):
  • The poster pitch is delivered in a way that is accessible to an informed, but lay, audience. 
  • The research is of interest to patients and patient partners.

Audience choice award

All posters are eligible to be nominated for an Audience Choice award by conference attendees. The top three posters with the most votes will receive an award of $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place.