How to get sponsorship from Microsoft research?

Question

I have learned that Lua.NET was sponsored by Microsoft Research. How can one contact them and ask for sponsorship for research? Has anyone any experience in it?

Answer 1

As far as I know, sponsorship by Microsoft Research is for academic institutions, not individuals.

That being said, look at the Collaboration Opportunities page on Microsoft Research's site, they provide much more information about opportunities to engage with them.

From the page: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/awards/opportunities.aspx

What types of research opportunities are available?

Microsoft External Research supports a variety of opportunities for worldwide academic community interaction, including the following:

• Providing tools, platforms, and technologies that empower research.
• Collaborating with academics on papers and publications.
• Providing support for research projects, which, in some cases, may include Requests for Proposals. All RFPs would be posted on this Web site.

What are the current Requests for Proposals (RFPs)?

Currently, Microsoft External Research has no open RFPs.

Does Microsoft External Research accept unsolicited proposals?

No, Microsoft External Research does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Are your funding programs open to all qualified institutions worldwide?

Unless a request for proposals contains an express statement limiting the geographic scope, an RFP is open to all qualified institutions worldwide.

What terms or conditions apply to awards from Microsoft?

Awards in most locations are made as unrestricted gifts. In certain locations, which are listed below, other conditions apply. In cases of awards made to an institution in any location listed below, the institution must agree that all results derived from the funded project must, as soon as they are generated, be placed in the public domain, freely and without restrictions. If the university wants to assert any intellectual property rights over any such results, it may only do so if it provides Microsoft with prior written notice thereof, and grants to Microsoft a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, assignable, and sub-licensable license to use such results for any purpose.

Locations affected by the policy above include: China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Should in-kind contributions from the institution be reflected in the proposed budget?

Yes, these should be reflected as long as they are assigned a reasonable value.

Do you support projects in primary or secondary education, community colleges, or vocational schools?

At this time we only support projects in post-secondary institutions.

Why don’t you provide feedback on proposals not funded?

We strive to obtain the highest-quality review for all proposals eligible for consideration. Proposals are reviewed by highly qualified Microsoft employees and researchers who perform this service on their own time without additional compensation. To ensure their continued willingness to provide this service, we cannot require them to provide individual feedback on all proposals. Because we cannot provide feedback on all proposals, fairness requires that we not do so for any. We make every effort to assist faculty in preparing quality proposals by providing guidelines that attempt to capture, in a general way, the common characteristics of the best proposals we receive.