Welcome to Halo, an R&D marketplace that enables innovators to apply their science expertise to real-world challenges identified by companies across industries — from advancing sustainable agriculture and food systems to developing new materials, processes, and technologies.
This guide is for university professionals who support research engagement, including those in corporate relations, sponsored research, tech transfer, and innovation offices. As an administrator on Halo, you’ll gain visibility into the activity of researchers at your institution, access insights into industry trends, and help facilitate collaboration by sharing the most relevant opportunities. Best of all, Halo is free for universities.
How to Set Up Your Administrator Profile
1. Go to: halo.science/get-started
This is where you’ll begin setting up your profile.
2. Input your name and institutional email
Using your institutional email verifies your affiliation.
3. Select your role
Choose “I’m an administrator at a university.”
This ensures you’ll have access to administrative tools and oversight features.
4. Choose your institution and interests
Select your institution from the dropdown list to connect your account. Then, choose the topics you'd like to hear about on Halo. These preferences help us tailor opportunity alerts so you can easily share the most relevant ones with your researchers.
Types of Opportunities on Halo
New partnership opportunities are posted on the first of every month on our marketplace and typically remain open for two months. The types of opportunities include:
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RFP (Request for Proposal):
A company is looking to fund research that directly solves a technical or scientific challenge. - RFE (Request for Experts):
Companies are seeking academic experts for technical input, consulting, or co-development opportunities. -
RFM (Request for Materials):
A company wants to test or evaluate physical materials—such as polymers, coatings, or compounds—that meet specific criteria. -
RFS (Request for Startups):
Opportunities designed for startups and spin-outs. Companies are looking to connect with startups that align with their innovation areas.
After the opportunity deadline, companies typically take 2–4 months to review and select applicants. All request types only allow non-confidential information. Read more about the standard proposal form here.
Share Opportunities with Your Researchers
While administrators don’t submit proposals themselves, you play a key role in connecting the right researchers to the right opportunities. On every opportunity summary page, you’ll see a blue “Share” button. Use it to easily forward opportunities to relevant faculty across your institution.
Stay in the Loop on Research Activity
By creating an admin account, you'll automatically receive notifications when a researcher at your institution:
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Starts a proposal
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Submits a proposal
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Is advanced for further partnership considerations
You’ll also have read-only access to the content of submitted proposals, making it easy to ensure submissions follow internal university guidelines.
Key Advantages for University Offices
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Track researcher engagement
View how many faculty members from your institution are active on Halo. This data can be useful for reporting to leadership and supporting department-level insights. - Gain visibility into current industry needs
Stay up-to-date on the types of problems companies are seeking to solve. This helps align institutional research strengths with external opportunities.
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Build stronger campus connections
By sharing targeted opportunities, you can engage with departments and researchers you might not normally collaborate with.
Want to Invite Your Researchers?
Forward them this Quick-Start Guide for Innovators — it walks them through how to set up their account, get matched with opportunities, and submit a proposal.
Questions?
Email us anytime at hello@halo.science — we’re happy to help you and your researchers get the most out of Halo.