The AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative (DDI) provides support for innovation in rapid and accurate patient testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and other diagnostic solutions to mitigate future outbreaks. Although vaccine and treatment development research is generally funded by private foundations and government agencies, fast and reliable diagnostic techniques are slow to be developed. Accurate testing and diagnosis at point-of-care or regional locations for patients with COVID-19 is critical to early intervention and treatment. AWS is offering technical support and providing AWS promotional credits to support the use of AWS services to advance diagnostic research for selected institutions and companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Information for Researchers
Q: What types of diagnostic research projects are funded?
The AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative supports AWS customers who are working to bring better, more accurate diagnostic solutions to market faster. Given the need, the emphasis initially will be on COVID-19, but we will also consider other infectious disease diagnostic projects. The program will be open to accredited research institutions, research consortia, and private entities, that are using AWS to support research-oriented workloads for the development of point-of-care diagnostic (testing that can be done at home or at a clinic with same-day results) and other diagnostic techniques. We will not support administrative workloads to run routine IT operations through this program.
Q: Who can apply?
The program is open to accredited research institutions, research consortia, and private entities that are AWS customers. Individuals who apply must apply on behalf of their organization and not in their personal capacity.
Q: Is this a global program?
Yes, we encourage applications from researchers and organizations around the world.
Q: What kind of support is AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative making available to diagnostic researchers in this initiative?
We are committing $20 million over the next year to accelerate research, innovation, and development to speed our collective understanding and detection of COVID-19 and other innovate diagnostic solutions to mitigate future infectious disease outbreaks. Funding will be provided through a combination of AWS in-kind credits and technical support to assist our customers’ research teams in harnessing the full potential of the cloud to tackle this challenge.
Q: Is an institution-provided or organization-provided email address required?
We require applicants to provide their official institution-issued email address or official company-provided email address to expedite the verification and decision process.
Q: What are the Terms and Conditions for accepting and using these credits?
Please refer to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions for details.
Q: What factors will AWS consider in determining who receives support?
AWS approves applications based on factors such as applicability of research to the development of diagnostic tools and techniques for reliable, more accurate and economical testing for COVID-19; stage of diagnostic research; potential to disseminate the results and data through sharing a pipeline or software; succinctly defined milestones; the applicability of AWS services and support within the project scope; and value of promotional credits requested suited to the scope of the project (as evidenced by a Simple Monthly Calculator link to substantiate the promotional credits desired). Given the need, the emphasis initially will be on COVID-19, but we will also consider other infectious disease diagnostic projects. Any credits or support will be awarded at AWS's sole discretion. The scope of technical support will be provided through a contractual agreement. Please note that the intent of the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative is to support diagnostic research-oriented workloads on AWS. Administrative workloads to run routine IT operations on AWS are not supported.
Q: My company is looking for data to help with my diagnostic research activities, how can AWS help me find the data I need?
AWS customers can use AWS Data Exchange to find, subscribe to and use third party data in AWS. AWS is working with data providers like Rearc and Enigma to make de-identified data from multiple sources available at no cost in machine readable formats. Examples include the Corona Data Scraper, The COVID Tracking Project, and USA Hospital Bed Utilizations. Click here to browse all COVID-19 related data on AWS Data Exchange and if you need additional data sources that are not available on AWS Data Exchange, click here.
Application Preparation and Review
Q: What information do I need for for my application?
You should briefly address the following topics:
- A short description of the diagnostic problem to be solved.
- Research abstract.
- The types of technical support for AWS services that would be useful in your research.
- How you plan to use AWS services to support your COVID-19 diagnostic research.
- An estimate of the AWS promotional credit requested to support your COVID-19 diagnostic research.
- Any plans for sharing research outcomes (tools, data, and/or resources) created during project.
- List of anticipated Principal Investigators for your COVID-19 diagnostic research.
- Provide links for up to three publications related to your COVID-19 diagnostic research
Q: How does the notification process work?
Researchers who submit an application will receive an acknowledgement email within 48 hours, confirming receipt.
If your proposal is approved, you will be notified via email within 45 days after submission, and required to provide us with a valid AWS Account ID, which is not part of consolidated billing or reseller accounts. This account must be opened using your institution or company-provided email address. AWS Promotional Credits and technical support will be provided at AWS's sole discretion.
Q: Will a reason be provided if my request is not approved?
Unfortunately, due to the number of requests expected, we are unable to provide detailed reasons on an individual basis.
Q: May I apply again if my project is not approved?
Yes. You may reapply, but please ensure that new applications contain revised or additional information and are not simply a re-submission of the original proposal.
Q: What are the timelines for proposal submissions and decisions?
The initial submission period for proposals will end on June 30, 2020. We evaluate proposals on a monthly basis, and provide decisions via email to all applicants; we will communicate decisions to individual applicants within 45 days of application submission. Note that decisions are sent from "aws-ddi@amazon.com" and sometimes get routed to spam.
Acknowledging AWS
Q: How do I acknowledge AWS support for my research project work (e.g., in publications or website)?
Please acknowledge the “AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative” program in any publications or websites. Please review the AWS Trademark Guidelines and AWS Co-Marketing Tools pages for guidance.
Q: I received AWS support for my research, and would like to share the results. How do I participate in a press release or case study effort with AWS to showcase my success?
Please contact us at “aws-pr@amazon.com" for more information.
AWS Credits and Billing
Q: Is the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative a pricing discount on AWS service costs?
No. All AWS pricing is public, and applies to all customer segments. For more details on our services pricing and our pricing philosophy, please refer to the AWS Pricing page.
Q: Why was I awarded fewer promotional credits or technical support level different than I requested?
We may choose to award fewer promotional credits or adjusted technical support levels for a number of reasons, including encouraging a different cost model leveraging Spot Instances or providing support and funding for a smaller, initial proof of concept portion of a new project.
Q: How long are the AWS promotional credits valid?
Promotional credits provided to researchers are awarded under (and will expire in accordance with) the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions page.
Q: What happens when my promotional credits expire?
Any subsequent AWS services usage on the account after promotional credits expire or are fully utilized will be charged to the billing method provided on the AWS account.
Q: Do promotional credit recipients have to use an AWS account and credit card?
Yes. You will be required to provide a valid credit card to activate an AWS account and redeem any AWS promotional credits. Subject to the AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions, your credit card will not be charged fees for eligible services until you incur fees for eligible services that exceed available promotional credit. Please be aware that some services are not eligible for promotional credits and you will be billed for any use of these services.
Allowed Services
Q: What services are eligible for AWS promotional credits?
Eligible AWS service categories include AWS compute, storage, database, machine learning, artificial intelligence, analytics, containers, robotics, quantum services, and more. You can explore AWS services and products at https://aws.amazon.com/. There are some services that are not eligible, see AWS Promotional Credit Terms & Conditions for more detail.
