Canada and Israel call for collaborative industrial research and development proposals

Scope

This Call is for R&D projects with priority given to the following field(s):

• Health and biosciences, including healthy ageing, mental health, biomedicine and biomedical engineering
• Digital technologies, including cyber security, smart cities and smart mobility
• Agricultural technologies and agri-food technologies
• Clean technologies and low carbon economy technologies, including materials for clean fuels, clean transportation/ mobility, climate resilient building/ infrastructure, renewable energy, water and waste water management

Your project should demonstrate the potential to research or develop a product, process or service for commercialisation. 

Timeframe

Call opens: 2 November 2020 

Canadian registration deadline: 21 January 2021

Canadian expression of interest deadline: 27 January 2021

Submission deadline: 15 March 2021 at 11:00 CET (Brussels)
/ 12:00 (noon) IST (Israel) / 05:00 ET (Ottawa)

Project selection (expected): 24 June 2021

Projects can begin (expected): July-August 2021

Funding details

Canada

In Canada, this call for proposals is offered through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). NRC IRAP is responsible for delivering this call for proposals and for managing any resulting funding agreements it would have issued.

Eligible Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% reimbursement of eligible project costs up to a maximum total funding amount of $600,000 CAD over 12 to 24 months (an extension of 12 months may be considered if sufficiently justified and accepted by both countries).

NOTE: Canadian SME applicants must be eligible for funding as NRC IRAP clients before they can be considered for funding through this call for proposals. For more information on NRC IRAP eligibility and becoming an NRC IRAP client, please contact NRC IRAP. 

NOTE: Canadian SME applicants may apply to more than one NRC IRAP call for proposals simultaneously. However, NRC IRAP may limit the number of funded projects per applicant.

Israel

In Israel, this call for proposals is offered through the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). IIA is responsible for the delivery of this call for proposals and the management of any resulting funding agreements. 

Financial support may be provided to eligible Israeli companies in support of industrial research or technological development activities. Eligible Israeli company may receive up to 50% of the Israeli R&D cost and regional (development zones) incentives.

Please consult the IIA call for proposals announcement for funding parameters.

If there is no allocated budget for your organisation type in your country and you want to participate in a project consortium, contact your national funding body using the form below to see whether there are other funding opportunities available or talk to them about self-funding.

Eligibility criteria

Eureka has limited eligibility criteria for organisations participating in a Network project consortium: 

• Your project idea must represent international cooperation in the form of a specific project.
• The project must be directed at researching or developing an innovative product, process or service with the goal of commercialisation.
• The project must have a civilian purpose.
• Your consortium must include at least two independent legal entities from a minimum of two Eureka countries.
• No single organisation or country can be responsible for more than 70% of the project budget. 

Evaluation

Your project application will be reviewed according to our Network projects evaluation methodology.

1. Impact

• Is the market properly addressed (i.e. size, access and risks)?
• Is the value creation properly addressed (i.e. employment opportunities and environmental and societal benefits)?
• What are the competitive advantages of your project (i.e. strategic importance, enhanced capabilities and visibility)? 
• Are your commercialisation plans clear and realistic (i.e. return on investment, geographical and sectoral impact)?

2. Excellence

• What is the degree of innovation? (i.e. is the proposed product, process or service state-of-the-art? Is there sufficient technological maturity and risk)?
• How is the new knowledge going to be used?
• Is your project scientifically and technically challenging for consortium partners?
• Is the technical achievability and risk properly addressed?

3. Quality and efficiency of implementation

• What is the quality of your consortium (i.e. balance of the partnership and technological, managerial and financial capabilities of each partner)?
• Is there added value through international cooperation?
• Is your project management and planning realistic and clearly defined (i.e. methodology, planning approach, milestones and deliverables)?
• Is your cost structure reasonable (i.e. costs and financial commitment for each consortium partner)? 

4. Overall perception

Experts will list positive and negative points to your application and state whether they recommend your project for public investment.

Application processes and evaluations will be performed independently by each national funding body in accordance with their national and institutional laws and regulations. Once each national funding body has evaluated the submitted applications, a final joint project selection will be performed. 

Applying

1. Contact your national funding body using the form below to discuss your project idea, financial viability, eligibility and national procedures.
2. Create an account on our application portal (one per consortium) and select the funding opportunity you want to apply to.
3. Using the portal, complete one application form per consortium (in English) and invite other consortium partners to fill in a partner form. 
4. Upload a GANTT chart (one per consortium), a signed and completed co-signature form (which you can download from the platform) and any additional required annexes.
5. Your application will be checked for completeness and eligibility before being reviewed using a standard evaluation procedure. If successful, your project will receive a Eureka label.
6. Your national funding body may carry out a further evaluation (performed by the NPC and technical experts) according to national rules before allocating funds to successful applicants.
7. The final step is to complete and sign a consortium agreement (CA). We recommend that you seek legal advice when drafting your CA.

Canadian applicants

After contacting NRC IRAP, Canadian applicants will be provided an Expression of Interest (EOI) form to be submitted by January 27, 2021. NRC IRAP will provide this form to Canadian applicants once your registration has been reviewed and accepted.

We strongly recommend Canadian applicants complete the EOI phase as early as possible, so NRC IRAP can confirm your potential eligibility for funding before assembling and submitting a proposal. Only qualified applicants will be invited to submit the more detailed Eureka Network projects proposal and draft consortium agreement in collaboration with their project partners. Qualified Canadian applicants will be provided a NRC IRAP Canadian Annex form that will need to be completed along with the Eureka Network projects proposal.

For information related to application stages, requirements, instructions, International Collaborative Project Proposal (ICPP) application, and national funding body proposals and funding agreements, please consult the NRC IRAP call for proposals announcement.

Israeli applicants

For information related to application stages, requirements, instructions, ICPP application, and national funding body proposals and funding agreements, please consult the IIA call for proposals announcement.

Israeli applicants will have to submit an online national funding application to IIA as well as the Eureka application. A copy of the Eureka application must be attached to your national funding application.

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