Danube region call for innovative projects

Timeframe

• Opening of the call: 1 March 2022
• Deadline for Eureka application: 30 June 2022
• Eligibility feedback to applicants: 20 July 2022
• National evaluation: July – October 2022
• Consensus meeting of funding agencies: 15 September 2022
• Eureka label procedure and funding decision:October-November 2022
• Project starts: December 2022 – February 2023
• Project duration Up to 36 months

Scope

This is a bottom up call, with no thematic restrictions, but applicants are invited to check the section “funding information” for detailed information.

Eligiblity criteria

Eureka has limited eligibility criteria for organisations participating in a Network projects 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.

Each participating national funding body may have additional eligibility criteria based on their national regulations. You are strongly advised, before submitting your application, to contact your national funding body to discuss your project idea and verify your and your project’s eligibility.

This call for projects has additional criteria for organisations to be eligible to receive funding:

• Austria: All companies registered in Austria are eligible for funding, universities and research centres can be funded as subcontractors only. 
• France: Bpifrance will finance industrial research and/or technical development activities of French companies. Universities and research centres could take part as self-funded or subcontractors.
• German partners must cooperate with partners from at least one of the following countries: Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovakia
• Hungary: 
  • Companies must have completed at least one tax year, maintained double-entry accounting and not be subject to the small taxpayers’ itemised lump-sum tax (KATA).
  • Research organisations and universities must be accredited by the state (see Article 2 (83) of Council Regulation 651/2014/EU).
  • RTOs and universities need a Hungarian for-profit partner to be eligible to receive funding.
• Poland: In parallel and in addition to the centrally uploaded international application submitted via the SmartSimple platform, applicants/consortia from Poland need to submit a domestic project application to NCBR. National rules, cost eligibility and funding rates will be available from 1 March 2022 at: https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/platforma-konkursowa#/ncbr?sort=announcementDate,desc&currentPage=0&limit=10

Funding information

• Albania (NASRI- National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation): Grant of up to 50,000 euro/ up to 80% of eligible project costs for SMEs, universities and research organisations and up to 65% for large companies.
• Austria (FFG - Austrian Research Promotion Agency): Grant of up to 60% of eligible project costs for small companies, up to 50% of the eligible costs for medium-sized companies or up to 40% of the eligible costs for large companies.
• Croatia (HAMAG-BICRO Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovations and Investments): Grant of up 200,000 euro/ up to 60 % of eligible project costs for micro or small companies/ up to 50% of the eligible costs for medium-sized companies/up to 40% of the eligible costs for large companies.
• France (Bpifrance) Reimbursable Advance in case of technical success or R&D loan with deferred reimbursement from 50 k € and up to 3M€ / up to 80% of eligible costs for SME’s / up to 40% for MidCap (up to 2 000 employees) / no direct grant for universities nor research institutions.
• Germany (Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)): Grant of up to 300,000 euro per project / up to 50 % of eligible costs for SMEs. Research organisations in partnership with SMEs: up to 100% of eligible costs. Universities can apply for a project flat rate of 20%.
• Hungary (NRDIO - National Research, Development and Innovation Office): Grant of up to 80% of eligible project costs for micro and small companies / up to 75% of the eligible costs for medium-sized companies / up to 65% of the eligible costs for large companies / 100% of the eligible costs for universities or research organisations.
• Montenegro (MER – Ministry of Economic Development): Grant up to 45,000 euro per project for 36 months or 15,000 euro per year for both companies and research institutions as partners or project leaders.
• Poland (NCBR – The National Centre for Research and Development): Please see possible grants in “Funding conditions and rules per national funding body”.
• Slovakia (MESRS SR – The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic): Grant of up to 80% of eligible project costs for small companies / up to 75% of the eligible costs for medium-sized companies / up to 65% of the eligible costs for large companies / universities and research organisations – if eligible.

Funding will only be provided to projects that receive a positive evaluation from all relevant national funding bodies. Funding is subject to budgetary availability and national funding conditions outlined by each national funding body.

A Consortium Agreement must be written and signed by project partners, covering project execution, ownership and use of IPR arising from activities and commercialisation of your project’s results. Your Consortium Agreement must abide by the relevant laws of the countries participating in the project.

Unless otherwise specified by all national funding bodies in support of a given project, you must have signed a Consortium Agreement before the start of the project. See section “Funding conditions and rules per national funding body” for exceptions. The Consortium Agreement should include (minimum) the ownership, use of know-how and IPR settlements.

The national funding bodies will fund selected projects. Support will be given to each project partner by their respective national funding body in accordance with national laws, rules, regulations and procedures, on a non-exchange of funds or soft loan basis, and subject to budgetary availability.

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.

Read full information on funding here.

Evaluation

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

Overall evaluation

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)? 

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?

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)

Overall perception

Experts will list three positive and negative points to your application and finally state whether they recommend your project for public investment.
Your national funding body may carry out a further evaluation (performed by the national project coordinator and technical experts) according to national rules before allocating funds to successful applicants (see section “Funding conditions and rules per national funding body” for detailed information).

National evaluation

Your project application will be reviewed according to the following additional national evaluation processes:

• Albania: The evaluation of the Albanian project part is carried out by internal experts at NASRI.
• Austria: The evaluation of the Austrian project part is carried out by internal experts at FFG.
• Croatia: A formal 2-step evaluation is carried out according to the basic admin criteria and Project Assessment Methodology.
• France: A formal two-steps evaluation is carried out between the Innovative Departement of Bpifrance and the regional offices of the company. Bpifrance could conduct a first “pre-eligibility check” as soon as the company contact the team before submitting the application. Once the application is submitted, Bpifrance will first evaluate the technical project, if the project is approved, Bpifrance will open a national founding application. Once the national funding application is submitted, the regional relationship manager will evaluate the project and decide of the type of funding and amount based on the company typology and the project. For further details, please see “Funding conditions and rules per national funding body” 
• Germany: A formal two-step evaluation is carried out according to the evaluation process and criteria published in the German Bundesanzeiger.
• Montenegro: The Ministry of Economic Development will engage two independent experts from the List of Independent Experts made in accordance with the Rulebook on Criteria for Appointing Experts and the Procedure for Evaluating Innovation Programs and Projects ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 107/21). In case the evaluations of two independent experts differ, the Ministry will submit the project application to the third independent evaluator for individual evaluation.
• Poland: evaluation criteria of national applications will be available on 1 March at : https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/platforma-konkursowa#/ncbr?sort=announcementDate,desc&currentPage=0&limit=10

Events

The national funding bodies and Eureka Secretariat will organise an information ONLINE webinar for applicants on 5 April 2022, 11:00-13:00 CET.

In addition, national information webinars are being planned. Please contact your national funding body for further information.

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