Canada-India Collaborative Industrial Research & Development Call for Proposals 2019

1. Call description

Working together, the governments of Canada and India aim to foster and support collaborative industrial research and development projects with high potential for commercialization. This call for proposals is open to companies from Canada and India who wish to perform joint R&D leading to technology commercialization.

Funding to foster innovation and technology commercialization is available for qualified Canadian and Indian participants as described below.

In Canada, this bilateral program is managed by Global Affairs Canada in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). In India, it is managed by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA).

2. Key dates and milestones

3. Sectors of focus

• Clean technologies (renewable energy, water, environment)
• Artificial intelligence and Internet of things (smart mobility, smart grids, smart cities, and other applications)
• Advanced manufacturing and materials
• Health (medical devices, health informatics)
• Food and agriculture technologies

4. Eligibility

Proposals must be collaboratively prepared and submitted by companies in Canada and in India according to the following eligibility criteria:

4.1 Joint requirements

Project results must contribute to the development of commercial products, processes and/or technical services. In addition, the proposals must demonstrate all of the following requirements:

• The partners must include at least one Canadian small and medium-sized enterprise and one Indian small and medium-sized enterprise
• The project must have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants from the two countries (e.g. increased knowledge base, commercial needs, access to R&D infrastructure, new fields of application, etc.)
• The products or processes to be developed must be highly innovative and have significant commercial potential
• The partners in Canada and in India must agree in advance on intellectual property rights agreement and a commercialization strategy for the product or process
• The partners in Canada and in India, must be capable of implementing the project and funding their respective share
• The project should demonstrate the scientific and technological contribution of the participants from both countries
• The project must demonstrate adequate balance and significance for both partners.

Projects involving research and development of products, processes or technologies with military or non-peaceful applications are not eligible for funding.

4.2 Canadian requirements

• Be a Canadian incorporated, profit-oriented small or medium-sized enterprise, with 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
• Be ready to collaborate with Indian partners on an industrial R&D project
• Be pursuing growth and profit generation through the development and commercialization of innovative, technology-driven, new or improved products, services, or processes

4.3 Indian requirements

• An Indian company having requisite understanding and capability to undertake R&D activities
• The Indian Project Lead (IPL) (i.e. lead company) must be a commercial (for profit) company under the Indian Companies Act 1956/2013, which operates in and is headquartered in India
• At least 51% stake of the IPL company must be owned by Indian citizens
• The IPL should have the required expertise and team capacity to manage the proposed project
• Sole proprietors and partnership firms are not eligible for support under this program
• Companies headquartered and owned outside India and their subsidiaries in India, or vice versa, are not eligible to receive funding from DST/GITA under this program
• The IPL should lead the project from the Indian side and, if required, bring in other industry partners or academic/R&D institutions as consortium partners

5. Funding

India and Canada will jointly select proposals according to the norms, conditions and funding limits of each national funding body.

5.1 Canadian participants

NRC IRAP, on behalf of the Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP), will fund selected projects as follows:

• Canadian participating small and medium-sized enterprises in a supported project may receive a reimbursement of up to 50% of eligible costs (to a maximum of $600K) over 24 months

5.2 Indian participants

GITA, on behalf of the DST, Government of India, will fund the selected projects as follows:

• DST-GITA will support up to INR 1.5 Crore per project or 50% of the Indian project cost whichever is lower as a conditional grant
• Indian industry may receive up to 50% of their part of the eligible costs on a "reimbursement basis", for costs already incurred on a proportionate basis
• Indian R&D organization/academic institution may receive up to 100% of their costs (within applicable range specified above and as per proposal) on a reimbursement basis
• Funding from other public sector sources will be taken into account when awarding grant, and applicants will be asked to declare funding from other sources in the application. Although the type and value of individual contributions allocated to a R&D project may vary, one country cannot represent more than 75% of the total eligible project costs.

6. Application process

Important: Each interested partner must contact their national funding body before starting a project application. Applicants who do not contact their funding agency in advance of submitting their application may be ineligible for support through this call for proposals.

Important: All project participants must submit proposals to their respective national funding body. Failure by any participant to submit all required documents to their national funding body will make the project consortium ineligible for funding.

6.1 Canadian applicants

Step 1: Canadian registration
Canadian applicants must first register online in order to receive an Expression of Interest form. Please click on the register button at the bottom of this page to complete the online registration form.

Registrations will be screened for basic NRC IRAP eligibility. It may take up to 48 hours before the applicant organization is contacted by an IRAP representative in relation to their organizations' registration.

Step 2: Canadian Expression of Interest
If the applicant's organization appears to meet basic eligibility they will be send an Expression of Interest (EOI) Form to complete and submit. Expressions of Interest must be received by the mandatory Canadian submission deadline in Section 2.

EOIs are reviewed to determine if the organization, project, and consortium meet Canadian eligibility guidelines for the call for proposals. Only those who are eligible will be invited to submit an International Consortium Project Proposal.

Step 3: International Consortium Project Proposal (ICPP)
The ICPP form and submission instructions will be provided to applicant organizations by the NRC IRAP International Office if it is demonstrated in the EOI that the organization, project and consortium meet the CIIP and NRC IRAP eligibility guidelines for the Call for Proposals.

ICPP required submissions may include but are not limited to the following elements

• International Consortium Project Proposal form
• Draft International Consortium Agreement

ICPPs must be received in full by the mandatory Complete Application Package submission deadline in Section 2 for the ICPP to be considered for funding.

6.2 Indian applicants

Indian applicants must visit the GITA website under the Canada-India Collaborative Industrial R&D Program 2019 to access and download the required application instructions and forms.

7. Project proposal selection process

Each national funding body will carry out independent evaluations of each complete ICPP received in accordance with their national and institutional laws and regulations. A proposal will be considered selected under this Call for Proposals process if all implicated national funding bodies jointly decide to approve and fund the project.

Each applicant will be informed of the result by their respective national funding body and conditionally selected applicants will proceed to complete Contribution Agreements with their respective national funding bodies.

8. Project funding and monitoring

The release of funds, project monitoring, and reporting requirements will be according to the terms of each organization's Contribution Agreement with their national funding body. If at any time and for any reason one of the project partners fails their national funding bodies due diligence process, the project as a whole will be halted.

9. Contacts

Canada

Neil Kochar, IRAP CIIP India National Program Coordinator
National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP)
neil.kochar@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

India

Ms Deepanwita Mukherjee, Executive Officer- Strategic Business Development
Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA)
deepanwita.mukherjee@gita.org.in

10. Registration

Click the button below to register your interest in this call for proposals.