Canada – Spain 2022 collaborative industrial research and development call for proposals

1. Introduction

Working together, the governments of Canada and Spain aim to foster and support collaborative industrial research and development (R&D) projects with a high potential for commercialization. This call for proposals is open to organizations from Canada and Spain who wish to form project consortia to perform collaborative projects focused on developing innovative products, processes, or technology-based services with a civilian purpose in any technological and market area.

2. Application deadlines

Canadian registration deadline: August 17, 2022

Canadian expression of interest deadline: August 31, 2022

International consortium project proposal deadline: October 31, 2022

3. Sectors of focus

This call for proposals is open to projects in all sectors that are civilian in nature.

4. Eligibility requirements

Applicants must form a project consortium and develop a collaborative research and development (R&D) project that meets the following criteria:

4.1 Canadian Applicant

• To be considered for funding, the Canadian applicant must:
• be an incorporated, profit-oriented small or medium-sized business in Canada
• have 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
• pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada
• have a differentiated and protectable technology that could become competitive in global markets
• have sufficient working capital and resources to undertake a multi-year R&D collaboration and commercialize the results
• be committed to significant growth through international market expansion.
• Preference may be given to SME applicants who:
• have a minimum of 15 full-time equivalent employees
• have commercialized 1 or more products domestically or internationally
• have greater than $500,000 CAD in annual revenue.

4.2 Consortium

• The project consortium must include at least:
• 1 eligible Canadian company, and
• 1 eligible Spanish company
• The parties listed above must be unrelated parties (i.e. no direct, indirect, beneficial or constructive ownership interest between these parties)
• The project partners that form the consortium must agree on a plan addressing intellectual property rights and intent to commercialize

4.3 Project

• The project must focus on co-development, adaptation, and/or validation of an innovative product, process, or technology-based service that has:
• substantial commercial potential and outcomes that can be realized within 2-3 years of completion of the project
• a civilian (non-military) purpose
• The project must demonstrate:
• a complementary technological contribution from each partner
• an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants
• a balanced contribution between project partners and countries (i.e. no more than 70% of the effort contributed by any one partner or country)

4.4 Spain's eligibility requirements

Spanish applicants must meet the criteria outlined in Spain's call for proposals announcement available on CDTI's website (in Spanish only).

Research institutes/universities are welcome as self-funded participants or as subcontractors.

5. Funding

Eligible project participants in collaborative projects selected through this call for proposals may receive funding from their respective national funding body. Funds will be provided in accordance with the applicable laws, regulations, rules, and procedures established by the relevant national funding body, country, jurisdiction and/or program.

Project participants not eligible for funding from NRC IRAP or CDTI (e.g. universities, research institutes, etc., and participants from other countries) are welcome to participate on a self-funded basis or as subcontractors to funded participants, according to each country's funding regulations.

Self-funded participants will be required to provide a "self-funding declaration" for which a template will be provided.

Note: One country and/or project partner cannot represent more than 70% of the total project budget.

Additional country-specific funding parameters are outlined below:

5.1 Canadian funding

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.

Eligible Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% reimbursement of eligible project costs up to a maximum total funding amount of $500,000 CAD over 12 to 36 months.

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 at 1-877-994-4727.

NOTE: Canadian SME applicants may apply to more than 1 NRC IRAP call for proposals simultaneously.  However, NRC IRAP may limit the number of funded projects per applicant. Canadian SME applicants who are applying to more than 1 opportunity or who have ongoing NRC IRAP projects should speak to their NRC IRAP representative for more information.

5.2 Spanish funding

In Spain, this call for proposals is offered through the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology, EPE (CDTI). CDTI 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 Spanish companies in support of industrial research and/or technological development activities. Funding conditions for Spanish participants may vary depending on the nature of the project and the beneficiaries. Please consult the CDTI website (in Spanish only) for funding parameters.

6. Application process

This call for proposals is being hosted by the Eureka Network program. Each project consortium must complete and submit a Eureka project online application form. Please consult the Eureka project application form webpage for instructions on how to complete and submit the Eureka project application form.

In addition to the project consortium submitting a Eureka  project application form, each project partner seeking funding must submit all required documents to, and meet the due diligence process of their respective national funding body. Failure, at any point or for any reason, to do so may cause the entire collaborative project application to be considered incomplete or ineligible and render the entire project consortium ineligible for funding through this call for proposals.

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.

Information on respective application processes follows below:

6.1 Canadian application process

The Canadian application process has 4 phases:

1. Registration
2. Expression of interest
3. International consortium project proposal
4. National funding body proposal and funding agreement

Step 1: Registration phase

Each Canadian applicant must register using the "register" button at the bottom of this page. Basic information about the applicant and the organization will be required upon registration.

NRC IRAP will review registrations for this call for proposals and contact applicants if more information is required. Qualifying applicants will proceed to the next phase and be invited to submit an expression of interest form.

Step 2: Expression of interest phase

During this phase, each Canadian applicant seeking funding must submit an expression of interest (EOI) form outlining basic information on the applicant and the collaborative project.

While completing the EOI form, each Canadian applicant is encouraged to contact their NRC IRAP representative to discuss their project idea and receive guidance on preparing their submission.

It is recommended that applicants submit the EOI as early as possible. EOIs will be evaluated by the applicant's NRC IRAP representative and the NRC IRAP International Office. Qualifying applicants will be invited to submit the more detailed international consortium project proposal in collaboration with their project partners.

Step 3: International consortium project proposal phase

During the international consortium project proposal (ICPP) phase, all project partners work together to complete and submit an international consortium project proposal (ICPP) package.

In this call for proposals, the Canadian ICPP application package consists of:

1. a Eureka project application form, outlining the:
• project consortium
• collaborative project
• expected outcomes
• expected project cost and calendar
2. an NRC IRAP Canadian Annex form containing additional information required for the NRC IRAP assessment of the project including:
• information about the Canadian SME
• information about make up of the project consortium
• information related to the structure of the project
3. a draft international project consortium agreement containing descriptions of the following:
• Roles and responsibilities of each consortium member
• Project management framework
• Division of intellectual property rights
• Confidentiality and publication agreements, and liability clauses.

Canadian ICPP applications will be evaluated by an NRC IRAP evaluation team including the applicant's NRC IRAP representative and the NRC IRAP International Office.  Only Canadian participants of selected project proposals will be invited to proceed to the final national funding body proposal and funding agreement stage.

Step 4: National funding body proposal and funding agreement phase

During the national funding body proposal and funding agreement phase, all eligible project partners work independently to complete funding proposals and sign legally binding funding agreements with their respective national funding body. Canadian applicants will work with their NRC IRAP representative to prepare an NRC IRAP funding proposal and contribution agreement.

6.2 Spanish application process

In Spain, participants will have to submit a formal R&D international project aid application through CDTI's website (https://sede.cdti.gob.es/), including the Eureka application form (in English), and the draft consortium agreement by October 31, 2022. Additional documents in Spanish, containing detailed information on the Spanish participants, could be requested depending on the specific type of funding requested by the company.

CDTI will check the eligibility of the Spanish applicants after receiving the international application. If eligible, funding applications will be generated by CDTI for each Spanish company. A full briefing (in Spanish) must be attached to these applications and must be submitted by November 30, 2022. If the funding applications are not submitted in time, the international project could be rejected.

For more information related to Spain's application stages, requirements, instructions, ICPP application packages, and national funding body proposals and funding agreements, please consult the CDTI website or contact Antonio Gómez.

7. Contacts

For questions, concerns, or for more information, please contact the appropriate call for proposals representative listed below:

7.1 Canada

Eric Holdrinet
NRC IRAP National Program Coordinator for Eureka
National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program
Eric.Holdrinet@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

7.2 Spain

Mr. Antonio Gómez
CDTI
Telephone: +34 91 581 5607
antonio.gomez@cdti.es

8. Registration

Canadian SME participants must be registered NRC IRAP clients. If not already an NRC IRAP client, Canadian SMEs must contact 1-877-994-4727 to determine if they might be eligible for support through NRC IRAP.

To begin the application process, Canadian applicants must register for this opportunity by clicking the "register" button.

If there is no "register" button visible below this line, it means that registration for this call for proposals has closed.