Canada-Germany joint industrial R&D projects - Call for proposals

1. Scope

Germany and Canada are pleased to announce a call for proposals for joint industrial R&D projects focusing on developing innovative products, processes, or technology-based services in all technological and application areas which have strong market potential.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) will provide access to public funding for joint projects through the BMWi's ZIM program (Central Innovation Program for SMEs) in Germany, and through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) in Canada.

NRC IRAP and AiF Projekt GmbH (Project management agency for the BMWi) will provide all necessary assistance to project partners during project proposal, evaluation and monitoring phase.

2. Timeline and deadlines

• Call Launch: October 15, 2018
• Mandatory Canadian Expression of Interest Application Form Submission Deadline (for Canadian/NRC IRAP applicants only): November 30, 2018
• Optional German Project Sketch Deadline (for German/ZIM applicants who wish to receive advance feedback): January 15, 2019
• International Consortium Joint Project Proposal Submission Deadline: February 28, 2019
• ZIM/German applicants will file their national proposal in parallel with the joint project proposal
• IRAP/Canadian applicants will be invited to submit national proposals after submission of the joint project proposal
• Expected decisions on National Funding: Approximately 3 months after submission of the joint project proposal

3. Funding and eligibility

Eligible project participants from Germany and Canada will finance their costs from their respective national funding schemes (in Germany ZIM, in Canada by NRC IRAP) and complementarily from their own resources. For Canadian participants a NRC IRAP National Funding Proposal application will follow the review and acceptance of the joint proposal.

3.1 Canadian funding and eligibility

Canadian applicants must be registered as NRC IRAP clients to be considered for funding. Canadian SMEs already registered as NRC IRAP clients must contact their NRC IRAP Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA). If your organization is not already an NRC IRAP client and is based in Ontario, please contact IRAP.International.PARI@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca to be assigned an ITA. If your organization is not already an NRC IRAP client and is based outside of Ontario, please contact the NRC IRAP office at 1-877-994-4727 to be assigned an ITA.

Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% of their part of eligible project costs through NRC IRAP to a project maximum of $600,000 over 12-24 months (an extension of 12 months may be considered if sufficiently justified and accepted by both countries).

Canadian applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be incorporated, profit-oriented small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), with 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, registered in Canada;
• Be ready to collaborate with their German partner on an industrial R&D project including having the capacity to co-develop technology with international partners;
• Be intending to grow and generate profits through the development and commercialization of innovative, technology-driven, new or improved products, services, or processes;
• Be committed to aggressive growth through global market expansion;
• Have sufficient working capital and non-financial resources to make a serious new market entry push; and
• Have world class, differentiated, protectable technology; which may already be commercialized in Canada.

3.2 German financing and eligibility

All German SMEs (following the guidelines of the European Union definition) and medium-sized companies with fewer than 500 employees that perform R&D to develop an innovative product, process, or technological service have the right to apply. More detailed criteria can be found on the ZIM website. German national funding applications must be in line with ZIM regulations, e.g. in German language.

If you do not have previous experience with ZIM, it is highly recommend you contact AiF at least four (4) weeks prior to the deadline to increase your chances of preparing a qualified application.

4. Project requirements

Project results have to contribute to the development of commercial products, processes and/or technical services. Projects must comply with the following requirements:

• The consortium has to include at least two independent enterprises (SMEs), one from Canada and one from Germany, which contribute considerably to the project. Participation of research institutes and other companies are welcome as additional participants or subcontractors according to each country's funding regulations.
• The project should have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants from the two jurisdictions (e.g. increased innovation capability, commercial leads, access to R&D infrastructure, new fields of application, etc.).
• Project duration should not exceed two (2) years. An extension of one (1) year could be accepted by both countries if sufficiently justified.

Any partner whose cooperative industrial R&D project is consistent with the aforementioned requirements can apply to the present call for proposals in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect.

5. Application process

IMPORTANT: Each interested partner must contact their local funding agency before starting to fill in 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.

5.1 Canadian expression of interest

By the Expression of Interest (EOI) deadline (November 30, 2018) all interested Canadian applicants must submit an Expression of Interest Application Form to NRC IRAP. The Expression of Interest Form will be provided by NRC IRAP and must be requested through an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA). See section 3.1 for information on how to register as an NRC IRAP client and be assigned an ITA.

Note: The EOI form will not be provided unless your organization has registered as a client with NRC IRAP. EOIs will be reviewed to determine if your organization, project, and consortium meet NRC IRAP eligibility guidelines for this call for proposals. Only those who are eligible will be invited to submit an International Consortium Joint Project Proposal.

5.2 Optional German project sketch

By the Optional German Project Sketch deadline (January 15, 2019) all interested German applicants may submit a German Project Sketch to ZIM. Please visit the ZIM web page for more information.

5.3 International consortium joint project proposal

By the International Consortium Joint Project Proposal deadline (February 28, 2019) project participants must submit all the items below as instructed:

5.3.1 Canadian expression of interest

The following items must be submitted by the international consortium to both ZIM and NRC IRAP via email to international@aif-projekt-gmbh.de and IRAP.International.Forms-Formulaires.international.PARI@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca:

1. International Consortium Joint Proposal Application Form prepared jointly in English (legally signed by all partners participating in the project). The Joint Proposal Application Form will be provided to eligible Canadian participants by NRC IRAP and is available for German participants to download via www.zim.de/internationale-ausschreibungen.
2. A draft International Consortium Agreement (not yet signed) that regulates the terms of cooperation between all partners (in English). The minimum requirements for the Cooperation Agreement are:
   • Names of all project partners
   • Description of the project aims and the differentiation of subprojects by each partner including brief work plans with effort estimated in person-months
   • Identifying and naming of any third party contractors required in the project
   • Regulation of intellectual property rights (background and arising)
   • Basic regulation of joint commercialization and apportioning of benefits
   • If research organizations from either country are involved, the publishing rights of each party must be agreed to by the parties

Upon request, an International Consortium Agreement Template can be provided by NRC IRAP as a guideline for preparation of the Cooperation Agreement.

5.3.2 Documents to be submitted to NRC IRAP

1. An NRC IRAP Project Outline Form. The NRC IRAP Project Outline Form will be provided to eligible Canadian participants by NRC IRAP and should be completed in Adobe Acrobat and submitted using the "Submit" button included in the form.

5.3.3 Documents to be submitted to ZIM

Note: Every German project partner must file an individual ZIM application in paper form to AiF Projekt GmbH.

1. Each German Partner, must submit a completed national ZIM project proposal application by post. This application must include several documents as listed in the application form, for example: a working translation of English documents like the cooperation agreement; a full project description in German language (Anlage 4); and a copy of the current excerpt from the commercial register. See the ZIM website for more information.

6. Contacts

Germany
Mr. Georg Nagel
AiF Projekt GmbH
Tschaikowskistraße 49, 13156 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 48163-526
Email: g.nagel@aif-projekt-gmbh.de
www.zim-bmwi.de/kooperationsprojekte

Canada
Mr. Andrew Bauder
NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program
710 Dorval Drive, Oakville, Ontario, L6K 3V7
Tel.: +1-905-849-7441
Email: Andrew.Bauder@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
https://nrc.canada.ca