Canada – Germany Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Program 2019, Call 1

1. Call description

Working together, the Government of Canada and the Government of Germany aim to foster and support collaborative industrial research and development (R&D) projects with high potential for commercialization. This call for proposals is open to companies from Canada and Germany who wish to perform joint R&D leading to technology commercialization focused 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 the project proposal, evaluation, and monitoring phases.

2. Key dates and milestones

• Launch of call for proposals: March 5, 2019
• Canadian Expression of Interest deadline: April 26, 2019
• Optional German Project Sketch Deadline: May 17, 2019
• International Consortium Project Proposal submission deadline: June 28, 2019
• Notification of successful proposals and National Funding Proposal start: August 30, 2019
• Executed funding agreement and earliest project start: October 31, 2019

3. Sector of focus

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

4. Eligibility

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

4.1 Joint requirements

• The project consortium must include at least 1 Canadian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and 1 German SME (participation of research institutes and other companies are welcome as additional participants or subcontractors according to each country's funding regulations.)
• Project duration should not exceed 2 years. An extension of 1 year may be considered if sufficiently justified and accepted by both countries.
• The project must have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants from the 2 countries (e.g. increased knowledge base, commercial needs, access to R&D infrastructure, new fields of application).
• The products or processes to be developed must be highly innovative and have significant commercial potential.
• The partners in Canada and Germany must agree in advance on an intellectual property rights agreement and on a commercialization strategy for the product or process.
• The partners in Canada and Germany 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.

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

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, including the European Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation (2014/C 198/01).

4.2 Canadian requirements

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;
• Intend to grow and generate profits through developing and commercializing 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.

4.3 German requirements

All German SMEs (following the guidelines of the European Union definition) which perform R&D to develop an innovative product, process or technological service – also in cooperation with research organisations – are eligible to apply. More detailed criteria can be found on the ZIM website (in German only).

5. Funding

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

Funds will be provided in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures established by each organization, and/or each jurisdiction or country. Although the type and value of individual contributions allocated to a R&D project may vary, in projects with 2 partners, 1 partner cannot exceed more than 70% of the project work effort and in projects with 3 or more partners, 1 partner cannot exceed more than 50% of the project work effort.

5.1 Canadian funding

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 to 24 months. An extension of 12 months may be considered if sufficiently justified and accepted by both countries.

Canada will fund projects under the terms, conditions, and funding limits of NRC IRAP.

Canadian SME applicants must be registered as NRC IRAP clients to be considered for funding. If your organization is not already an NRC IRAP client, please contact NRC IRAP at 1-877-994-4727.

5.2 German funding

Please see the ZIM website (in German only) for information.

6. Application process

Important: Each applicant must contact their National Funding Body before beginning 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.

All project participants must submit a proposal to their respective funding agency. Failure to submit all required documents to NRC IRAP or ZIM will result in the project consortium being ineligible for funding.

6.1 Canadian registration and Expression of Interest

Canadian applicants must first register online in order to receive an Expression of Interest Form. Please click on the register button below to complete the online registration.

All interested Canadian applicants must submit an Expression of Interest Application Form to NRC IRAP by the deadline (see Section 2 Key dates and milestones). The Expression of Interest Form will be provided by NRC IRAP after registration.

Expressions of Interest will be reviewed to determine if your organization, project, and consortium meet the ZIM and NRC IRAP eligibility guidelines for this call for proposals. Only those who are eligible will be invited to the next stage of the application process.

6.2 Optional German Project Sketch

German applicants may submit an optional German Project Sketch (in German only) to receive advanced feedback on their proposal. Please visit the ZIM web page for more information.

6.3 International Consortium Project Proposal

All consortia must submit International Consortium Project Proposals (ICPPs) to their respective National Funding Body by the ICPP deadline (see Section 2 Key dates and milestones) as explained below:

Joint requirements

The following items must be submitted by the international consortium to both ZIM and NRC IRAP:

1. International Consortium Joint Proposal Application Form, prepared jointly in English (legally signed by all partners participating in the project).
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 Consortium 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
   • Identification 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, mutually agreed publishing rights

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

Canadian requirements

In addition to the documents listed in the joint requirements, Canadian applicants will be expected to submit an NRC IRAP Project Outline Form.

The NRC IRAP Project Outline Form and all ICPP documents and instructions will be provided to eligible Canadian participants by the NRC IRAP International Office.

German requirements

In addition to the documents listed in the joint requirements, each German project partner must file an individual ZIM application in paper form (submitted by post) to AiF Projekt GmbH. See the ZIM website for more information on the ZIM application process (in German only).

The Joint Proposal Application Form is available for German participants to download via the ZIM website (in German only).

6.4 Evaluation, project selection, and funding agreements

Each National Funding Body will carry out independent evaluations of eligible applications in accordance with their national and institutional laws and regulations.

A proposal will be considered selected under this call for proposals only if all National Funding Bodies jointly decide to approve and fund it.

Applicants whose proposals have been selected will be required to complete a funding agreement with their National Funding Body.

7. Contact information

Canada

Andrew Bauder
NRC IRAP Germany National Program Coordinator
National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program
Andrew.Bauder@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Germany

Georg Nagel
AiF Projekt GmbH
g.nagel@aif-projekt-gmbh.de