EUREKA Globalstars, collaboration with Taiwan

Eureka is an intergovernmental organization for market-driven industrial research and development. It is a decentralized network of participating countries that coordinates national funding of international research, development and innovation, for increased productivity and competitiveness in the participating countries. Eureka has been a driving force for innovation in Europe for over 35 years.

Inom Eurekas GlobalStars programme, based on mutual consent, the participating national funders DoIT, Business Finland, FFG, NRC-CNRC, RVO and VINNOVA launch a joint call for proposals. Applicant companies, universities and research organizations are invited to submit joint applications with a focus on research and development of innovative products and applications with high market potential.

Please read the call description also in English on Eureka's website

In this call for proposals we welcome international project consortia to submit high-quality R&D project applications within the framework of the thematic areas of the call.

The participating national funders would like to see applications in the following areas:

High-tech solutions such as (but not limited to):

• Semiconductors and Photonics (Integrated Circuits)
• Digital health or biotechnology
• Telecommunications (5G, 6G)
• Advanced manufacturing

Durabilitysuch as (but not limited to):

• Mobility
• Circular economy, use of captured carbon dioxide and industrial circular production.

We welcome collaborative projects in research and innovation, which address challenges in these areas and result in innovative and marketable solutions.

The project parties must meet the following qualifications:

• Your project idea must represent international cooperation in the form of a specific project.
• Your consortium must include at least two independent legal entities from at least one Eureka country and one specified Globalstars country or region.
• The consortium should include at least two organizations that are independent of each other, a for-profit company from Taiwan and a for-profit company from one of the participating Eureka member countries.
• The project must be focused on research or development of an innovative product, process or service with commercialization as objective.
• The product, process or service must be innovative and involve a technical risk and challenge for all involved project parties.
• The project must benefit all participating project parties.
• No individual project participant or participating country can account for more than 70 percent of the total eligible costs in a joint project.
• The project must be able to demonstrate that obvious advantages and added value are created as a results of the technical cooperation between the project participants. For example, increased knowledge, commercial opportunities, access to R&D infrastructure and more.
• A signed consortium agreement is required before the start of the project. The agreement should include, among other things, ownership and use of project results and know-how, as well as regulation of intellectual property rights.
• The duration of the project must not exceed 36 months.
• The project must have a civil aim.

Any participant whose R&D collaborative project complies with the above criteria can apply to this call for proposals according to their national regulatory framework for R&D funding with applicable laws, rules, regulations and processes and to the extent that national budget is available. Each participant is financed by their national financier and national project funds may not be transferred from one country to another within the international Eureka project. The amount of available project funds for each participant is shown in the national funding rules in the participating countries for the call for proposals. See under section 4 proposal, step 4 funding decision.

The project parties are strongly advised to contact their national funder, to check that the project meets all formal eligibility requirements to be able to receive national funding, before submitting proposal.

Project parties from other Eureka member countries than the participating countries in this call for proposals or parties from countries outside Eureka, may also participate but they will not be financed by the participating national financiers in this call for proposals. These project parties must themselves secure their funding within the time frames for the call for proposals.

The application and assessment process

Step 1 – Eureka proposal

All project partners in the international project consortium must fill in the common application form for the Eureka project online.
Please complete before the deadline of May 21, 2024, at 17:00 CST ( before 1:00 CEST, European Summer Time, on May 21, 2024). The form must be filled in in English.

The project consortium is strongly advised to register on the Eureka SmartSimple application platform in good time and read the application form and Eureka SmartSimple guidelines carefully. It is important to follow the guidelines and complete all required parts of the application form. Guidelines for the SmartSimple platform can be found under the heading: "Access Platform Guidelines”.

The application process at SmartSimple in brief:

• The project coordinator in the international consortium fills in one application form per consortium, in English, and then invites the other project parties to fill in partner forms.
• Upload a GANTT chart for the project plan (one per consortium) and signed and completed Co-signature forms for each participant.
  
  

Step 2: National grant application

In addition to proposal to Eureka, all project parties must submit a national grant application to their respective national funders in the call for proposals, if required. See national instructions in this call text. The deadline for national proposal may differ between the participating countries in the call for proposals. See below for detailed information from each national funder.

• Applicant in Taiwan
  Must submit national proposal to DoIT by May 21, 2024 at 5:00 PM CST (11:00 AM CEST on May 21, 2024).
• Applicant in Finland
  Will submit his national proposal to Business Finland. applicant must contact the call's contact persons at Business Finland for detailed advice, including timetables for the national applications ,no later than two weeks before the last day of the call. We strongly recommend that applicant contact Business Finland as early in the application process as possible.
• Applicant in Austria
  Must submit their proposal on FFG's eCall portal before May 23, 2024, at 17:00 CE(S)T.
• Applicant in Canada
  Must submit their proposal to: IRAP.International.PARI@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca by May 21, 2024 by 5:00 PM EDT.
• Applicant in the Netherlands
  Must submit their proposal on the e-loco before May 28, 2024, at 17:00 CE(S)T.
• Applicant in Sweden
  Will submit their proposal via Vinnova's website in the national the call for proposals which opens on 20 November 2023 before 30 May 2024, at 14:00 CE(S)T.
  
  

Step 3: Assessment

All applications are reviewed according to the call's formal eligibility requirements before proceeding to national assessment processes in the participating countries using national assessment criteria.

Approved project are nominated for the Eureka label, a seal of quality. After a common list of results has been drawn up for approved and non-approved project, the applicant is informed of the result.

Step 4: Funding Decision

Funding will only be given to approved project with the Eureka label, which have been evaluated positively by all participating countries concerned and with regard to the common ranking list. Funding of project parties is dependent on budget availability and financing conditions determined by each financier. The highest-ranked projects receive funding first, and then one goes further along the ranking list until national budgets are exhausted.

• DoIT
  Proposal must be submitted by a Taiwanese company. DoIT does not fund universities and research organizations. However, universities and research organizations are welcome as subcontractors to Taiwanese companies or to participate with their own budget. Companies can apply for grant funding of up to 50 percent of project costs depending on the project's industrial potential (impact) in accordance with the A+ program.
• Business Finland
  Companies can apply funding for research projects or loans for development and pilot projects. funding can cover up to 50 percent of the eligible costs for small and medium-sized companies and 40 percent for large and medium-sized companies. A loan can cover up to 50 percent of the eligible costs, in some cases 70 percent. Public research organizations can receive up to 80 percent funding, special national rules for funding co-innovation project apply. There is no specific amount limit in Euro for the size of the projects.
• FFG
  There is a dedicated budget of 1 million euros for this call for proposals. Funding in Austria is only provided for one year at a time. Therefore, follow-up grant applications must be submitted annually for a maximum project duration of up to 3 years. The funding from FFG is funding:
  - A maximum of 60 percent for small businesses.
  - A maximum of 50 percent for medium-sized companies.
  - A maximum of 40 percent for large companies.
  Funding decisions for national applications submitted until May 23, 2024, at 17:00 CET will be published after the Advisory Council meeting (“Beiratssitzung”) on September 5, 2024.
• NCR-CNRC 
  I Kanada this call for proposals is carried out by National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). NRC IRAP is responsible for the national application process and national funding decisions.
  Eligible Canadian SMEs can receive up to 50 percent reimbursement of approved project costs up to a maximum funding amount of $500,000 CAD.
  Other Canadian organizations such as research institutes, universities, research- and technology companies, large companies can also participate with their own funding or as a subcontractor.
  Read more at: Support for technology innovation - National Research Council Canada.
• RVO
  Companies and research institutes in the Netherlands can apply for grant funding of up to 50 percent of the eligible costs, depending on the type of organization and type of activities. Maximum funding is EUR 350,000 per project.
• VINNOVA
  Swedish project participants can apply for grant funding according to Vinnova's general terms and conditions for funding: SMEs up to 50 percent of eligible costs, large companies up to 30 percent of eligible costs and universities and research institutes up to 100 percent of eligible costs. Maximum funding per project to Swedish project participants is SEK 2.5 million. Se Vinnovas general terms and conditions

If there is no available budget for your organization in your country and you want to participate in a project consortium, contact your national funder to see if there are other funding opportunities or talk to them about self-funding. See contact information for each country at the end of this call text.

The applications will be assessed by the participating national funders in the call for proposals. The basis for the assessment process is Eureka's formal eligibility requirements as well as the national funders' formal eligibility requirements and national assessments of received Eureka applications and, where applicable, national grant applications.

In a multilateral consensus meeting with all participating national financiers, the project that can be jointly approved and granted funding will be selected based on the evaluators' points and the Eureka network's common rules for project evaluation. After a joint list of funded and non-funded project has been drawn up, the national funders and EUREKA will inform the applicant of the results.

The project application will be reviewed according to the evaluation methodology for network projects. Se Annex A at the end and the English the call text for a detailed description.

Funding will only be given to approved project that are positively evaluated by the relevant national funders. Funding of project parties is dependent on available national budgets as well as funding conditions established by each national funder.

Intellectual property rights arising from activities in collaborative projects in this call for proposalswill be regulated in a consortium agreement in accordance with the relevant laws applicable to the project partners.

A signed consortium agreement, which regulates the execution of the project as well as the commercialization of the project results, is mandatory for granted project and must be sent to the national financiers concerned no later than 6 months after the results of the assessment process have been communicated. Project start cannot take place before the consortium agreement has been signed.

The national funders below will grant funding to the selected projects. The support will be given to each participant by its national financier, in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations and processes, and provided that budget is available at the national level.

DoIT

In addition to the centrally submitted Eureka proposal, Taiwanese applicant must submit national application documents to DoIT by May 21, 2024, 17:00 CST (11:00 CEST on May 21, 2024). The applicant (companies only) in the Eureka project are eligible to apply for funding under the A+ Industrial Innovation R&D program (the "A+ Program"). Proposal must contain a short summary text as well as detailed project- and budget plan that is requested in the A+ program.

DoIT does not fund universities and research organizations. Proposal must be submitted by a Taiwanese company. However, universities and research organizations are welcome as subcontractors to Taiwanese companies or to participate with their own budget.

Companies can apply for grant funding of up to 50% of project costs depending on the industrial potential of the project in accordance with the A+ programme. DoIT's budget is available for approved project.

Before submitting the application forms, applicant are advised to contact DoIT for a pre-check of project ideas and eligibility to apply.

See more information - only in Chinese.

BusinessFinland

Business Finlands's general eligibility criteria and rules for funding apply to this call for proposals. Different rules apply to small and medium-sized companies, medium-sized companies (large companies with turnover < 300 M€), large companies and research organizations. The effect of the international cooperation should be clear and the participating companies should have a credible internationalization plan and business goals including export goals. If public research organizations are involved in a Co-innovation project, at least three companies must also participate, of which at least two apply for funding from Business Finland. Co-Research is also particularly suitable for this call for proposals, as research has shown significant new business potential.

Applicants will be informed in detail about the applicable rules by Business Finlands contact persons before the Eureka proposal is submitted.

The funding from Business Finland is intended for challenging and innovative research, development and innovation projects.
See more information on eligible costs and funding

FFG

All companies registered in Austria are eligible for funding. Universities and research organizations can only be financed as subcontractors.

In addition to the Eureka proposal Austrian participants must submit a separate national proposal to FFG General Programs ("Basisprogramm") via eCall on the FFG website. The national proposal must contain the Eureka project application and national proposal. The evaluation of the national proposal is done by internal experts.

The project must meet the national criteria ("Basisprogramm Leitfaden").
Detailed information on national rules and procedures

Before submitting proposal, it is important to contact Eureka NPC at FFG.

NRC-CNRC

Canadian applicant must register with NRC IRAP no later than February 19, 2024 at " NRC IRAP International Opportunities webpage", so that we can ensure the basic NRC IRAP requirements and submit an expression of interest (EOI) form.

• Complete and submit the EOI form to NRC IRAP no later than March 4, 2024. We strongly recommend the Canadian applicant to complete the EOI phase as early as possible. NRC IRAP must be able to confirm the company's potential eligibility for funding before proposal is written.
• Only qualified applicant will be invited to submit a Eureka project proposal together with their project partners. Qualified Canadian applicant will be provided with additional templates and will be required to submit the necessary and supporting documentation (NRC IRAP Canadian Annex and Draft Consortium Agreement) together with the Eureka project application.

NRC IRAP has additional criteria for Canadian organizations to be eligible for funding, including:

• Your organization must be a small and medium-sized business in Canada, incorporated and for-profit.
• Your organization must have no more than 500 full-time employees.
• You must have objective of growing and generating profits through the development and commercialization of innovative, technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada
• Canadian SMEs applying must be eligible for funding as NRC IRAP customers before they can be eligible for funding through this application round.
  For more information, contact NRC IRAP on 1-877-994-4727.

RVO

Within the program funded by RVO, only R&D costs are eligible for funding.

Companies and research institutes can apply for funding with up to 50 percent depending on the type of organization and type of activities:

• Large companies: 35 percent for research activities, 25 percent for development activities
• Small and medium-sized enterprises: 45 percent for research activities, 35 percent for development activities
• Universities or research organisations: 50 per cent for research activities, 25 per cent for development activities.

The maximum funding ( funding) per project is 350,000 Euro. The total budget at RVO for this call for proposals is approximately 1 million Euro.

In addition to the centrally submitted Eureka proposal, project partners from the Netherlands must submit a national funding application to the RVO, including a detailed project plan and budget. Proposal must be submitted by a Dutch for-profit company. Other Dutch organizations can join as project partners in the Dutch proposal. The deadline for proposal is 28 May 2024, at 17:00 CE(S)T. RVO invites partners for a pre-check of their project ideas.

See more information

VINNOVA

Vinnova's national call for proposals is aimed at companies, universities, research institutes or other actors in Sweden who want to collaborate with organizations in Taiwan and the participating Eureka countries. A participant seeking funding must be a Swedish legal entity. In this respect, a foreign organization with a branch or establishment in Sweden is equated with a Swedish legal person.

Swedish participants can apply funding according to Vinnova's general terms and conditions for funding. The condition on project agreements in § 1.4, General terms and conditions is considered fulfilled when a consortium agreement is signed by all parties in the international consortium. The Swedish coordinator must confirm to Vinnova that the agreement has been signed by all parties.

The rules on state support apply to organizations that carry out economic activities. Funding will be granted with support of Section 9 of Regulation 2015:208 on state support for research and development and innovation, i.e. as support for research and development projects according to Article 25 of the EU Commission Regulation No. 651/2014 (GBER).

Here you will find the support regulation

The following funding levels apply:

• Small and medium-sized companies up to 50 percent of the eligible costs.
• Large companies up to 30 percent of the eligible costs.
• Universities and research institutes up to 100 percent of the eligible costs.

The maximum funding ( funding) per project is SEK 2.5 million. The total budget at Vinnova for this call for proposals is approximately SEK 5 million.

Term for funding and eligible costs

Non-state aid is granted to parties that do not conduct economic activities in accordance with regulation (2009:1101) with instructions for the Agency for innovation system.

Swedish participants seeking funding from Vinnova are recommended to contact Vinnova's contact person for the call for proposals before the national proposal is submitted.

In addition to the centrally submitted joint Eureka online proposal, Swedish participants in the international project consortium apply on Vinnova's website to the national the call for proposals which opens on 20 November 2023, before 30 May 2024, at 14:00 CE(S)T.

The international project consortium's complete proposal to Eureka, including all partner forms, project budget and a Gantt chart with work packages and timeline of the project plan, must be submitted as project description in the national proposal to Vinnova.

Other organisations

Organizations from other Eureka member countries or outside the Eureka network can participate in this call for proposals provided that:

• They arrange their own funding.
• The project meets the criteria for participation.
• They respect the schedule for the call for proposals.

Abbot Crown Daughter:

Eureka International Assessment Criteria:

Impact

1. Is the market addressed correctly? Size of the market, possibility of impact on the market and risks in connection with implementation.
2. Is value creation addressed in the right way? For example, the creation of growth, employment opportunities and environmental and social benefits.
3. What are the competitive advantages of your project? That is, strategic importance, improved capacity and visibility.
4. Are your commercialization plans clear and realistic? That is, return on investments, geographical and sectoral impact and impact.

Excellence

1. What is the level of innovation? That is, is the proposed product, process or service state-of-the-art? Is there sufficient technical maturity and risk?
2. How will the new knowledge be used?
3. Is your project scientifically and technically challenging for the consortium partners?
4. Are technical feasibility and risks properly addressed?

Quality & Efficiency

1. What is the quality of your project consortium? That is, the balance of the partnership and technical capacity, project management and financial capacity of each project partner?
2. Is there an added value of international cooperation?
3. Is your project management and planning realistic and clearly defined? That is, methodology, planning, milestones and results.
4. Is your project budget reasonable? That is, costs and financial commitments for each consortium partner.

Overall Perception

1. Advantages and disadvantages of proposal.
2. Can the project be recommended for funding? Yes or no?