A National Infrastructure for Bio Devices – RFI

תאריך אחרון להגשה 

31/01/2022

תיאור הקול הקורא

Summary

Background

On September 2020, the Innovation Authority alerted the National R&D Infrastructure Forum that there was a need to establish a long-term national program to promote the field of Bio-Convergence (BC) in Israel.

BC is a technological field that combines biologically based methods and technologies, together with knowledge and technologies from other fields such as physics, computer science, mathematics and engineering. The product of this combination will be interdisciplinary in its definition and objectives, as well as innovative and viable.

On December 2020, the National R&D Infrastructure Forum appointed an external committee to create such program, and it completed its work by December 2021. The main conclusion of the committee was that the Israeli government must intervene now in order to create a new economic growth engine based on an innovative ecosystem in the field of BC with a competitive advantage for Israeli industry, academic excellence and global leadership while the Israeli economy continues to grow.

It is assumed that the government’s intervention will include:

  • Development of interdisciplinary R&D infrastructure.
  • Encouraging excellence in interdisciplinary BC research.
  • Development of multidisciplinary human capital. 
  • Policy and regulation that support and enable innovation.
  • Financing of advanced interdisciplinary R&D.

Considerations for the first phase include the establishment of infrastructure that will enable research and development of bio-devices

It is emphasized and clarified that the Innovation Authority has not yet decided whether and how to act on the matter, and this request is not a request for proposals and is not part of tender procedures or a benefit track or any other procedure for receiving proposals, but rather a request to receive information and a position only, following which the Innovation Authority would consider realizing this phase’s recommendations.

Program Description

Description of the infrastructure for bio devices:

An integration and knowledge center that combines infrastructure capabilities, professional human capital and links to relevant infrastructures in Israel and around the world.

Infrastructure purposes:

  • Supporting the R&D processes of start-up companies 
  • Enabling innovative and unique research and development that would allow the connection of advanced biological systems to innovative and unique engineering device systems in Israel.
  • Creating interdisciplinary links and collaborations between engineers, data specialists and biologists for developing innovative technologies, processes, or products.
  • Creating workspaces, research infrastructure and innovative equipment that would enable interdisciplinary R&D.
  • Conducting training and human capital development.
  • Creating collaborations with multinational companies and multinational research centers that would start and expand their activities in Israel.

Possible infrastructure scope:

  • Laboratory infrastructures and clean rooms for basic and applied research of technologies, devices, circuits and systems that integrate biological and engineering systems, infrastructures for model production of micrometer and nanometer dimensions.
  • Infrastructures for research in the field of life sciences that should be integrated with miniaturized components including, for example, microfluidic systems, VLSI ICs, nanometer structures and micro components, and more.
  • Infrastructures, including personnel and production, that would allow researchers and industry to receive models for research and development including high-level prototyping.
  • Infrastructures for interdisciplinary training, exercising and knowledge transfer both at the theoretical and practical levels.
  • The center should operate in collaboration with industrial/academic R&D centers if such will be established, but it should also be able to operate independently
  • The center should contain a liaison unit for foundry production in Israel or abroad. The unit should be able to accept projects and to manage them in a more efficient way than is currently customary in Israel.

Principles of establishing the infrastructure:

  • The infrastructure should be built while relying on existing capabilities by means of collaboration.
  • The R&D infrastructure should include personnel that would be focused on management with industrial, marketing and business orientation in order to lead the R&D infrastructure to economic independence.
  • The R&D infrastructure should include managerial and technological personnel that is professional and experienced in the field of activity.
  • The proposed financing model is financial support for the duration of construction and operation phases up to 6 years. The government support is expected to be between 55 – 65% and should be complemented with additional financing from the infrastructure developers.

Criteria

Requested information:

Presented below are details of the information that the Innovation Authority wishes to receive as part of the response. Whatever is specified below is not a closed list, and it is certainly possible to expand on topics that are not included in this list and which, in the respondents’ opinion, are important to refer to.

  1. Infrastructure application’s field:
    Applications of the Bio-Convergence can appear not only in the field of health and medicine, but also in areas such as agriculture, food, climate, security, energy, construction, textiles, and more.
    • Is it recommended to focus on a specific application area (health/medicine, agriculture, food or other)? If so, what is the recommended application and why?
    • Is it recommended to focus on a certain set of technologies? For example, sensors that combine an electronic component and a biological component, microfluidic devices, 3D printing that involves biological materials. If so, what is the recommended technology and why?
    • Are there other focus areas that can be recommended?
       
  2. Infrastructure services:
    The infrastructure can include additional services beyond R&D, such as:
    • Services that support the excellence of the center (process development, development of technological platforms)
    • Services that support the growth of the business (such as provision of training, renting equipment and rooms)

          What are the recommended services that this infrastructure should include?
 

  1. Additional Infrastructure services:
    • What is the significant gap that exists in Israel in terms of available infrastructure and R&D services?
    • What R&D services should this infrastructure provide to users?
    • Following your recommendations above, can this infrastructure rely on existing R&D services / providers? In which places, to your knowledge, are these services provided?
       
  2. The infrastructure components:
    • What is the equipment that the infrastructure should include?
    • What type of human capital is required for? the operation of such infrastructure?
       
  3. Estimated costs of establishing the infrastructure:
    • What is the estimated cost  for the establishment of infrastructure and details per the following breakdown:
      • Preparation/renting of physical space.
      • Equipment/software.
      • Human Capital? Financing? (administrative, technical, business).
    • Are there any additional costs that should be taken into account regarding the establishment costs?
       
  4. The model of infrastructure establishment and operation in the first five years:
    • Can this infrastructure be financially independent after 3 years? 5 years? More?
    • Is there a successful model in the world that provides a similar solution? Please indicate The name of the organization and contact person (if known).
    • The establishment of the infrastructure and the provision of the service requires technological knowledge, experience in providing R&D services and the ability to secure additional financing.
    • Who are the relevant entities that can  establish this infrastructure in Israel?
    • Who are the relevant international entities that can establish this infrastructure?

Application Process

Submission of responses / opinions and recommendations:

Those who are interested to contribute information and present their opinions and recommendations on the subject of this RFI, are asked to send them in writing to the email address technological.infrastructure@innovationisrael.org.il, no later than 31 January 2023.

General information and legal of rights

Without detracting from whatever is stated in this request, the Innovation Authority or anyone on its behalf reserve the right to address clarifying questions, or requests for information, or any other data to all or part of the respondents to this request, starting from the date of publication of this request. However, such application does not create any obligation towards the Innovation Authority or anyone who will contact it on its behalf. It will be clarified and emphasized that this request does not constitute an offer or an invitation to submit an application or to create a contract according to the regulations on the duty of tenders, or according to any other law or procedure.

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