Call for Proposals Uruguay-Israel R&D Cooperation Program

Summary:

Program Description

1. Objective
   The program supports collaborative technological innovation projects between Uruguayan and Israeli companies. This bilateral framework is jointly implemented and funded by ANII, the National Research and Innovation Agency of Uruguay and by Israel Innovation Authority.The objective of the call is to improve business competitiveness through cooperation and technological innovation. Projects must aim for the development of new and innovative products processes or services used in production and leading to commercialization.
2. Eligibility
   • Joint R&D are eligible projects if:
   • Applicants should consist of at least one technology-based registered company from each respective country
   • They should state the basis of R&D cooperation for an innovative product, process or service.
   • The project may involve more than one company from each country;
   • Academic and research institutions are eligible to participate only as collaborators in the project[1] as subcontractors.
3. Characteristics of the Projects
   • The product/process/service should require innovative R&D in both countries and have significant commercial potential for the global market.
   • The issues related to IP rights and the commercialization strategy of the product/process/service shall have to be agreed upon in advance.
   • The project shall have to outline the contribution of the participants from both countries (business as well as research groups, if any).
   • The projects shall not be focused on the acquisition of turnkey state-of-the- art technology.Innovative development projects shall be funded for a maximum term of execution of 3 years.
4. Funding
   Funding support will be given to each partner by its own implementing organizations (ANII in Uruguay and the Israel Innovation Authority in Israel) in accordance with national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect.
5. Funding and Repayment ConditionsURUGUAY
   Funding for approved projects by the Uruguayan government for Uruguayan companies shall be given through ANII according to the restrictions of the different innovation calls detailed at www.anii.org.uyThe funding shall be repaid by turnover of the proposing company. The payment shall begin when the cooperation project ends and shall be directly related to the annual turnover of the firm. Commencement of repayment will not be delayed by more than three years from the date of the commencement of the cooperation project. The transaction shall end when the principal plus the interest accrued during the transaction extinguishes.

   Funding conditions regarding grace period, interest rate and percentage of turnover for the payment shall be agreed upon with ANII during evaluation of the project, prior to the signature of the corresponding agreement.

   ANII could approve a whole amount and a plan of disbursements according to the fulfillment of milestones previewed at the development plan. The disbursements should be in up to two phases.

   ISRAEL 
   Funding from the Israeli government via the Israel Innovation Authority will not exceed 50% of the eligible and approved costs of the R&D in the form of a conditional grant and in accordance with the Israel Innovation Authority national laws and regulations detailed at https://innovationisrael.org.il/rules. Funding will be provided in the form of a conditional grant When a project results in sales of a product, service or process, the financial support must be repaid to the Israel Innovation Authority according to its regulations (in general, royalties are paid at rates beginning at 3% of sales, depending on various criteria. Royalties are payable until 100% of the amount of the grant has been repaid with interest as provided in the applicable regulations). If the project does not result in sales, no repayment is required.

   For more information on funding conditions for Israeli companies, applicants should visit the Hebrew website of the Israel Innovation Authority: https://innovationisrael.org.il/

6. Funding Items 
   The following items may be included in the project:URUGUAY 
   Training services and / or training of personnel of the company, Short courses abroad (less than 2 months), Hiring of consultancies and technical staff for the execution of the project, Materials and inputs, Equipment, Test and lab equipment, Installations and / or environmental and labor protection measures, Bibliographic material, trips, Software, Technical and maintenance services related to the project, Costs of protection of intellectual property, Licensing costs, Costs of specific building adaptation for the installation of equipments, Money for contingencies up to 5 % of the funding cost of the project, among others.ISRAEL 
   The funding includes any R&D related activity in the project.
7. Non-Funding ItemsURUGUAY 
   The following items cannot be included in the project: purchase of vehicles or property or any other element not directly related to the project. Equipment for the ramp- up shall neither be funded, except when it coincides with the one needed for the development of the project. With respect to construction work, those construction works exceeding 25% of the cost of the project or higher than an amount of U$S 30.000 shall not be funded.Only the incremental cost of the nominal wage of the technical, professional or managerial staff of the companies assigned to the development of the project may be funded. Neither the wages of the administrative staff nor the wages of the owners or managers of the proposing companies shall be funded.

   ISRAEL 
   The non-funding items included in the project are by Israeli national law.

8. Submission of Projects
   Mode – The requests for funding of projects on the part of the companies shall be promoted and administered through calls. The present Call is launched on March 27, 2017.The call will be remain open until December 8, 2017, with 3 cut-off dates:
   • May 31
   • August 25
   • December 8
     By each alternative cut-off date, partnering organizations will submit:
   • A bilateral cooperation form demonstrating the technological contribution of the participants from both countries, signed by both partners.
   • A funding application to the respective agency in their country.The requests shall be received through the corresponding online form (“Uruguay-Israel industrial R&D Program Cooperation Form”). The projects shall have to be guaranteed by all the companies taking part in the project, whether Uruguayan or Israeli.Profiles submission:

     Uruguayan:
     Uruguayan enterprises should fill out the on-line form.
     It is important that prior to the submission the enterprises will enter a project consultation at the link: http://www.anii.org.uy/web/innovacion.
     The documents to be presented at the profile phase are:

   • Bilateral Cooperation form signed by all participants.
   • Project profile, at Iberoeka format, signed by all the participants.
   • LOI signed by all the participants. The Uruguayan enterprises should present their application in the on-line form given by ANII.The projects will be evaluated in Uruguay, on the part of an Evaluation and Monitoring Committee for Innovation Programs (CESPE), which would decide on the suitability of the profile to the call and, if applicable, it shall request the submission of the final project. While in Israel, the profile is evaluated by the Israel Innovation Authority.ISRAEL 
   • The documents to be presented at the profile phase are:
     Bilateral Cooperation form signed by all participants.
   • The Israeli enterprises should send their application to Alan Hofman (alan.hofman@innovationisrael.org.il)Israeli enterprises should fill out the on-line form.Submission of final projects –once the Bilateral Form has been approved, the company shall be able to submit the final project through ANII and Israel Innovation Authority´s instruments. Once the approval of the proposal has been notified to the company, it shall have to submit the project within 30 calendar days.

     ISRAEL
     The Israeli partner is required to submit an application form in accordance with the Israel Innovation Authority regulations, through an online system following these guidelines.

9. Evaluation
   The evaluation process shall go through standards of formal eligibility, as well as technical and economic evaluation.Among the aspects of the technical evaluation are the following:
   • Innovative merit of the project: Evaluation of the type and degree of innovation that the execution of the project would entail. In the case of proposed projects in products, it shall run through a (this sentence is incomplete)
   • Risk analysis regarding technological uncertainty, market uncertainty, product uncertainty and systemic uncertainty.
   • Technical feasibility of the project: Evaluation of project feasibility from the technical viewpoint and the technical capacity of the team in order to take the project forward. It analyzes the work plan and the proposed technology option.
   • Economic feasibility of the project: Evaluation of market potential for the new product/process/service through the business plan created by the company, including economic and financial aspects, needed levels of investment, marketing, commercialization and distribution, among other aspects.
   • Financial contributions: Evaluation of the availability of financial resources on the part of the company and other funding for the execution of the project.In Uruguay, the evaluation process shall be carried out by ANII.In Israel, the evaluation process shall be carried out by the Israel Innovation Authority. The projects will gain final approval from a Joint committee of the two countries.
10. Formalization and Monitoring of the Projects
    The companies selected to be funded shall sign an agreement. Among other aspects, those related to the intellectual property of the project shall be set therein. Monitoring tasks shall take into account technical, economic and financial aspects. In the framework of these monitoring activities, the mid-term evaluation shall be essential in order to define the continuity of the support. A project closeout report shall be created. In order to create it, all the technical reports on the progress and the final technical report shall be taken into account, as well as accountability report submitted for the project.