EUROPEAN COMMISSION ENTERPRISE AND INDUSTRY DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Call for Proposals PROINNOEurope-ENT-CIP-09-C-N02S00 PRO INNO Europe : Fostering trans-national cooperation on support for innovation CIP-EIP Work Programme 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CONTEXT...3 2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL...3 2.1. Specific objectives in strand 1 - INNO-Partnering Forum...4 2.2. Specific objectives in strand 2 Better policies and instruments in support of world-class clusters...4 2.3. Specific objectives in strand 3 Better policies and instruments in support of innovation in services...5 2.4. Specific objectives in strand 4: Better policies and instruments in support of eco-innovation...5 2.5. Specific objectives in strand 5: European Innovation weeks...5 2.6. Specific objectives in strand 6: European Initiative for Excellence of Cluster Organisations...6 3. TIMETABLE...6 4. FINANCING...6 4.1. Co-financing and joint and several responsibility...8 4.2. Award of procurement contracts...8 5. ELIGIBILITY...8 6. SELECTION...10 6.1 Financial capacity...10 6.2 Professional and technical capacity...11 6.3 Selection criteria specific per strand...11 7. AWARD...14 8. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS...14 9. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY...15 10. PERSONAL DATA...15 11. ANNEX - GUIDE FOR APPLICANTS...15 2
1. CONTEXT PRO INNO Europe is an initiative of Directorate General Enterprise and Industry aiming at innovation policy analysis and cooperation in Europe, with a view to learning from the best and contributing to the development of new and better innovation policies in Europe. Launched in 2006, PRO INNO Europe has supported closer cooperation between innovation policy makers at different levels, thus contributing to the creation of a European Innovation Space. New innovation policy concepts were jointly developed and tested which helped improve their efficiency and more rapid implementation throughout Europe. PRO INNO Europe assists participating countries and their regions to better invest in innovation, by learning from others and sharing experience. With this new phase starting in 2009, PRO INNO Europe is launching a new set of initiatives that will focus on specific priority areas, such as clusters, ecoinnovation and services. The identification and further dissemination of good practice is no longer good enough. To make real progress, participating countries and regions have to work closer together in search of better practice in support of innovation and to undertake concrete steps to put this into practice. The proposed actions closely reflect the recommendations of the Communication "Putting knowledge into practice: A broad-based innovation strategy for the EU" 1, notably in relation to making the EU more innovation friendly through wide partnerships involving consumers and citizens and by promoting cooperation between stakeholders. The implementing measure responds to the specific objectives of the decision establishing the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) 2, Article 13, 14, 15 and 16. 2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL The proposed PRO INNO Europe actions will bring together public actors responsible for innovation with a view to fostering trans-national cooperation on support for innovation through different instruments. The call has 2 actions, each of them with one or more strands. Budget is allocated to each strand (see section 4). 1 COM(2006) 502 final. 2 Decision No 1639/2006/EC of 24/10/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the CIP, available at http://eurlex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2006:310:0015:0040:en:pdf
Action Strand Strand 1 - INNO-Partnering Forum Action 1: INNO- Nets Strand 2 - Better policies and instruments in support of world-class clusters Strand 3 Better policies and instruments in support of innovation in services Strand 4 Better policies and instruments in support of eco-innovation Action 2: INNO- Actions Strand 5 European Innovation weeks Strand 6 European Initiative for Excellence of Cluster Organisations 2.1. Specific objectives in strand 1 - INNO-Partnering Forum The INNO-Partnering Forum will serve as an operational platform for mutual learning and exchange of experience, with the objective to improve the overall quality and efficiency of public innovation support services in Europe. Besides that, the INNO-Partnering Forum is intended to: - identify the scope for better synergies between funding agencies; - offer a platform where funding agencies can jointly develop new approaches to innovation support; - facilitate the twinning between innovation agencies and innovation service providers from different participating countries, with the view to accelerating the take-up of the most advanced innovation support mechanisms. 2.2. Specific objectives in strand 2 Better policies and instruments in support of world-class clusters The main objective of this action is to contribute to improved cluster policies in Europe, by addressing in particular challenge of global competition between clusters. The action is intended to help to: - explore and test new forms of incentives for the internationalisation of clusters through pilot schemes; - maintain and further develop the European Cluster Alliance", which provides an efficient platform for policy learning and cooperation in the field of cluster policies. 4
2.3. Specific objectives in strand 3 Better policies and instruments in support of innovation in services The main objective of this action is to facilitate trans-national cooperation between innovation policy makers in view of further implementing the European Services Innovation Memorandum signed by different national and regional ministries and innovation agencies. The action is intended to help to: - identify emerging policy challenges resulting from service innovation developments; - design and test new policy concepts in response to them. This shall contribute to better and more efficient policies and instruments in support of innovation in services. Related to this, this action shall contribute to a better valorisation of the novel tools and instruments developed under Europe INNOVA. 2.4. Specific objectives in strand 4: Better policies and instruments in support of eco-innovation The main objectives of this action are: - to further understand eco-innovation dynamics and the role of public policies. This action should develop expertise on the role to be played by public policies and actors in this field; - to identify best practices in participating countries and preparing the ground for their extension, starting from the national roadmaps prepared by participating countries in the framework of the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP); - to explore and analyse the context of promising areas for eco-innovation, notably: 1) Green Public Procurement, 2) policies supporting innovative waste and recycling management and 3) international cooperation in diffusing environmental technologies; - to raise awareness and promote eco-innovation policies and thus to reinforce the 'ecoinnovation community'. This action should build upon the activities of the ETAP and related EU policies, in particular the Lead Markets Initiative and Sustainable Consumption and Production, as well as related policies in participating countries. Close relationship will be established with the 'Eco-innovation platform' and the 'Observatory of eco-innovation' under the Europe INNOVA initiative. 2.5. Specific objectives in strand 5: European Innovation weeks The main objective of the European Innovation Weeks is to bring innovation to the citizens, by showcasing regional excellence and innovativeness. Furthermore the action aims to: 5
- stimulate the regional dialogue and bring different institutions and organisations closer together, thus strengthening regional innovation systems and the overall commitment towards innovation; - highlight the innovation potential of companies in a given region, as well as the important role of external collaboration, e.g., with university and other firms; - help to raise the international profile of a city or region and thus contribute to building a strong region innovation identity. 2.6. Specific objectives in strand 6: European Initiative for Excellence of Cluster Organisations The objective of this action is to promote the professionalisation and excellence of cluster management in Europe. The aims are: - to raise the quality of services provided by cluster organisations to enterprises and foster the recognition of cluster management as a new profession, by promoting high quality standards of cluster organisations and offering training and coaching to cluster managers; - to create a community of cluster managers in Europe which will foster the further specialisation of cluster initiatives in Europe, by better identifying regional strengths and exploiting complementarities between them; - to improve the efficient use of public support of cluster organisations. 3. TIMETABLE Scheduled start-up date for the action: publication of call in November 2008 signature of grant agreement in June 2009 Maximum duration of actions is: 36 months. The period of eligibility of costs will start on the day the contract is signed by the last of the parties. If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed, expenditure may be authorised before the agreement is signed. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application. 4. FINANCING The maximum budget allocated for the operation is: 15,500,000 The maximum amount by project, the indicative number of projects and the EC cofinancing rate of eligible costs: 6
Action Strand Total indicative budget Max. number Max. EC cofinancing Max. funding of per project project rate s Strand 1 - INNO-Partnering Forum 3,000,000 1 3,000,000 95% Action 1: INNO-Nets Strand 2 - Better policies and instruments in support of worldclass clusters Strand 3 Better policies and instruments in support of innovation in services Strand 4 Better policies and instruments in support of ecoinnovation 2,500,000 1 2,500,000 95% 3,000,000 1 3,000,000 95% 3,000,000 1 3,000,000 95% Action 2: Strand 5 European Innovation weeks (2 years) 2,500,000 1 2,500,000 50% INNO-Actions Strand 6 European Initiative for Excellence of Cluster Organisations 1,500,000 1 1,500,000 50% Total 15,500,000 6 The duration of all strands is up to 36 months but Strand 5 (24 months). All strands will be implemented through Calls for Proposals 3. Please note that one action may give rise to the award of only one grant from the Community budget to any one beneficiary. The Commission reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested. The publication does not guarantee the availability of funds for the above action. The Commission grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary. Profit is defined as a surplus of receipts over costs. The amount of the grant will be reduced by the amount of any surplus. As concerns public servants, only costs additional to their routine activities will be considered as eligible costs. 3 A call for tender called "Action 3: Promotion of PRO INNO Europe Results" is being launched in parallel. 7
4.1. Co-financing and joint and several responsibility The beneficiary shall supply evidence of the co-financing provided, either by way of own resources, or in the form of financial transfers from third parties, or in kind. The Commission may accept co-financing in kind, if considered necessary or appropriate. In such cases the value of such contributions cannot cover all the necessary co-financing. The applicants shall provide an explicit undertaking from each co-financing organisation to provide the amount of funding stated in the grant application for the operation. They shall agree upon appropriate arrangements between themselves for the proper performance of the action. In particular shall they agree on joint and several responsibility for any amount due to the Commission by anyone of them, limited to their level of responsibility by the special conditions of the grant agreement. 4.2. Award of procurement contracts Where implementation of the assisted actions requires the award of procurement contracts, beneficiaries of grants shall award the contract to the tender offering best value for money, that is to say, to the tender offering the best price-quality ratio in compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment. Where implementation of the assisted actions requires the award of a procurement contract with a value of more than 60 000, the authorising officer responsible may require beneficiaries to abide by special rules based on rules contained in the Financial Regulation and determined with due regard for the value of the contracts concerned, the relative size of the Community contribution in relation to the total cost of the action and the risk. Such special rules shall be included in the grant decision or agreement. In-house consultants will need to be categorised as contractors. Core tasks may not be the object of procurement contracts. Please refer to the Guide for Applicants (chapter IV.4) for further details on the awarding of procurement contracts. The award of contracts does not limit the responsibilities of beneficiaries. 5. ELIGIBILITY Applicants and applications must comply with the following conditions in order to be eligible: Applicants must be legal entities established in an eligible country as defined in Article 4 of the CIP and chapter VI.1 of the Guide for Applicants ; Corporate bodies must be properly constituted and registered under the law; Applications must be signed, dated and complete, using the submission requirements; Applications must be received before the closing date mentioned; Only applications for projects that are strictly non-profit-making and/or whose immediate objective is non-commercial shall be eligible. 8
Moreover, according to article 93 of the Financial Regulation (Council regulation N 1605/2002) mentioned below, candidates shall be excluded from participation in a grant procedure if: a. they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; b. they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata; c. they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify; d. they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; e. they have been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests; f. are currently subject to an administrative penalty as referred to in Article 96 (1) of the Financial Regulations. By using the Exclusion Form (attached to the Guide for Applicants ), applicants shall declare on their honour that they are not in one of the situations listed above. The authorising officer responsible may however request the evidence described in the Exclusion Form above mentioned. In such case, applicants shall be bound to supply such proof, unless there is a material impossibility recognised by the authorising officer responsible. In addition and according to article 94 of the Financial Regulation mentioned below, grants may not be awarded to candidates who, during the award procedure: g. are subject to a conflict of interest; h. are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information; i. find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion referred to in point a to f for this call for proposals. Please note that, according to article 96 of the Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) n 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities and according to article 133 of the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) n 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 as last modified by Regulation 478/2007 of 23 April 2007, laying down detailed rules for the implementation 9
of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial penalties may be imposed by the Commission on applicants who are excluded in relation to points a) to h) above mentioned. Applicants may act in consortium with partner organisations. All partners must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as those for applicants. All proposals that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be evaluated in the selection phase in order to determine their financial and technical capacity. Eligible applicants are consortia only. In details: For strand 1, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and maximum 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1) representing public organisations or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority. For strand 2, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1) representing public organisations or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority. For strand 3, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1) representing public organisations or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority. For strand 4, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1) representing public organisations or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority. For strand 5, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1) representing public organisations or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority. For strand 6, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries (see chapter IV.1). Finally, any project that directly or indirectly stands in contrast to EU policy or against public health, human rights, citizen s security and freedom of expression will be rejected. 6. SELECTION The selection will be based on the applicants financial and technical capacity to complete the proposed action. 6.1 Financial capacity For the financial capacity, applicants must show they have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the action and to play a part in financing it. To that end, they will include in the proposal information on their annual accounts for the last two financial years (i.e. profit and loss accounts; balance 10
sheet). In conformity with Article 176 of the Implementation Rules of the Financial Regulations, the verification of the financial capacity will not be applied to public bodies. Where the proposed amount requested from the Commission exceeds 500.000 per partner organisation, a, audit report on those accounts must be provided before conclusion of the grant agreement. For applying consortia, the audit report is applicable to the level of individual organisation and not to the level of the consortium. 6.2 Professional and technical capacity Applicants must show that they have the professional and technical capacity to complete the operation and must demonstrate their capacity to manage a large-scale activity corresponding with the size of the action for which a grant is requested. In particular, the team responsible for the action must have adequate professional qualifications and experience. Applicants will therefore include in the proposal curriculum vitae of the main members of the team that will actually be performing the work and professional references and details of similar past projects. Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action, not acting as an intermediary. They must provide information about their capacity to carry out the expected activities and demonstrate their experience in working with other parties in trans-national projects. The coordinator must demonstrate a strong management experience of international consortia of relevant size. In addition, applicants must add a statement of the average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff of the beneficiary in the last three years and clearly indicate the proportion of the grant agreement which the applicants intend to subcontract. 6.3 Selection criteria specific per strand For strand 1, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and maximum 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: Public organisations such as national and regional public authorities and public innovation funding agencies or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority, responsible for the implementation of innovation support programmes and actions; The partners should be very committed to share experience and work together in support of innovative SMEs in Europe. Participating organisations should have a strong interest in trans-national cooperation with other ministries or innovation agencies responsible for the design and/or management of innovation support programmes and actions and the necessary expertise and resources to carry out the proposed activities. Each partner should be prepared to undertake the role of team-leader for one activity (work package) of the project. 11
For strand 2, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: Public organisations such as national and regional public authorities and public funding agencies or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority, designing and/or managing cluster support programmes and actions; The project partners should have a long experience in developing and managing cluster programmes and good experience on international activities. The partners should be very committed to work together for developing world-class clusters in Europe and share the political orientations of the European Cluster Memorandum. In this respect, they are strongly encouraged to sign this Memorandum. The partners should be very committed to work together and be interested in strengthening international aspects in national cluster programmes and initiatives. The partner responsible for animating the work within the Alliance should have strong experience in managing large groups of partners and animating their work. Each partner should be prepared to undertake the role of team-leader for one activity (work package) of the project. For strand 3, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: Public organisations such as national and regional public authorities and public innovation funding agencies or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority, responsible for the design and/or implementation of innovation support programmes and actions and involved in the support to innovation in services; Each partner should have strong experience in the design and/or implementation of innovation support programmes and actions in the field of services, as well as the financial and organisational means to launch pilot actions at own initiative and expense. Participating organisations should have a strong interest in trans-national cooperation with other ministries or innovation agencies responsible for the design and/or management of innovation support programmes and actions in the field of services and the necessary expertise and resources to carry out the proposed activities. Each partner should be prepared to undertake the role of team-leader for one activity (work package) of the project. For strand 4, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: 12
Public organisations such as national and regional public authorities and public innovation funding agencies or other organisations acting on behalf of a public authority, responsible for the design and/or implementation of innovation support programmes and actions and involved in the support to eco-innovation; Each partner should be prepared to strengthen their own efforts to support the emergence and growth of eco-innovation, both through their own activities and through activities developed jointly with other institutions in the same or in other countries. Each partner should be prepared to develop strategies on the promotion of ecoinnovation, to develop expertise on understanding and assessing public policies and instruments supporting eco-innovation, to identify specific needs of eco-innovation actors and develop new business services addressing these needs. Participating organisations should have an interest to strengthen the trans-national cooperation between eco-innovation stakeholders to create strategic linkages among ministries, innovation agencies, educational institutions and business to enable mutual policy learning and search for better practices. Each partner should be prepared to undertake the role of team-leader for one activity (work package) of the project. For strand 5, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: Public organisations such as national and regional public authorities and public innovation funding agencies or other organisation acting on behalf of a public authority, responsible for the design and/or implementation of innovation support programmes and actions. Partners are required to have a proven record of mobilization of stakeholders and access to citizens on the innovation topic. In order to organise the European Innovation Weeks in 6 cities or regions in different countries, a partner of the consortium must have its base in one of the 6 regions to mobilise stakeholders locally or regionally. For strand 6, the applying consortia shall include a minimum of 3 partners established in minimum three different eligible countries with the following specific characteristics: Public or private organisations with strong experience in quality management of cluster organisations. Non-for-profit organisations representing cluster organisations or cluster managers at European level. The consortium should have an ability to mobilize cluster organisations and cluster managers across Europe. The partners should have an interest in maintaining the European Label for Cluster Management Excellence sustainable after the project end. 13
7. AWARD An evaluation of the quality of proposals, including the proposed budget, will be carried out in accordance with the following award criteria: 1) Strand 1, Strand 2, Strand 3 and Strand 4: 1. Relevance /15 2. Visibility /15 3. Impact /30 4. Quality /25 5. Budget and Cost-effectiveness /15 Maximum total score /100 2) Strand 5 and Strand 6: 1. Relevance /20 2. Visibility /20 3. Impact /20 4. Quality /20 5. Budget and Cost-effectiveness /20 Maximum total score /100 If a total score lower than 70 points or a score lower than 50% for any of the above five criteria is obtained, the proposal will not be evaluated further. The complete selection and evaluation procedure is described in point IV of the submission set. Please note that, in case of award, the beneficiary authorises the Commission, to publish the following information in any form and medium, including via the Internet: - the beneficiary s name and the address, - the subject and purpose of the grant, - the amount granted and the proportion of the action s total cost covered by the funding. 8. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS Proposals must be submitted electronically, using the Commission's Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS). Proposals arriving at the Commission by any other means are regarded as not submitted, and will not be evaluated. You can access the EPSS from the call Web site (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/funding/files/themes_2008/ calls_prop.htm) when the online service will be available. Full instructions will be found in the EPSS preparation and submission guide also available on the call Web site. The most important point is that the EPSS will be closed for this call at call deadline. After this moment, access to the EPSS for this call will be impossible. 14
Reminder: Late submission will lead to the applicant being excluded from the award procedure. 9. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY The European Community has the task to promote equality between women and men and shall aim in all its activities to eliminate gender inequalities (articles 2 and 3 of the EC Treaty). In this context, women are particularly encouraged to be involved in proposal submission. 10. PERSONAL DATA Your grant application will be processed by computer. All personal data (such as names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. 4 Your replies to the questions in the submission set are necessary in order to assess your grant application and they will be processed solely for that purpose by the department responsible for the Community grant programme concerned. On request, you may be sent personal data and correct or complete them. For any question relating to these data, please contact the Commission department to which the application must be returned. Beneficiaries may lodge a complaint against the processing of their personal data with the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time. 11. ANNEX - GUIDE FOR APPLICANTS The guide for applicants and its annexes needed to prepare a proposal can be downloaded at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/funding/files/themes_2008/calls_prop.htm 4 Official Journal L 8, 12.1.2001. 15