KARNATAKAA (INDIA) - ISRAEL PROGRAM FOR INDUSTRIAL R&D (KIRD) A Bilateral Framework providing financial support for collaborative industrial R&D ventures between Karnataka and Israeli companies Funding Department Karnatakaa Funding Agency Karnataka Implementation Agency Israeli Funding Ministry/Department Israeli Implementationn Agency Department of Science & Technology Government of Karnatakaa Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology Office of the Chief Scientist, Ministry of Economy MATIMOP Israeli Industry Center for R&D CONTENTS 1. ABOUT THE PROGRAMME 2. AREAS IN WHICH APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED 3. WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY 4. KEY CRITERIA FOR SELECTION 5. PARTNER MATCHING SERVICE 6. FUNDING SUPPORT 7. THE APPLICATION PROCESS 8. DEADLINES & RELEVANT DATES 9. CONTACTS KIRD Programme: Information for Applicants Page 1
1. ABOUT THE PROGRAMME With the goal of supporting joint industrial R&D projects between Israeli and Karnataka-based companies, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in March 2013 between MATIMOP The Israeli Industry Center for R&D, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) in Israel; and the Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) and the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST), autonomous organizations under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka, in India. Under the MOU, a program was established, referred to hereinafter as the Karnataka Israel Program for Industrial R&D (KIRD), to create mechanisms through which small/medium scale industries located in Karnataka, may seek funding support for joint bilateral research and development (R&D) projects, involving at least one company from Israel. This bilateral framework is jointly implemented and promoted by KSTePS & KSCST, under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka, in Karnataka, India; and MATIMOP, the Israeli Industry Center for R&D, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) in Israel. These guidelines and information are specific to the Karnataka Israel Program for Industrial R&D (KIRD), for projects submitted under a current Call for Proposals (CFP). KSCST & KSTePS and MATIMOP invite Karnataka-based companies and Israeli companies to submit proposals for bilateral industrial research and development projects. 2. AREAS IN WHICH APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED This call is open to projects, based on merit, that include science and technology (S&T) development leading to commercial success, social good and benefit to both countries, in all technology fields. However, the following areas would be given priority for the current Call for Proposals: Nanotechnology and its applications Technology for Water & Waste Water Management in Urban and Rural Areas Technologies to Harness Solar Energy Biotechnology & its applications Aero and Space technology 3. WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY Under this scheme only companies / firms that qualify as small / medium as per the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (Under the said Act a small enterprise means a company having an investment in plant and machinery between Rs. 25.00 Lakhs and Rs. 5.00 Crores and a medium enterprise is one which has investment more than Rs. 5.00 Crores but not exceeding Rs. 10.00 Crores.) are eligible. Companies to qualify under this scheme must have their own R&D Center / must show inclination to set up dedicated R&D centre within the first year of the project specifically with people and activities to support the project. Each proposal must include an eligible lead industrial partner each from the State of Karnataka and Israel. Although it is not mandatory, projects that engage a technology developer and a technology end-user/first customer are strongly encouraged. The program provides partner-matching assistance wherever needed. KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 2
3.1 Karnataka Applicants Eligible Karnataka applicants include: researchers and managers representing Karnataka-based companies which operate and are headquartered in the State of Karnataka. Please note: 1. Sole proprietors and partnership firms are not eligible for support under this Call for Proposals (CFP); 2. Companies must be incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and should maintain a minimum of 51% Indian ownership. 3. The company should be registered with the Registrar of Companies, Karnataka at Bangalore and should have their registered office / Head Quarters in the State of Karnataka. 4. The company should be achieving a minimum of 30% Domestic Value Addition for a specific product segment. 5. Company should have employed at least 50% of its work force from Karnataka. 6. Representatives from subsidiaries of firms headquartered and owned outside Karnataka are not eligible to receive funding or subsidies from this program. 7. Would be required to commit investment of minimum 50% of the sanctioned project cost from its own sources of funds. 3.2 Israeli Applicants Eligible applicants will be R&D performing Israeli registered companies operating in Israel. 4. KEY CRITERIA FOR SELECTION a) An eligible company / a cluster of companies within the province of Karnataka or Israel will be responsible for the development and submission of the joint application. b) At least one company each, from either of the respective State/country engaged in S&T product development &/or processes, should express a desire to cooperate in the research and development of a new product or a new process. c) Projects seeking funds under this scheme should have at least one company from Karnataka fulfilling the criteria specified at point 2 at section 3.1. d) The project may involve more than one company from each side; academic/research entities are eligible to join as support systems to fulfil the objectives of the projects submitted for consideration. e) The product proposed to be developed should be innovative with significant commercial potential and utility to both the partnering province / country and fairly ready for the market within a reasonably short turnaround time (say12 18 months). The joint industrial R&D project should aim at development of products/processes leading to commercialisation in the global market, besides societal benefits for their region. The project partners should agree in advance on the IP rights and on the commercialisation strategy of the product or process. (*Note: For the submission phase, only a preliminary agreement or MoU is required, however the final agreement has to be presented to the funding authorities, subsequently.) KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 3
f) The project should demonstrate the contribution of the participants from both the sides. g) The project must be balanced between participants and significant to both partners. h) The project period is generally between less than 24 months. However, wherever warranted, there can be an extension, after due scrutiny, for a further period. The entire project period shall, under no circumstance can extend beyond 36 months. The project should lead to a clear commercialisation of a product/ process, besides societal benefits for the region. Any partner whose cooperative R&D project is consistent with the aforesaid criteria can apply to the present Call for Proposal (CFP) in accordance with the national Laws, Rules, Regulations and Procedures in effect. 5. PARTNER-MATCHING SERVICE The Karnataka Israel Program for Industrial R&D (KIRD) would offer partner matching service for companies who seek project partners for joint submission. Interested parties will have to submit a Partner Matching Form to the program manager. The partner search form can be submitted anytime, and actually should be submitted as soon as possible after a call is launched - prior to the Bilateral Application Form (BAF). BAF can only be submitted if partners already exist. 6. FUNDING SUPPORT & TERMS OF REPAYMENT Funding support will be provided to each partner through its own Implementing & Funding Organisation (either KSTePS & KSCST/DST-GOK in Karnataka or MATIMOP/OCS in Israel) in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect. In Karnataka 1. Funding will be limited to 50% of the project cost with an upper limit of Rs. 250 lakhs (approx) per project on the Karnataka side. (This means, if the total Project Cost is Rs.1000 Lakhs, the Karnataka applicants will be eligible for consideration of funding upto an extent of Rs. 250 Lakhs only from all Government sources, including through KSTePS/ KSCST and the remaining funds equivalent to Rs. 500 Lakhs coming from Israel). 2. Karnataka industry desirous of being considered under this scheme has to indicate investment from its own source, by up to 50% of the project cost. 3. Before the sanction of funds under KIRD, an agreement is required to be executed by the industry partner for the jointly approved project with the KSCST, DST-GOK. 4. Government of Karnataka funds are in the form of a. Conditional Grant - as per the recommendation of the Project Evaluation Committee, the grantee company may have to commit to a specific proportion of the grant received, to be repaid in the form of products developed under the project to support fulfilling the social responsibility of the government (eg. If the company has developed a specific gadget, say a water purifier / low cost lighting system then this device needs to be given to government through one of its agencies / departments to be deployed in a certain part of the state for the benefit of the society. b. participating R&D group / Academic Institution along with a commercial entity may be considered for a grant in Aid support by the Project Evaluation Committee, keeping in view the requirement for product development. c. The Government, may consider extending support in up scaling the activity where the supported project has shown a very promising product or technology having KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 4
commercial / social value thereby leading to direct / indirect benefits to the state and its people. 5. The funds would be released in phases with completion of agreed upon landmarks / fulfilment of objectives. In Israel 1. Financial support may be provided in the form of a soft loan to the selected projects under the call. 2. The total funding from the Government of Israel via the OCS will not exceed 50% of the eligible and approved costs of the R&D, in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations. 3. For the Israeli Companies when a project results in sales related directly to the funded project, repayments of the grant will be made according to OCS regulations (see http://www.moital.gov.il/nr/exeres/1721f413-0063-4abc-a7ee-34e41648995c.htm). 7. THE APPLICATION PROCESS a. APPLICATIONS To ensure the effective delivery of the CFP and reinforce the principles of bilateral partnership, MATIMOP and KSCST in consultation with KSTePS will employ a joint, two-step application process for each Call for Proposals. 7.1.1. Step 1: Bilateral Application Form (BAF) A BAF provides a summary of the proposed project with enough detail for the reviewers to make an initial assessment of the merits of the project. Submission of a BAF is mandatory, and is the first required document that companies must submit. The form should be filled out by both applicants together, and identical copies should be submitted to the program managers in India and Israel on or before the mutually agreed upon deadline September 17, 2013 to be eligible for further consideration. The Bilateral Application Form (BAF) must be sent in softcopy via email simultaneously to both the Implementing Organisations - KSCST in Karnataka, India and MATIMOP in Israel - within the deadline of the particular call period. The BAF must be signed by both Karnataka and Israeli partners, and must include a Letter of Intent or MOU detailing IP plans for the project. Incomplete BAF template or BAFs submitted in any other format will not be accepted. KSCST and MATIMOP will acknowledge the receipt of all BAFs within five working days of receipt. The BAF would then be referred for technical review. This process may take around 30 to 45 days from the date of receipt of the BAF. Upon approval, the companies will receive notification as to whether or not they can move to Step 2 in the application process. If approved, companies will be requested to submit a full project proposal to their local implementing agency - separately but in parallel, in Karnataka and Israel, based on local requirements, normally within 45 days. KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 5
7.1.2 Step 2: KIRD Full Project Proposal (FPP) The deadline for the KIRD Full Proposal Format application is based on the mutually agreed upon published date November 15, 2013.. Partners meeting all eligibility criteria and whose BAFs are approved will be invited to submit the KIRD Full Project Proposal (FPP) no later than the agreed upon deadline, according to the procedures and rules that apply in their country/state for Karnataka-based companies, based on the rules and instructions of KSCST/KSTePS and the Department of Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka; and for Israeli companies, based on the rules and regulations of the OCS respectively, Applicants are required to follow the local requirements and use the provided application format with instructions (placed in the KSCST website for downloading) and submit their proposal. Proposals that are not in the approved format will not be accepted. Applications submitted after the deadline of the call period will be considered eligible for the next call period. In Karnataka The Karnataka partner is required to submit 10 hard copies and an electronic version on a CD of the completed and signed KIRD Full Project Proposal (As per the Format) to KSCST at the coordinates provided at the end of the document. Instructions and required forms will be provided to applicants. Each application must be signed by an official who is legally responsible for the project and endorsed by the chief executive or leader of the applicant organization. Electronic signatures will be accepted on applications submitted to KSCST and MATIMOP. In Israel The Israeli partner is required to submit an OCS National Application form in accordance with the OCS regulations, through an online system. A signed copy of the Bilateral Application Form is required to be uploaded as well. The application in the prescribed format should be submitted to MATIMOP as well at the coordinates provided at the end of the document. Please review the Guidelines for Israeli Companies document for more information. 7.2 EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF THE PROJECTS KSCST in Karnataka, India and OCS/MATIMOP in Israel will carry out an independent evaluation of the joint R&D application and will select the eligible project to be financially supported in accordance with their State Laws and Regulations. The successful projects will be jointly selected by the two funding organizations at a KIRD Joint Committee Meeting based on the project criteria and requirements specified in the application form. Companies who receive joint approval will be notified by their local implementing or funding agency. KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 6
7.3 NOTIFICATIONS OF THE RESULTS Parties whose projects have been selected will be informed of the result and the amount of funding for the successful projects by their respective implementing organization in a timely manner. 8. DEADLINES & RELEVANT DATES Item Date/Deadline Details Launch of 1 st Call for Proposal June 17, 2013 Companies are invited to submit applications (BAFs) and partner search forms BAF Deadline & Close of 1 st Call for Proposal September 17, 2013 Deadline for Submitting BAF Notification to Companies BAF October 1, 2013 Companies are notified of Approval approval of BAF and requested to prepare FPP (on or before this date) KI-RD Full Project Proposal (FPP) November 15, 2013 Deadline for Submitting FPP Deadline Evaluation Period November 30, 2013 to January 15, 2014 KI-RD Joint Committee February, 2014 **Estimated Date, subject to change Notification to Companies FPP March 2014 **Estimated Date, subject to Approval change 9. CONTACTS ISRAEL Hadas Kroitoru Programme Manager India MATIMOP Israeli Industry Center for R&D Tel-Aviv 61500, Israel 29 Hamered St. (P. O. Box 50364) www.matimop.org.il Tel: +972 3 5118117 Fax: +972 3 5177655 Email: Hadas@matimop.org.il KARNATAKA Dr. M.Prithviraj Executive Secretary Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) Indian Institute of Science campus Bangalore- 560 012 Phone: 91-80- 23341652/ 23348848 Fax: 91-80-23348840 Website : http://kscst.iisc.ernet.in/kird.html http://kscst.org.in/kird.html Email: kird@kscst.iisc.ernet.in KIRD Program: Information for Applicants Page 7