Notice

Competition guidance for EUREKA collaborative R&D: advanced materials, March 2020

Published 5 March 2020

1. Dates and deadlines

Competition opens	5 March 2020
Final date for registration for Innovate UK FTP site access	Midday 12pm UK time, 24 June 2020
Online briefing event	11 March 2020
Deadline for Innovate UK submission (including EUREKA project application form) by FTP	5pm British summer time (6pm central European summer time) 30 June 2020
Deadline for submission of only the EUREKA project application form (by email)	5pm British summer time (6pm central European summer time) 30 June 2020
UK point of contact notified	23 October 2020
Expected project start date by	1 February 2021

Your start date will depend on the national funding procedures of the countries involved in your project but must be between 1 December 2020 and 1 February 2021 (inclusive). Projects can last up to 3 years.

You must read the competition brief before you make your application. It contains information on requirements, eligibility and funding.

2. Assessment and selection process

Eligibility and scope check

Only applications that meet the Innovate UK eligibility criteria and scope of the competition will be sent for assessment. The UK point of contact will be notified if your application is ineligible or out of scope with a full explanation as to why. Innovate UK has the right to declare applications as out of scope.

Assessment

Once the scope and eligibility checks have been completed, all applications that are both eligible and in scope are sent for assessment. All applications will be assessed on individual merit based on both the national and international aspects of the EUREKA project.

For this competition, Innovate UK has the right to use a portfolio approach. This is based on independent expert assessment.

Innovate UK’s assessment process involves the following general terms:

• all eligible and in scope applications are assessed by up to 5 external UK assessors who are experts in the area of advanced materials
• assessors will base their assessment on both the EUREKA project application form and the Innovate UK application form
• UK assessors will score applications consistently and in line with scoring matrices
• UK assessors will provide written feedback for each marked question reflecting on the national and international aspects of the application
• the UK nominated point of contact will be notified of the funding decision
• all assessed applications with UK grant claiming partners in the competition will receive UK assessor feedback

In parallel to Innovate UK’s application assessment, all the other national funding agencies of the participating countries in the EUREKA call for proposals for joint R&D projects on advanced materials will conduct their own independent assessments according to their national procedures.

A selection panel consisting of representatives from the participating national funding agencies will decide on the projects to be recommended for funding. The selection will be based on the results of the individual national assessments while taking into account the funding available from each participating country.

Notification

The funding decision will be emailed to the UK point of contact using the address provided in the Innovate UK application form.

Feedback

Approximately 4 weeks after the funding notification email, Innovate UK will provide feedback to all applications that have been sent for assessment. The nominated UK point of contact can access and download the feedback by signing in to the secure FTP site. It is their responsibility to communicate the feedback to the rest of the consortium. No additional feedback is provided from Innovate UK.

3. How to apply

Before you apply into this competition, it is important to understand the whole application process.

Applications with UK grant claiming partners have 5 parts:

1. EUREKA project application form, which must include all partner signatures in both a PDF editable version and a scanned signed version.
2. Innovate UK application form, along with the required supporting documentation listed below.

3.1 EUREKA project application form

The lead applicant must download the EUREKA project application form and work with the EUREKA project partners to complete it. The completed form must be emailed by the lead applicant to MaterialsKoreaCall2020@eurekanetwork.org by 6pm central European summer time ( 5pm British summer time) on 30 June 2020. Your email subject line must be: Materials multilateral call 2020

On the EUREKA project application form, UK partners must provide costs and duration only for the ‘implementation phase’ and leave the ‘definition phase’ empty.

The EUREKA project application form will be checked for completeness and eligibility according to the national conditions of the participating countries and associated funding agencies as part of the EUREKA call for proposals for joint R&D projects on advanced materials.

You must also submit these annexes:

1. Annex 1: additional project information.
2. Annex 2: one project budget for each partner.
3. Annex 3: Gantt diagram.

3.2 Innovation UK application process and UK point of contact

This competition uses Innovate UK’s document-based process for application submission which requires an online registration. If there are several UK partners, you must nominate one organisation as the UK point of contact. This person must register to submit the application and required documentation to Innovate UK.

You will receive an email from Innovate UK acknowledging your registration followed by a second email up to 48 hours later. The second email will contain:

• a username and password for our secure upload facility (FTP site)
• a unique application number
• the Innovate UK application form

Once you have received your unique username and password, you can sign in to the secure website, where you will be able to access the templates and forms listed below.

Submit your documents

The UK partners of the EUREKA project consortium must work together to prepare the following documents for their UK point of contact to submit to the Innovate UK secure FTP site:

• the completed EUREKA project application form
• the completed Innovate UK application form
• a Je-S form for each UK registered academic institution
• a project finance form for each UK partner in your project that will receive funding
• the 2 mandatory appendices as PDF documents to support your answer to questions 7 (project management) and 8 (risks)
• the 3 mandatory Eureka annexes listed above
• the 3 optional appendices, if appropriate, as PDF documents to support your answers to questions 2 (approach and innovation), 3 (team and resources) and 5 (outcomes and route to market)

Innovate UK application form

The application form will ask you to provide details of the lead organisation as stated on the EUREKA project application form, and those of the UK point of contact.

Please make sure that you upload the final version of your application by the UK deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not upload blank or incomplete documents.

Appendices

All appendices must follow the file name and page limits listed with the application questions below. If the mandatory appendices are not submitted with your application it will be ineligible and not sent for assessment.

Terminology

The terminology differs between EUREKA and Innovate UK. The lead applicant is responsible for the entire project but EUREKA uses the term ‘main participant’. For partners in the collaboration it uses ‘other participants’.

4. Innovate UK application form

This section explains the structure of the Innovate UK application form and offers guidance on what to answer in each question.

The structure is as follows:

• application details
• summary of proposed project
• public description of the project
• gateway question: scope
• question 1: need or challenge
• question 2: approach and innovation (including optional appendix)
• question 3: team and resources (including optional appendix)
• question 4: market awareness
• question 5: outcomes and route to market (including optional appendix)
• question 6: wider impacts
• question 7: project management (including mandatory appendix)
• question 8: risks (including mandatory appendix)
• question 9: added value
• question 10: costs and value for money
• other funding from public sector bodies
• finance summary table

Field	Guidance
Competition name	This field is completed automatically.
Document ID	This field is completed automatically.
Applicant number	This field is completed automatically and is the reference that you should use on all correspondence (this is the 5 or 6 digit number after the dash).
Application details
Project title	Enter the full title of the project.
Research category	Please select the category that reflects the majority of your work from the drop down list (industrial research or experimental development).
Project timescales	Enter the estimated start date and planned duration. These are indicative at this stage and are not guaranteed.
Lead organisation name	Enter the full registered name of the lead applicant for the project as stated on the EUREKA project application form.
Lead organisation contact details	Enter the full name, postcode, email address and telephone number of the lead applicant.
UK point of contact	Enter the full registered name of the UK point of contact for the project (if different from the lead applicant).
UK point of contact details	Enter the full name, postcode, email address and telephone number of the UK point of contact with Innovate UK and the project (if different from the lead applicant).

You must follow these rules:

• only use the application form provided as it contains specific information including a unique reference number for your project
• submit a fully completed form as incomplete forms will be ineligible
• do not alter the application form, convert it or save it as a different version of Microsoft Word
• restrict your responses in each of the fields to the restricted space provided
• do not try to change the typeface, font size or colour
• do not include illustrations and graphics
• do not try to overwrite the light grey shaded fields as these are completed automatically from other information entered on the form, such as the total columns of a table
• you should be able to see your total answer to the question when looking at the application form in print view. Any text that cannot be seen in this view or when the form is printed will not be assessed

Summary of proposed project (not scored)

Please provide a short summary of the content and objectives of the EUREKA project including what is innovative about it.

This summary is not scored, but provides an introduction to your proposal for the benefit of Innovate UK staff and assessors only. It will not be shared publicly. It should cover, in brief:

• need or challenge: the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity to be targeted
• approach and innovation: the approach to be taken and how this will improve on current state-of-the-art
• outcomes: the difference the project will make to the competitiveness and productivity of the partners involved

Public description of the project (not scored)

To comply with government practice on openness and transparency of public-funded activities, Innovate UK has to publish information relating to funded projects. Please provide a short description of the EUREKA proposal in a way that will be understandable to the general public. Do not include any commercially confidential information, for example intellectual property or patent details.

Describe your project.

Gateway question: scope

How does this application align with the specific competition scope?

Your answer must show that a clear majority of the project’s objectives and activities are aligned with the scope described in the competition brief.

5. Competition questions

All questions apply to all UK project partners and are scored out of 10 marks. Your answer must be no longer than the space provided using font Arial 11. Each answer will be assessed and scored taking into account the EUREKA proposal submitted through the separate EUREKA project application form.

Question 1: Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Describe or explain:

• the main motivation for the EUREKA project
• the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity
• why international collaboration is deemed necessary to address the need, challenge or opportunity
• the nearest current state-of-the-art (including those near-market/in development) and its limitations
• any work you, the UK partners and/or the partners of the EUREKA consortium as a whole, have already done to respond to this need, for example whether the project is focused on developing an existing capability or building a new one
• the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural and/or political challenges in both the domestic and international space which are influential in creating the opportunity (for example, incoming regulations). Our Horizons tool can help

Question 2: Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Describe or explain:

• how the EUREKA project proposes to respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified
• how it will improve on the nearest current state-of-the-art identified
• where the focus of the innovation will be in the project (application of existing technologies in new areas, development of new technologies for existing areas or a totally disruptive approach) and the freedom you have to operate
• how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings, focusing on the UK participation
• how it will make you more competitive focusing on the UK participation
• the nature of the outputs you expect from the project (for example, report, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design) and how these will take you closer to targeting the need, challenge or opportunity identified

In a separate appendix named ‘AppendixQ2(application number)’ you must submit in PDF format up to 2 A4 pages to support your answer.

Question 3: Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Describe or give details of:

• the roles, skills and relevant experience of all of the UK partners in relation to the approach the EUREKA project will be taking
• the current relationships between the UK and the EUREKA partners and how these will change as a result of the project
• the resources, equipment and facilities required for the project and how you will access them
• any vital external parties, including sub-contractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
• why any participants from other countries, not amongst the participating countries of the EUREKA call for proposals for joint R&D projects on advanced materials, are necessary and how they will finance it

In a separate appendix named ‘AppendixQ3(application number)’ you must submit in PDF format up to 4 A4 pages to support your answer.

Question 4: Market awareness

What does the market you are targeting look like?

Specify the markets (domestic and/or international) you will be targeting in the EUREKA project as a whole and any other potential markets.

For the target markets, describe:

• the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by appropriate references where available
• the structure and dynamics of the market (for example, customer segmentation), together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
• the main supply/value chains and business models in operation (and any barriers to entry)
• the current UK position in targeting these markets

For highly innovative projects, where the market may be unexplored, explain:

• what its size might be
• how your EUREKA project will explore the market potential

Question 5: Outcomes and route to market

How do you propose to grow your business and increase your productivity into the long term as a result of the project? The main focus should be on the UK participation.

Describe or explain:

• your current position in the markets and supply/value chains outlined and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
• your target customers and/or end users, and the value proposition to them (why would they use or buy it?)
• your route to market including any joined-up exploitation amongst the EUREKA consortium and the associated relationship between the UK and the EUREKA partners
• how you are going to profit from the innovation (increased revenues or cost reduction)
• how the innovation will impact your productivity and growth (in the short and long-term)
• how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to business model
• your strategy for targeting the other markets identified during or after the project

If there is any UK registered research organisation activity in the project, describe:

• your plans to disseminate project research outputs over a reasonable timescale
• how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities
• if you are an RTO, how you plan to exploit the project results to grow the advanced materials sector in the UK

In a separate appendix named ‘AppendixQ5(application number)’ you can submit in PDF format up to 2 A4 pages to support your answer.

Question 6: Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the EUREKA project consortium?

Identify, and where possible measure, the economic benefits (such as productivity increases and import substitution) to those outside the project, such as:

• customers
• others in the supply chain
• broader industry
• and economies in participating countries

Identify, and where possible measure, any expected social impacts, either positive or negative on, for example:

• quality of life
• social inclusion and exclusion
• jobs (safeguarded, created, changed, displaced)
• education
• public empowerment
• health and safety
• regulations
• diversity
• any expected impact on the priorities of the governments in both the UK and the collaborating country or countries

Identify, and where possible measure, any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative.

Identify, and where relevant quantify, any other expected global, national or regional impacts of the project.

Question 7: Project management

How will you manage the project effectively?

Describe or outline:

• the main work packages of the EUREKA project as a whole, indicating the relevant research category and the partners assigned to each, and the allocated resources for each work package with a clear explanation of the UK related work
• the EUREKA collaboration’s approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms that will be used to ensure a successful project outcome, highlighting the project’s approach to managing the most innovative aspects of the project
• the management reporting lines amongst the partners in the EUREKA collaboration
• your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages, deliverables, milestones and EUREKA collaboration partners

In a separate appendix named ’AppendixQ7(application number)’ you must submit in PDF format a work breakdown structure, project plan and/or Gantt chart up to 4 A4 pages to support your answer.

Question 8: Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Describe or list:

• the main risks and uncertainties of the EUREKA project as a whole as well as the UK participation, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks, highlighting the most significant ones (you must provide a risk register as an appendix – see below)
• how these risks will be mitigated
• any project inputs on the critical route to completion (resources, expertise, data sets and so on)
• whether the output is likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and if so how you will manage this

In a separate appendix named ’AppendixQ8(application number)’ you must submit in PDF format a risk register of up to 2 A4 pages to support your answer.

Question 9: Added value

Describe the impact that an injection of UK public funding would have on this project.

Tell us:

• if this project could go ahead in any form without UK public funding and if so, the difference the public funding would make (such as faster to market, more partners, reduced risk)
• the likely impact of the project on the business of the UK partners involved
• why you are not able to wholly fund the project from your own resources or other forms of private-sector funding (what would happen if the application is unsuccessful)
• how this project would change the nature of R&D activity the UK partners would undertake (and related spend)

Question 10: Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the UK partner or partners and the taxpayer?

Justify:

• the total UK project cost and the grant being requested in terms of the project goals
• the balance of costs and grant across the UK project partners, if applicable
• any UK subcontractor costs and why they are critical to the project

Explain:

• how the UK partners will finance their contributions to the project
• how this project represents value for money for you and the UK taxpayer
• how this compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise

Other funding from public sector bodies

If you have included one or more entries in column 7 of the finance summary table (on the following page), please provide:

• the names of the bodies
• the name of the programme or scheme from which the funds are provided
• the fund amounts

6. Finance summary

This table lists the total eligible project costs by partner. Note that only certain project costs are eligible for grant funding under UK State aid rules. See our project costs guidance for information on eligible project costs and how to complete the finance forms

Column 1 Partner names	Provide the full names of all partners in the project (UK organisation names as noted in Companies House).
Column 2 Organisation registration number	UK companies should provide the Company Registration Number (as noted in Companies House). UK universities and higher education institutions should enter their RC number, charitable status, legal entity registration number, or similar.
Column 3 Enterprise category	Select the enterprise category. The SME definition is based on the EU definition
Column 4 Postcode where majority of work will be done	Provide the postcode of each organisation participating in the project.
Column 5 Contribution to the project by each partner	List the total contribution to be made to the project by each partner. Please see exchange rate below.
Column 6 Funding sought by each partner	Enter the funding sought for each contributing partner for this project.
Column 7 Other funding from public sector bodies	Include any funding applied for separately for the project from any other public sector bodies and not as part of this competition. Funding from other public sector bodies might include other applications to research councils, other government departments, devolved administrations, other public sector organisations and some charities. The purpose of this column is to provide Innovate UK with information on the total public funding for the project.
Column 8 Total (£)	The total cost of the project for each partner. This is the sum of columns 5, 6 and 7 and will be entered automatically.
Bottom Row Total (£)	The total of each column will be entered automatically.

7. Finance form

Each non-academic UK partner in your project must provide a project finance form using the template ‘Project finance form’ which is available on the FTP site. This must be submitted with the Innovate UK application form. Each project finance form provides a detailed breakdown on each UK partner’s total eligible project costs listed in the finance summary table.