STANDARD APPLICATION FORM /
Code Number: IV / 20 /
Legal Basis – Science and Technology Act 1987 Section (18)State Aid basis – Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006
EnterpriseIreland will not release confidential or commercially sensitive information received as part of this application except as may be required by law, including the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003. Please note that the names of companies completing innovation voucher projects are routinely published. (please see note 8)
SECTION ONE: COMPANY DETAILS AND DECLARATIONCompany Name
(NBThe Initiative is restricted to Registered Limited Companies only) / Company Registration Number:
(Please enter a valid CRO number only, see note 7)
Business address:
(Please provide full postal address including county)
Principal Business of the Applicant:
E-mail / Tel. No.
Contact Name:
(e.g. Mr. John Smith) / Title / First name / Surname / Job Title
DECLARATION BY APPLICANT
An authorised Officer of the Company should complete this Declaration / Insert Yes or No as Appropriate
The Company Is a Small Business[1]
The Company will use the Innovation Voucher for eligible activities only as part of the research project[2]
The Company is solvent (i.e. no distress or execution has been levied against it)
The Company confirms that the amount of Innovation Voucher will not result in a breach of the De Minimis Aid regulations of €200,000 received within the past three years. (See Notes section)
The project is not already in receipt of or likely to be in receipt of any public funding, or forms part of an overall project which Enterprise Ireland is supporting or has supported.
If you have answered NO to the above question, please provide the name of the funding programme(s) and date(s) of funding awarded.
Name of Authorised Officer (please type name, signature not required ) / Date
SECTION TWO: KNOWLEDGE QUESTION DESCRIPTION
- Knowledge Question
Company profile:
The issue to be addressed and the skills and expertise required:
What are the deliverables you expect from the knowledge provider at the end of your project:
Please briefly describe how the deliverables will benefit your company:
What is the main focus of the knowledge question?
Please enter one number, in the adjacent box, from the list below (1 to 10)
1. New Product Design / Development
2. New or Improved Production Process
3. New Service Development
4. New Service Delivery and Customer Interface
5. Preliminary Research / Literature Research
6. New Business Model Development
7. Tailored Training in Innovation Management
8. Innovation or Technology Audit
9. Experimental Testing /Measuring
10. Other (Please Comment)
What is the main ‘added value’ that a solution to the Knowledge Question will bring to your company
Please enter one number, in the adjacent box, from the list below (1 to 7)
1. Improvement in product quality
2. Reduction in company costs
3. Enhanced capability to carry out innovative projects
4. Stronger links with the Third Level Research Community
5. Productivity gains
6. Creation of an ‘innovation culture’ in the company
7. Other (Please Comment)
SECTION THREE: Additional Company Information
Please confirm that you are happy for EnterpriseIreland to pass your knowledge question and contact details on to the Knowledge Providers.(Please see Note 7 for further information) / Yes /NoHas the company identified a Knowledge Provider or research group
(If yes please name the Knowledge Provider or research group) / Name /No
Has the company previously engaged with any of the listed Knowledge Providers / Yes /No
Are you a client of a State Agency?
If so please identify the agency in the rows below. If you are a CEB client please identify the countyBoard.
EnterpriseIreland / Yes / No
Údarás na GaelTachta / Yes / No
IDA Ireland / Yes / No
Shannon Development / Yes / No
CountyEnterprise Board / Please state the name of the countyBoard.
Additional Company Information
Please state the number of full time equivalent employees
Annual sales(€)
SECTION FOUR:Technology Area
Please indicate which sector best describes your company’s core business by entering one, in the adjacent box, number from the list below here ->No. / Sector / Example Areas
1 / Clean Technologies and Paper, Print & Packaging / Energy Products, Energy Services, Environmental Services, Environmental Tech / Equipment, Labels, Packaging, Paper Products, Printing, Waste Management, Water Treatment
2 / Electronics and HRD / Building Management Systems, EDP, Electronic Components, Industrial Control, Photonics, Sub-supply
3 / Lifesciences / Clinical Trials, Diagnostics, Healthcare Services, Medical Devices, Medical Sub Supply, Nutrition, Other Medical, Pharma Bio, Vetchem
4 / Construction and Timber / Boardmills, Building Systems, Construction Products/Systems, Heating & Ventilation, Int. Traded Construction Services, Other Construction Products, Other Timber Products, Sawmills, SpecialistBuilding Sub-contractors, Structural Components, Window & Door Systems
5 / Consumer Retail Markets / Consumer Products, Fashion & Footwear, Furniture, Giftware & Jewellery, Publishing, Soft Furnishings, Textiles
6 / Engineering / Aerospace, Agricultural Machinery, Automotive, Engineering Project Management, General Engineering, Materials Handling, Mechanical Engineering, Precision Engineering, Tanks & Vessels, Toolmaking & Plastics,
7 / Beverages, Bakery & Food Technology / Animal Feed, Bakery, Beverages
8 / Consumer Food / Horticulture & Organics, Poultry, Prepared Consumer Foods, Seafood
9 / Dairy & Functional Food & HRD / Dairy, Functional Foods, Nutritionals, Other Food
10 / Primary Meats / Beef, Bloodstock, By-products, Lamb, Pigmeat
11 / Business and Consumer Services / Business Process Services, Design Services, Education Services, e-Learning Services, Entertainment Services, Media Services, Other Services, Prof Consultancy Services, TIME Services, Travel Services
12 / Financial Services / Banks, Financial Business Process Services, Funds & Specialised Investment, Insurance & Pensions, Payments
13 / Finance & Enterprise Software / Bespoke Software, Corporate Software, e-Commerce, Financial Software, Public Sector Software, Systems Integration, Travel Software
14 / TIME Software / e-Learning, Health Software, Telecoms Software, TIME Software
15 / Growth Capital / Venture Capital
Small Companies in the transport and agricultural sectors are excluded in line with State Aid Guidelines
IMPORTANT: Application Submission Requirements
- Submission Deadline: Please refer to appendix one for timetable
- An application will be considered valid when all sections have been completed
- Electronic submission is preferred, but not essential: send the application as an MS Word attachment to
(* The electronic version should be submitted in MS Word)
Notes:
- A company may have one ‘active’ Voucher at any point in time.
- If significantly more companies apply for vouchers than are available, a lottery approach may be taken to the award of the vouchers.
- EnterpriseIreland’s decision in the award of the vouchers will be final and no discussions will be entered into with third parties.
- The vouchers are non-transferable.
- The aid being sought is provided under the European Commission Regulation on De Minimis Aid. A Member State is required to have a mechanism to track such aid (called 'De Minimis aid') and to ensure that the combined amount of De Minimis aid payments from all sources to one enterprise in any three-year period respects the Eur 200,000 ceiling. It should be noted that a false declaration by a company resulting in the threshold of Eur 200,000 being exceeded could later give rise to the aid being recovered with interest.
- Small companies who have received in excess of €300,000 funding from EnterpriseIreland in the previous 5 years are not eligible to apply for an Innovation Voucher.
The following are examples of De Minimis Aid:
- EnterpriseIreland - Mentor, Market Research, Key Skills outside BMW approved after 1st Jan 2007, Wireless Standard Initiative
- CountyEnterprise Board -Feasibility/Innovation Grant, Priming Grant and Business Expansion Grant, employment grants, capital and repayable loan grants, equity (redeemable preference shares) for business development, export marketing grant, website grants.
- Intertrade Ireland - Seed corn
- FAS/IMI - High Potential Managers Programme
- Bord Bia - Trade Fairs
- Leader Programme Aid
- Successful applicants may wish Enterprise Ireland to make their company’s knowledge question and contact information available to the registered (ROI & NI) Knowledge Providers (as listed on w This will allow the Knowledge Providers to contact you to advise you of the relevant services and expertise they may be able to offer. The information will be made available either by email or through a secure web site.
- Company registration numbers may be checked on the Company Registration Office web site at Click on ‘Company Search’ option, ensure that ‘company’ is selected in the search field and enter the CRO number. Click ‘submit’ and the result should correspond with the company details on the application form.
- Freedom of Information: EnterpriseIreland will not release confidential or commercially sensitive information received as part of this application except as may be required by law, including the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003. Before making any decision on any Freedom of Information request received involving confidential or commercially sensitive information which a company may have supplied, EnterpriseIreland will consult with the company concerned and will consider any submissions made by the company within the time period specified in the legislation. In the exceptional circumstance where EnterpriseIreland is considering the release of information in the public interest the company will have a right to seek to have that decision reviewed by the Information Commissioner.Please note that the names of companies completing innovation voucher projects are routinely published.
- If you are unable to submit a copy of the form by email you can post a hard copy application to:
Programme Manager -Innovation Vouchers
EnterpriseIreland
The Plaza
East PointBusinessPark
Dublin 3
Check our website for updates and further information
Appendix One
INNOVATION VOUCHERS INITIATIVETimetable 2011
Opening Date / Closing Date
1stFebruary 2011 / 28thFebruary 2011
1stApril 2011 / 30th April 2011
1stSeptember 2011 / 30th September 2011
Appendix Two: Assistance in completing the knowledge question.
When EnterpriseIreland receives your application we appraise the knowledge question to determine whether the voucher should be awarded. One of the key objectives of the initiative is to increase the level of innovation in Ireland’s Small Enterprises by linking the companies to 3rd level knowledge providers. It is important therefore that the knowledge question demonstrates that the proposed activity requires an innovative solution which will have additional value and on-going benefits for your company. Many solutions may already exist in the marketplace and if this is the case, then EnterpriseIreland is likely to reject the application – examples of applications that have not received support include website development, software purchases, standard training, development of advertising/promotional material. Please check the list of ineligible actives on the web site prior to completing the knowledge question.
Company profile:
Please provide a brief outline of the company, you may wish to include some of the following:- sector, customers, how long the company is established, how many employed, main products and main market(s).
The issue to be addressed and the skills and expertise required:
This section should introduce the innovative idea or the area of interest, for example it may be a new product, process or new service delivery, exploring a new business opportunity etc. Describe what is about the idea that that is new or innovative from your company’s perspective. You should then briefly describe the issue or problem thatyou need help with and, if possible, the type of skills and expertise you feel are required. This will help us guide you to the knowledge provider(s) with the requisite skills.
What are the deliverables you expect from the knowledge provider at the end of your project?:
This section should outline the deliverables the company willrequire from the knowledge provider at the end of the project. For example this may be a report, a rough product / process prototype or the results of scientific analysis.
Please briefly describe how the deliverables will benefit your company:
When the project has been completed how do you expect to use the results and how will this benefit the company going forward.
NB. Companies are restricted to one ‘active’ voucher at any point in time. If you have previously received an innovation voucher please ensure that it has been redeemed by the knowledge provider before making a further application.
1
[1]For the purposes of the Innovation Voucher Initiative, a Small Enterprise is defined as a company or (if part of a group) a group of companies where the total number of full-time employees in the company (or the entire group) is less than 50 and has either an annual turnover and/or an annual Balance Sheet total not exceeding €10m.
[2] Ineligible activities include the costs of training courses, the purchase of software, any aid which would promote/subsidise the cost of exports, costs of internships for students of knowledge institutions, costs of the design and production of advertising material and other sales activities.