New Innovation Partnership Programme Funding Levels Under State Aid Guidelines

Collaborating for Future Success

Rev 2 created:1st June 2010

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Rev 2 created:1st June 2010

INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME
FUNDING GUIDELINES

Rev 2 created:1st June 2010

Index

Rev 2 created:1st June 2010

Introduction

Section 1: New Innovation Partnership Programme Funding Levels under State Aid Guidelines

Section 2: Grant Assessment Criteria

Section 3: Grant Assessment

Correspondence /Assistance

Rev 2 created:1st June 2010

Introduction

Changes have been implemented in the Innovation Partnership programme.
The new funding guidelines take effect for new proposals submitted to EnterpriseIrelandfrom July 1st2010.
This guideline document allows both the academic and industrial partners to quickly establish the level of funding available to them in the Innovation Partnership Programme.

Overview of Programme

The Innovation Partnership Programme encourages Irish companies to work with Irish colleges and access their expertise and resources so as to develop new and improved products and processes and services, and generate new knowledge and know-how.

Programme Strategy

EnterpriseIreland’s objective is to encourage the companies and academics to come together and undertake high quality, innovative collaborative projects.
The programme can be used as a tool to address an urgent product, process or service development need.
The aim of the Innovation Partnership Programme is to support Collaborative Research. Contract Research is no longer funded in this programme. Please discuss with the Programme Manager before proceeding to an Outline Application.
HPSU and pre-HPSU participation in the Programme

The funding of pre-HPSU and HPSU companies*can be approved under a number of key conditions:

The research must come under the category of Collaborative Industrial Research
The academic partner will own any Foreground IP produced during the project and will agree an exclusive licensing arrangement with the company partner.
EI funding for pre-HPSU and Start Up companies is normally capped at €100,000 unless there’s a clear justification why additional funding is needed and this must be supported by the Commercial Assessor.
Grant funding is limited to €200,000 for all other Companies.
Established companies may request more if here’s a clear that the project impact is likely to lead to a substantial increase in employment and sales and exports and this must be supported by the Commercial Assessor.
Established companies may request more if here’s a clear justification why additional funding is needed and this must be supported by the Commercial Assessor

Section 1: New Innovation Partnership ProgrammeFundingLevels under State Aid Guidelines

Funding rates can vary from 40% to 80% depending on the size of company involved and the type of research undertaken.
Please note that there will no longer be a bonus awarded for regional location.
The table below shows the maximum level of funding that will be awarded dependingon the size of the company involved and the type of research involved.

Table 1:

Dependency of grant allocations on the size of the company involved and the type of research involved

Type of Research / Small company / Medium company / Large company
Industrial Collaborative / 80% / 75% / 65%
Experimental Collaborative / 60% / 50% / 40%

Section 2: Grant Assessment Criteria

The level of funding awarded by EI under the new guidelines will depend on:

Company Size:Small, Medium or Large
Project Focus:Industrial or Experimental
Project Type:Collaborative Research / Foreground IP

Ownership

The followingpages provide easy-to-decipher tables that allow you to quickly assess the funding level your collaboration will be entitled to.

2.1Company Size

Use the table below to establish the size of the industrial partner(s):

Table 2: Company Size

Company Size / Number of Employees / Annual
Turn Over / Annual Balance Sheet Total
SMALL / 1-50 / <€10M / <€10M
MEDIUM / 50-249 / <€50M / <€43M
LARGE / More than 250 / >€50M / >€43M

Which category isthe collaborating company: Small, Medium or Large? ______

Special Consideration:

If the enterprise is more than 25% owned by one or more enterprises or itself has a holding of more than 25% in any other enterprise, it will be necessary to consult the full definition in the Official Journal (reference listed in last bullet).
Excluded from the holding company threshold in the above definition are public investment corporations, venture capital companies and institutional investors provided that they do not exercise control.
An enterprise cannot be considered as meeting either definition if 25% or more of the capital or voting rights are directly or indirectly controlled, jointly or individually, by one or more public bodies.
If a company is part of a group the employee, turnover, annual balance sheet and ownership limitsapply to the group
For the full definition, see the “Official Journal of the European Commission (L 124/36) 20th May 2003 – Commission Recommendation of 6th May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

2.2Project Focus

This table assists you to categorise your research proposal as Industrial Research or Experimental Development.
Proposals cannot contain elements from both categories.
Mark each box as appropriate.

Table 3: Project Focus

IR
Check / INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH / EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH / ER
Check
Acquisition of newknowledge and skills / Using existing knowledge and skills
Develops new products, processes or services / Produces plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products
Significantly improves existing products, process or services / Prototype product is produced for demonstration and validation purposes only
MSc or PhD level research, Originality, Publications or patents, commercial benefit etc (Technical risk is generally medium to high) / Leads to a product which the company could commercialise without significant additional development

Is your project focused on Industrial Research or Experimental Development?

______

2.3Project Type

The table below allows you to assess whether your project is collaborative based research.
The Innovation Partnership team will be more than willing to assist you in defining your proposal correctly.

Table 4: Project Type

Collaborative Research / Collaborative
Check
The academic and company jointly develop the work plan
The academic and company jointly undertake the work
The outputs generated benefit the academic, college and company
The college owns the Foreground IP generated or under certain circumstances, Joint Ownership of IP will be permitted. Please see our document on IP requirements.
The college charges the company its normal rate to undertake the work
The project builds on existing know-how and IP in the college
College researchers will undertake work on the company site and company personnel will undertake work on the college site for a significant portion of the project

Is your project collaborative research?

______

2.4IP Ownership

As part of its contract with the company, the Third Level Institution should have an agreement concerning the exploitation of Intellectual Property.

Collaborative Research Projects

For Start Up, pre-HPSU and HPSU companies:

Ownership of all Foreground IP generated in the Innovation Partnershipresides with the college.
Both parties must agree on an appropriate IP licensing arrangement for the company prior to the drawdown of funding.

For established companies:

A Joint IPOwnership Management Agreement must be drawn up between the college and the company to manage of all Foreground IP generated in the Innovation Partnership.

Both parties must agree on the licensing arrangements for the IPprior to the drawdown of funding.

How will the foreground IPbe managedin your project?

______

Section 3: Grant Assessment

Now that you have assessed your proposal against the four main assessment criteria it should be clear from the table belowwhich level of funding is applicable to your project.

Table 6: Dependency of grant allocations on the size of the company

involved and the type of research involved

Type of Research / Small company / Medium company / Large company
Industrial Collaborative / 80% / 75% / 65%
Experimental Collaborative / 60% / 50% / 40%

What grant allocation does your assessment indicate?

______

Section 4:Company Contributions to the Innovation

Partnership Program

Each company partner will be expected to pay a minimum of 20% of the project costs in cash.
Under some of the categories this will leave a gap to be filled and this can be covered by the company via:
A further cash contribution
Acceptable in-kind contributions
60% of a company’s total cash contribution to a project must be allocated

to salaries & personnel costs.

Acceptable in-kind contributions are described in more detail below.

Table 7:Industry Contributions

Type of Research / Small
Company / Medium Company / Large
Company
Industrial
Collaborative / 20% cash / 20% cash
5% cash/in-kind / 20% cash
15% cash/in-kind
Experimental Collaborative / 20% cash
20% cash/in-kind / 20% cash
30% cash/in-kind / 20% cash
40% cash/in-kind

In-Kind Personnel

The cost of company personnel to be located within the research group in the college to undertake technical or research work at the college site.
This donation cannot be less than 5% of that person’s full time job.
Project management meetings or activities are not admissible as in-kind cost requests.

In-Kind Equipment

Company purchases the equipment relevant to the project and donates it to the college where it remains permanently.
The equipment must be of strategic value to the college (future research perspective).
Only in exceptional circumstances will equipment usage on the company side be accepted as an in-kind payment.
Records of use must be kept by the college for auditing purposes.

In-kind Materials

Materials costs must not be greater than 5% of the total project cost.
Records of use must be kept by the college for auditing purposes.

Correspondence /Assistance

For further information or assistance please contact:

Proposal Forms to:
Ms Jackie Browne
Innovation Partnerships
Contracts Division
EnterpriseIreland
East PointBusinessPark, Dublin3
Tel: 01 7272570
Fax: 01 727 2064
/ General Enquiries to:
Tom Bannon
Tel 01 727 2594

Cormac Cantwell
Tel 01 727 2517

Copies of this documentmay be downloaded from:

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