Call

The call for joint innovation projects is aimed at companies of any size and research institutions in France and South Korea (consortia) looking to carry out a joint science-based innovation project.

This call for projects has been launched following Eureka’s Network projects framework based on mutual consent between national and regional funding bodies.

The national funding bodies from South Korea (KIAT, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology) and France (BPI France, French Public Investment Bank) have allocated funding for organisations collaborating on international R&D projects.

You can submit your R&D project application for this call for projects until 31 AUGUST 2021. Your project consortium must include at least one South Korean and one French company. And the consortia should consist of market oriented R&D performing companies and research institutes.

The consortia should demonstrate; 

• Complementary technological excellence and qualification of the partners,
• Sustainability of the partnership and intensity of the collaboration between the partners,
• Management ability of the consortia to successfully carry out the project and implement the results,
• Mutual advancement of R&D through the transfer of Knowledge and expertise,
• Added value for the participants from both countries in a balanced way.

Scope

Although this call invites projects in all thematic areas or application domains, special focus is given to the following domains

• Bio Technology and Medical Technology
• Energy and Environment Technology
• Robot, Automobile and Machinery Systems Technology
• Materials and Nano Technology
• Information and Communication Technology
• Digital transformation

Your project should:

• Demonstrate its innovation aspect which goes beyond the international state of the art
• Be science-based targeting to achieve advances in technology or service and the main objectives in terms of performance or cost to become competitive shall be presented in a specific way.
• Aim at developing a new value chain or at integrating into an existing value chain. A market and the implementation prospects must exist for the envisaged product or service.

Companies wishing to propose projects in other fields are encouraged to contact their national program managers whose contact information is shown at the bottom of this call.

Time frame

• 17^th  February 2021  : Call opens 
• 31^st of August 2021  : Submission deadline (18:00 CEST)

Financing Details

Each country will fund its eligible participants according to their national procedure and funding rules. Funding conditions and eligibility criteria may vary from one country to another. The main aspects of funding criteria are explained below:

France

ADI (Aide pour le développement de l’innovation) requirements:

• Partnerships: Two or more industrial partners (a Foreign company and a French company)
• No country or partner representing more than 70% of the total budget of the project.
• Eligible Beneficiaries: French companies up to 2000 fulltime equivalents (FTE)
• Eligible costs: Industrial research and experimental development (industrialization and commercialization costs are not eligible)
• Funding amount: from € 50,000  up to € 3 Millions  (submitted to financial analysis of the company and  financial conditions)
• Duration: maximum of 3 years
• Funding: zero interest rate loan reimbursable in case of technical success, up to 65% of the eligible costs for an SME and up to 50% for midcap companies. Deeptech companies could also beneficiate from a specific Bpifrance funding scheme (please contact Bpifrance).

Korea

KIAT funding: The Korean dedicated budget provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and managed by KIAT is open to all applications from companies with registered R&D laboratories, research institutes and universities. The funding amount is up to KRW500,000,000 (approximately € 370,000, exchange rate is ₩1,350/€ 1, quoted as an illustrative purpose) annually, and duration of the project is maximum 3 years. The partners should be consisting of at least one Korean R&D performing commercial company. Participation of research institutes or universities is welcome as additional participants or subcontractors according to each country’s funding regulations.

Project funding is comprised of government grants and civilian dues (cash and in-kind). The amount of government grants will vary depending on the type of executing organizations and project in accordance with Article 24 (Funding criteria) and Article 25 (Civilian dues) of the Common Operational Regulations for the Industrial Technology Innovation Programs. Be aware of that the total costs for each of the partners in the consortium should also be reflected in the Smartsimple application form and match with the national application.

A party that participates in a project shall carry out its project using the government grants allocated to it, and for-profit organizations shall individual bear the cash portion of civilian dues. The share of cash in executing organization’s civilian dues in the year 2021 will be subject to the Special Regulation for the Industrial Technology Innovation Programs Coping with COVID-19.

Eligibility

Eureka has limited eligibility criteria for organisations participating in a [Network projects] consortium:

• Your project idea must represent international cooperation in the form of a specific project.
• The project must be directed at researching or developing an innovative product, process or service with the goal of commercialisation.
• The project must have a civilian purpose.
• Your consortium must include at least one South Korean and one French company.
• No single organisation or country can be responsible for more than 75% of the project budget.

Market

The project should aim to the establishment of a new or the integration into an existing value chain. A market and an implementation prospects must exist for the envisaged product or service.

Evaluation

Your project application will be reviewed according to our Network projects evaluation methodology.

1. Impact

• Is the market properly addressed (i.e. size, access and risks)?
• Is the value creation properly addressed (i.e. employment opportunities and environmental and societal benefits)?
• What are the competitive advantages of your project (i.e. strategic importance, enhanced capabilities and visibility)? 
• Are your commercialisation plans clear and realistic (i.e. return on investment, geographical and sectoral impact)?

2. Excellence

• What is the degree of innovation? (i.e. is the proposed product, process or service state-of-the-art? Is there sufficient technological maturity and risk)?
• How is the new knowledge going to be used?
• Is your project scientifically and technically challenging for consortium partners?
• Is the technical achievability and risk properly addressed?

3. Quality and efficiency of implementation

• What is the quality of your consortium (i.e. balance of the partnership and technological, managerial and financial capabilities of each partner)?
• Is there added value through international cooperation?
• Is your project management and planning realistic and clearly defined (i.e. methodology, planning approach, milestones and deliverables)?
• Is your cost structure reasonable (i.e. costs and financial commitment for each consortium partner)? 

4. Overall perception

Experts will list three positive and negative points to your application and finally state whether they recommend your project for public investment.

Your national funding body may carry out a further evaluation (performed by the national project coordinator and technical experts) according to national rules before allocating funds to successful applicants.

[Country/ region evaluation]

Your project application will be reviewed according to the following additional national evaluation processes.

Monitoring and impact

Applicants will be requested to provide information during the lifetime of the project at international level to make sure the project has been developed as expected. Additionally, they will have to provide information regarding the impact of the project once it has been finished.

Applying

1. Contact your national funding body using the form below to discuss your project idea, financial viability, eligibility and national procedures.
2. Create an account on our application portal (one per consortium) and select the funding opportunity you want to apply to.
3. Using the portal, complete one application form per consortium (in English) and invite other consortium partners to fill in a partner form.
4. Upload a GANTT chart (one per consortium), a signed and completed co-signature form (which you can download from the platform) and any additional required annexes.
5. Your application will be checked for completeness and eligibility before being reviewed using a standard evaluation procedure. If successful, your project will receive a Eureka label.
6. Your national funding body may carry out a further evaluation (performed by the NPC and technical experts) according to national rules before allocating funds to successful applicants.
7. The final step is to complete and sign a consortium agreement (CA). We recommend that you seek legal advice when drafting your CA.

[Country/ region has additional steps for submitting your application]:

1. South Korea

In Korea, the participants will have to submit a formal national application through KIAT Project Advanced Smart System (https://www.k-pass.kr) including the EUREKA application form (in English). Additional documents in Korean language, containing detailed information on the Korean participants, could be requested depending on the specific type of funding request by the company.

2. France

In France, the participants will have to submit a formal R&D international project application through Bpifrance (interntional.innoproject@bpifrance.fr). Additional financing and administrative documents in French language, will be requested.