November 20071

New Programme

• Projects of National Importance

• Lm25,000

• Specific

• Programme still under development

Malta Council for Science and Technology

National Research and Innovation Programme 2008

Brian WarringtonCEO, MCST

November 20073

Overview

• Value of Programme Euro 700k

• Indicative project funding €50k - €200 (Lm22k – Lm88k)

• Project duration normally 1 – 3 years

November 20074

State Aid

• Operates under de minimis state aid regime:– Projects in fisheries, aquaculture and agriculture ineligible– Industry to ensure they do not exceed allowable limit of aid

(€200k gross over 3-year period).

• Complements Malta Enterprise scheme to promote R&D in industry

• Double funding not allowed – checks are conducted

November 20075

Programme 2008 highlights

• Scope: research, development and innovation in science and technology (acquire new knowledge).

• Sectors: focus on 4 priority sectors

• Key objective: to promote technology transfer between– Knowledge providers (academic institution)– Knowledge users (Industry or public sector entity)

• Technology transfer must fulfill a genuine need and therefore certain funding limits apply (explained later)

November 20076

Participants

Consortium– At least 2 participants, (a) an academic institution and (b)

industry or public sector – other partners may be included but must add value

• Maltese legal entities (academia, public, private, NGOs) eligible for funding

• Foreign entities eligible but not funded

• Project Coordinator must be Maltese legal entity

November 20077

Eligible Costs

• Eligible Direct Costs– Technical and management personnel– Purchase of specialised equipment– Travel, networking, dissemination– Subcontracting (limit 25% or project grant)

• Eligible Indirect Costs– 10% of eligible costs, excluding subcontracting,

excluding equipment over €5,000

November 20078

Funding Levels

• Academic, research institute, public body, NGO – 100%

• Private entity – 75%

• Plus 10% overheads

November 20079

Funding restrictions

• Objective: good balance and distribution of workload

• Funding for any participant limited to 66% of project grant

• Combined funding for any category limited to 66% of project grant

• Funding for public body limited to 25% of project grant

• Subcontracting limited to 25%

November 200710

Process

• Pre-registration

• 2-stage submission and evaluation process

• Shortlisting stage– Lightweight preliminary proposal– Estimates of timeframes, costings

• Selection stage– Full project proposal– Details of participants– Activities, timeframes, costings

November 200711

Funding

• Project to be structured into stages of 12-18 months duration

• Single stage project– Advance of 80%– Project report at end of project– MCST Audit, determine eligible costs– Payment of balance due (or reimbusement)

November 200712

Funding

• Multiple-stage project– advance of 100% of first stage– Project Report at end of each stage, including updated

forecast– Calculation of balance due for next stage– Advance of 80% of final stage – Funding for any one stage will not exceed 80% of total– Final Project Report, reconciliation and payment of balance

due

November 200713

Financial considerations

• Participants must maintain and financial accounts and separate bank account

• Actual costs with fiscal receipts

• Costs determined in accordance with usual accounting and management procedures

• Expenses must be consistent with principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness

• Refundable expenses limited to allocation

November 200714

Ownership of results

• Ownership of IP and all rights rests with participants

• In case of consortium, requirement for signing of IP agreement between consortium members

November 200715

Other

• Significant events – inform MCST

• Withdrawal of participant – agree with MCST for reallocation or replacement

• Default – MCST entitled to withdraw funding and claim refund

November 200716

Evaluation and Selection

November 200717

What is important

• Good project

• Good proposal You are strongly encouraged to discuss your

proposal with us before submission

November 200718

Marking and Thresholds

• Evaluated on 4 criteria

• Each criterion allocated maximum of 5 marks

• No weighting

• Threshold of 3 for each criterion

• Overall threshold of 14

November 200719

Selection Criteria

1. Programme Objectives

2. Concept and Approach

3. Quality

4. Potential Impact

November 200720

Selection Criteria (1)

Programme objectives

– Degree of fit with priority sectors– Extent of collaboration between academia and

industry/public entity– Addresses a genuine need for knowledge transfer

November 200721

Selection Criteria (2)

Concept and Approach

– Conceptually sound– Clearly defined objectives, ambitious but

achievable– Clearly defined deliverables– Proposes suitable actions

November 200722

Selection Criteria (3)

Quality

– Participants have necessary knowledge and skills– Balanced participation and funding

November 200723

Selection Criteria (4)

Potential Impact

– Application and uses of research and deliverables– Roadmap for realisation of benefits– Spillover effects

November 200724

Application

• Title

• Abstract (150 words)

• Proposal (max 3 pages)

• Project Plan Outline

• Project Team

• Budget overview

• Organisation Profile

November 200725

Proposal Section (max 3 pages)

• Background

• State of the art

• Proposal

• Objectives & Deliverables

• Competitiveness

• Impact (uses, benefits, future effort)

• IP

• Issues

November 200726

Some advice

• You are strongly encouraged to discuss your proposal with us before submission

• Max length of proposal

• Clarity and conciseness

November 200727

Timeframes

Launch 5 Nov

Pre-registration 23 Nov

1st stage submissions 14 Dec

Evaluation 15 Jan08

2nd stage submissions 15 Feb08

Evaluation 17 Mar08

Negotiation & Signing Apr 08