Eureka - France Israel Call for projects

Deadline: Mar 29, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

Call description

France and Israel are active members of Eureka and support innovation projects through the various Eureka instruments, including Eureka Network Projects. The two countries are now announcing a Call for proposals for joint R&D projects under the EUREKA Network Projects program.  

Respective National Authorities responsible for this call are as follows

• France

 Bpifrance, the French Public Bank for Investments, subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts, assists companies from their start-up phase all the way to listing on a stock exchange, through offerings of credit, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance provides companies with a range of financing options suitable for different steps in their development. 

Bpifrance supports state-and region- led public policy objectives by: 

• Helping companies grow 
• Preparing them for tomorrow’s competitive landscape 
• Contributing to the development of an ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship 

Working with Bpifrance, companies will find they have a strong, efficient and close partner that can respond to their financial, innovation and investment needs. 

• Israel

The Israel Innovation Authority, formerly known as the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economy, is a public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and the Israeli economy as a whole. The Innovation Authority is the main public body which funds innovation in Israel. In addition, the Authority assists the Israeli governments in all matters related to innovation policy in Israel.  

The two government entities will provide the required assistance to the project partners during the project proposal, evaluation and monitoring phases. In addition, the parties will facilitate the EUREKA application process and the acquisition of the EUREKA label for the winning proposals. 

The two organizations will also finance the jointly labeled projects. Support will be provided to each partner in their own country, in accordance with existing laws, rules, regulations and national procedures, on the basis of non-exchange of funds between these Authorities, and subject to budget availability

Special focus

This call is for projects in the following thematic areas: 

• Automotive – Smart transportation 

Automotive and smart transportation are areas where innovation is expected to bring many changes in the near future, be it in the form of autonomous driving, eco-mobility or mobility-as-a-service. This perspective has extended the scope of active players in the field of mobility to the digital and the energy sectors, among others. Israel has revealed itself during the past few years as one of the key innovation providers in this domain, while France gathers all segments of the industry from startups to manufacturers. Both ecosystems have produced significant success stories in smart mobility and new opportunities will arise from taking advantage of their complementarities.  

• Cyber security 

Digital products and services are reaching all the sectors in a pervasive manner, making cyber security a necessary infrastructure to the development of new industries. Both Israel and France have strong expertise, research and capabilities in this area. Israel stands out as one of the top countries regarding its investment in the underlying technologies and one of the major startup ecosystems worldwide in this field. French industries share a solid know-how in ensuring the security and reliability of their offers on a global scale. Cooperation between actors of both countries triggers the opportunity of developing new technologies and integrate them in order to reach the global civil market. 

Eligibility criteria

Eligible partners are invited to present proposals for joint industrial R&D projects according to the following criteria: 

• The project consortium must consist of at least one company coming from France and one from Israel. Participation of research institutes/universities is welcome as partners or subcontractors, according to each country’s funding regulations.
• Companies from other Eureka Member Countries may also participate, and might be funded by their respective national funding bodies. 
• Companies from other countries (Non Eureka Members) may also participate, but they will not be funded by the participating parties of this call. 
• The project partners must express the will to cooperate, on an equal base, in the development of a new product, industrial process or service. The product, process or service must be innovative, and there must be a technological risk involved. 
• The project should have an obvious added value associated with the technological cooperation between the participants (e.g. increased knowledge base, creation of commercial leads, access to R&D infrastructure etc.). 
• The project should clearly demonstrate a significant contribution by all the partners in the consortium. 

Any joint R&D project which is consistent with the aforesaid criteria can be submitted to the Call in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect, on a non-exchange of funds basis, and subject to budget availability in each country. 

Submission and approval procedures 

Submission and approval procedures consist of one phase at the international level.  

The completed EUREKA Project Application Form for the consortium should be submitted by the main participant to the following email address projects@eurekanetwork.org, indicating in the Subject line – France-Israel Call 01.2018:  

The application must be submitted by March 29th 2018, at 5 pm CET.  

The form has to be legally signed by all members of the international consortium. The signatures must be scanned and sent together with the EUREKA form.  

On the same deadline (29th March, 2018), all partners must submit their national applications according to their own national procedures.  

Consultation with the national funding organizations prior to official application is strongly advised (See national contact information at the end of the document).  

• In France, French SMEs will be invited to contact the appropriate regional office of Bpifrance to submit the national application to general programs.

• In Israel, The Israeli partner is required to submit the National Application Form in accordance with the Israel Innovation Authority regulations, through an online system.

Consultation with the Innovation Task Force of the Embassy of France in Israel prior to official application is also strongly advised (See contact information at the end of the document). 

• The Innovation Task Force of the Embassy of France is focused on the promotion of R&D partnerships between France and Israel. The Innovation Task Force offers to help French and Israelis find a relevant R&D partner and apply to the appropriate funding programs. For more information

Funding details

Each country will fund its eligible participants. Funding conditions and eligibility criteria may vary between France and Israel. The main funding criteria are detailed below: 

• In France: 

Funding from Bpifrance will not exceed 65% (maximum amount 3 M€) of the eligible and approved costs of the project’s R&D, in the form of a 0% interest loan, in accordance with the Bpifrance funding rules. French Enterprises with less than 2000 employees are eligible participants. University/Research Organizations are not funded. They are welcome as subcontractors of a French company.  According to Bpifrance’s financial assessment process, the participants need to demonstrate sufficient financial capacity to support the joint R&D project (50% of the project budget - subcontracting not included – should be covered by the participating company). 

• In Israel:  

Funding from the Israel Innovation Authority will not exceed 50% of the eligible and approved costs of the project’s R&D in the form of a conditional loan and in accordance with the R&D Law and additional laws and regulations detailed at http://www.matimop.org.il/. When a project results in the sales of a product, service or process, the financial support must be repaid to the Israel Innovation Authority according to its regulations (in general, royalties are paid at rates beginning at 3% of annual sales, depending on various criteria. Royalties are payable until 100% of the amount of the grant has been repaid with interest as described in the applicable regulations). If the project does not result in sales, no repayment is required. For more information on funding conditions, applicants should visit the website of the Israel Innovation Authority

The financing of the project is subject to the approval of both national funding bodies.