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Indo - Canada S&T Cooperation Programme


PROGRAM FOR JOINT FUNDING OF INDIA-CANADA COLLABORATIVE
R&D PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

India and Canada have signed a bilateral science and technology (S&T) agreement to encourage, develop and facilitate cooperative activities between the two countries in Science and Technology (S&T) for peaceful purposes in fields of common interest and on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

Within the context of the S&T agreement, funding mechanisms have been created, through which industry, universities/colleges and research organizations may seek support for joint bilateral research and development (R&D) projects and other activities intended to generate new or expanded international research and technology-based partnerships (termed as Partnership Development Activities).

For India, funding and other services will be provided through by the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), a non-governmental organization, engaged by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. For Canada, the same will be provided through International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada Inc. (ISTPCanada), a non-governmental organization selected by the Government of Canada for this purpose. These agencies will be known as Implementing Organizations for this purpose. Specific contacts and coordinates for the Indian and Canadian Implementing organizations are provided at the end of this document.

PRINCIPLES

The fundamental principles that will guide the Implementation Organizations in their delivery of joint funding and support for joint R&D collaboration are:
  • Scientific and technological excellence;
  • Shared benefits;
  • Prospects for economic returns;
  • Equality;
  • Protection of intellectual property;
  • Respect for the applicable laws and regulations in the two countries; and
  • Peaceful uses.
ELIGIBILITY

Indian Applicants

Eligible applicants will be researchers and managers representing Indian academic institutions, research hospitals, companies, or other institutes which operate and are headquartered in India. Subsidiaries of firms headquartered and owned outside India are not eligible for support

Canadian Applicants

Eligible applicants will be researchers and managers representing Canadian companies, academic institutions, research hospitals other institutes or associations which operate and are headquartered in Canada. Subsidiaries of firms headquartered and owned outside Canada are normally not eligible for support. However, recognizing that the overriding consideration is "benefit to Canada", an exception can occur if ISTPCanada is satisfied that clear economic benefit will accrue to Canada.

Agencies of the Crown (including Crown corporations, government institutes, government laboratories, etc.) may be participants of ISTPCanada-funded Activities but are not eligible as recipients of ISTPCanada funding.

SUPPORTED ACTIVITIES

Through this international R&D funding initiative, support is available for two categories of collaborative S&T related activities: Collaborative R&D Projects and, Partnership Development Activities. Priority sectors will be periodically identified, however, for general calls-for-proposals (CFPs), applications will be considered from all areas of research. From time-to-time targeted CFPs will be issued, with applications limited to the identified sector(s).

Collaborative R&D Projects:
  • Collaborative research - planned research or critical investigation aimed at the discovery of new knowledge, with the objective that such knowledge may be useful in developing new knowledge, products, processes or services, or in bringing about a significant improvement to existing knowledge, products, processes or services;
  • Collaborative pre-competitive development - translation of research findings into a plan, blueprint or design for new, modified or improved products, processes or services.
Both in India and in Canada, collaborative R&D projects can be led either by industry or academia with the mandatory active participation of industry.

Partnership Development Activities (PDA):
  • Partnership Development Activities - activities designed to foster relationships and partnerships leading to the development of collaborative research and development projects and other forms of research collaboration. Such activities might include, but are not limited to scientific seminars, workshops, symposia, conferences and activities that involve exchange programs.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Reflecting the purpose of the bilateral S&T agreement and the principles identified above, applicants seeking support for collaborative R&D projects and partnership development activities must satisfy a number of basic requirements. These are:

Collaborative R&D Projects:

Common requirements
  • Projects must include participants from the two countries;
  • Industry participation from both countries in collaborative R&D projects is mandatory, including university, college or research institution led projects;
  • Proposals must clearly demonstrate that they respond to and address identified needs and interests in the two countries;
  • Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to manage, conduct and benefit from the proposed research and development;
  • Proposals are expected to include clearly identified commercial goals and commercialization strategies;
  • Proposals must include an intellectual property management plan;
  • Projects should provide the opportunity for young researchers to participate, both within their own country and through exchanges with the partner country.
For Indian Applicants
  • Industrial participants will be funded on a 50/50 cost shared basis - 50% of the eligible expenditures must be absorbed by the project participants themselves.
  • Support will be extended to industries as soft loans, which they are expected to return on successful completion of the project or within an agreed time frame.
  • Funding to academic and research institutes will be given in the form of research grants.
  • Support will be extended to industries as soft loans, which they are expected to return on a commercial success of a project or within an agreed time frame.
  • Participation by both a company that is the developer of the project technology and a company that is an ultimate user of that technology (first customer) would strengthen a proposa
For Canadian Applicants
  • Participation by both a company that is the developer of the project technology and a company that is an ultimate user of that technology (first customer) would strengthen a proposal;
  • Projects will be funded on a 50/50 cost shared basis ;
  • Support will be extended to industries as interest free loans, which they are expected to return only on a commercial success of a project.
  • Funding to academia will be given in the form of research grants.
  • Government laboratories may also participate but are not eligible to receive funding.
Partnership Development Activities:
  • Activities must include participants from both countries;
  • Applications will be strengthened by the inclusion of participants from both industry and academia. In Canada, government laboratories may participate but are not eligible to receive funding;
  • Activities will be funded by each country on a 50/50 cost shared basis. Canadian participants must fund at least 50% of Canadian eligible expenditures;
  • Activities should provide the opportunity for young researchers to participate, both within their own country and in activities hosted in the partner country;
  • Proposals should identify the objectives of the activity and how the activity fits into the applicants’ strategic plans for collaboration with the partner country.
APPLICATION PROCESS

All applications seeking funding support must be submitted simultaneously by the co-applicant to the Implementing Organization in their country. Parallel evaluation processes will be conducted by the Implementing Organizations in each country (see "Evaluation" below).

Collaborative R&D Projects:

On a periodic basis, calls for proposals (CFPs) will be issued for collaborative R&D projects. Each CFP will define the priority sector(s), if any, and establish the desired project parameters specific to that CFP. There is no limit on the project size, however the maximum funding limit for ISTPCanada is $600,000 ($Cdn) and the equivalent effort in India. The Implementing Organization will support up to half of each side’s eligible expenditures. Project duration will normally be approximately 2 years, although projects as long as three years could be considered.

CFPs will involve a 2-stage application process. Applicants will first be asked to submit an “Expression of Interest” (EOI) which, amongst other requirements, outlines the proposed work, identifies the project team, establishes the technical and commercial relevance and provides a summary of project funding from all sources. Applicants proceeding to the second stage will be asked to submit a full proposal which will seek greater project detail as well as additional information relating to, amongst other things, commercialization potential and IP management. In the CFP, applicants may also be directed to additional requirements specific to the implementation organization in each country.

Partnership Development Activities:

Applications for Partnership Development Activities will be sought through an open CFP, with applications processed in batches every 6 to 8 weeks. Although no limit to the size of each supported activity is set, in general, it is expected that funding support provided by each country Implementing Organization will notionally be in the $10,000 to $25,000 ($Cdn) range, assuming 50/50 cost sharing. ISTPCanada funding is limited to a maximum of 50% of eligible Canadian costs. For India applicants, in some cases, DST may provide up to 100% funding for eligible costs. More specific funding ceilings may be established by the respective Implementing Organizations for each type of activity.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Collaborative R&D Projects:

EOIs will be reviewed by the Implementing Organizations to determine those which best meet the basic requirements and objectives of the program. Following this review, Implementing Organizations will make a common decision regarding which EOIs will be rejected, accepted or returned for clarification and/or modification before a final accept/reject decision can be made. Applicants that submitted accepted EOIs will be asked to submit full proposals.

All proposals will be evaluated against three fundamental criteria:
  • The scientific merits of the project and the degree of innovation inherent in the product or service being developed;
  • The business opportunity of the proposed project and its capacity for commercial success in the near future; and
  • The capacity of the participants to manage and conduct the project, including commercialization thus leading to clear benefits to both countries.
All valid proposals will go through an independent external review process in both countries. Review committees consisting of independent experts in each country will evaluate the proposals. Based on the results of the evaluations, Implementing Organizations will make a common decision regarding successful proposals.

Partnership Development Activities:

Parallel evaluation processes will be conducted by the Implementing Organizations. Typically, within THREE months of receiving a proposal, results will be communicated to the co-applicants by their respective Implementing Organizations.

For further information contact:

India Canada
Sanghamitra Chakravarty, Programme Coordinator - Canada Bharat Rudra, Country Manager for India
Global Innovation & Technology Alliance
www.gita.org.in
ISTPCanada
www.istpcanada.ca
pc-canada@gita.org.in BharatRudra@istpcanada.ca
Fax: +91 11 24682229 Phone: (613) 729 3069 x224
India Habitat Centre, Core-4A, 4th Floor, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110003. 371 A Richmond Road, Suite 4, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K2A 0E7

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