Walking towards an European regionally based research area on new processes and flexible intelligent manufacturing systems

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MANUNET 2010 CALL IN MANUFACTURING RESEARCH

Tuesday, 01 December 2009 11:52

Launching: 7th January 2010
Deadline for pre-proposal submission: 24th March 2010, 17:00 (GMT+1:00)
Deadline for full proposals submission: 7th July 2010, 17:00 (GMT+1:00)

Online Proposal Submission

Documentation Kit

Objectives and topics

The strategic objective of the MANUNET call for proposals is to foster the competitiveness of Europe’s Manufacturing Industry by supporting the funding of manufacturing research projects performed by enterprises (preferably SMEs) and their strategic partnerships.

The funding objectives of the call are transnational application oriented and high risk R&D projects related to Manufacturing. The project proposals must clearly demonstrate:

  • Transnational, collaborative R&D with a significant degree of innovation and scientific and technical risk
  • Market orientation
  • The application and practical use of manufacturing technologies
  • Expertise of the project partners in their respective fields of competence
  • Added value through transnational cooperation
  • Scale of impact and the market positioning of the applicant

The MANUNET call for applications includes all fields in Manufacturing, structured in the following topics:

  • Information and communication technologies for manufacturing including industrial robotics;
  • Environmental and energy technologies;
  • Knowledge-based engineering technologies (computer-aided engineering and design, automated manufacturing, product lifetime management, etc.);
  • Adaptive manufacturing technologies: processes for removing, joining, adding, forming, consolidating, assembling;
  • Other technologies/products related to the manufacturing field.

However, the respective regional/national thematic programme focus should be taken into account.

Participating regions/countries

MANUNET is funding transnational research projects in the field of manufacturing by offering coordinated calls from the participating regional and national governments.

The third MANUNET call is open for entities belonging to these regions/countries:

  • Asturias (Spain)
  • Austria
  • Basque Country (Spain)
  • Catalonia (Spain)
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Israel
  • Lower Austria (Austria)
  • Navarra (Spain)
  • Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
  • Piedmont (Italy)
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Tuscany (Italy)
  • Wallonia (Belgium)
  • Western Greece (Greece)

Eligible projects

All MANUNET projects must be designed on the following principle: consortia consisting of at least 2 independent SMEs belonging to 2 participating countries, or 2 regions in different countries (see list of regions/countries above). (Some regions/countries may have further requirements. See section on funding programmes or contact your regional/national agency).

Large companies, academic research groups, universities or other public organisations, as well as subcontractors, may also participate according to their regional/national financing regulations, as long as there are 2 independent SMEs belonging to 2 different participating countries.

The composition of the consortium should be efficient in size in order to accomplish the objectives proposed. However, small medium projects with no more than 4 or 5 partners are expected.

Application procedure and evaluation

The MANUNET web site is provided with a tool for fulfilling Expressions of Interest, devoted to search and find partners for common projects within the MANUNET network. http://manunet.kvs.sjf.stuba.sk/

In the first phase of the application procedure (mandatory for all applicants), the Coordinator of the project has to submit on-line a pre-proposal in English on the MANUNET web site.

The evaluation of the pre-proposals will be performed by a Transnational Coordination Team (TCT), which will recommend / not recommend the submission of full proposals.

For the submission of full proposals during the second phase, the coordinator has to submit on-line the full proposal in English. At the same time, every partner in the project must bear in mind the specific local application rules/requirements of each regional/national funding programme.

The official templates for the fulfilment of pre-proposals and full proposals, as well as the “MANUNET Guide for proposers” and the “Evaluation Guidelines” are available on the MANUNET website.

Funding programmes

  • Asturias: Companies performing R&D in Asturias. Up to 80% Grant. 150.000 € minimun eligible budget required. Universities and research or technology Centres as subcontractors. http://www.idepa.es
  • Austria: Applicants might be enterprises, research institutes and also individual researchers and inventors. Grant or loan (depending on the degree of innovation, technological risk, potential of realisation and economic performance) of up to max. 50 % of the complete project costs. http://www.ffg.at/content.php?cid=8
  • Basque Country: Only companies financed (universities and research centres as subcontractors). Max. 250,000€ per partner per year. Up to 50% grant (SMEs), up to 40% grant (large companies). http://www.industria.ejgv.euskadi.net/r44-569/es/contenidos/ayuda_subvencion/gaitek_2005/es_8857/es_gaitek.html; http://www.spri.es/idi/idi
  • Catalonia: Small, medium and large companies can be funded. Private research centres, universities and other public research entities registered in Catalonia can participate as subcontractors. Funding is provided as a grant. Eligible expenses for the Catalan part of the MANUNET project from 150.000€ to 350.000€. Large companies, maximum of 50% of the costs of research activities and 25% of the costs of development activities can be funded; Medium companies, maximum of 60% of the costs of research activities and 35% of the costs of development activities can be funded; Small companies, maximum of 70% of the costs of research activities and 45% of the costs of development activities can be funded. 2 years- long projects. http://www.acc10.cat/ACC1O/cat/ajuts-financament/
  • Estonia: Companies, research centres and universities financed. Applied research projects can apply 60-75% grant - product development projects 35-50%. http://www.eas.ee/index.php/for-the-entrepreneur/innovation/product-development-grant
  • France: Loans for SMEs and other enterprises up to 2000 employees (no interest rate, reimbursable in case of success). Variable funding rate. Types of institutions eligible for funding: National SME up to 2000 employees, national academic lab if involved in a consortium with at least one eligible French enterprise, and foreign SME when it is a subcontractor. Types of institutions NOT eligible for funding: national and foreign large industry. http://www.oseo.fr/votre_projet/international/aides_et_financements/partenariats_technologiques
  • Israel: The competitive R&D fund supports industrial competitive R&D projects through grants covering up to 50% of the eligible innovation costs. Grants are mostly allocated to SMEs and can include some other types of organizations as sub-contractors. http://www.matimop.org.il/
  • Lower Austria: Companies, research centres and universities financed. RD projects up to 50% funding. Industrial research up to 25%. Experimental development for SMEs possibilities for additional 10%. Grant or loan, depending on the type of organisation. http://www.wirtschaftsfoerderung.at/
  • Navarra: Companies, research centres and universities financed. Companies up to 50% grant (33% average). No minimum/maximum elegible budget required. http://www.navarra.es/home_es/servicios/ficha/2896/Ayudas-a-proyectos-de-investigacion-desarrollo-e-innovacion-(I-D-i)
  • Northern Ireland: Under EU R&D&I guidelines, Grant for R&D is available (up to 80%) to companies for collaboration, depending on size of company, type of research & need for assistance. No partner company can be responsible for more than 70% of total eligible costs. No aid maxima and no maximum project duration. http://www.investni.com/index/grow/research_and_development/grant_for_r_d.htm
  • Piedmont: SMEs financed (large companies, universities and research centres only as subcontractors) for industrial research or experimental development within manufacturing. Piedmontese companies must have at least 20% of the participation (if there are more than one Piedmontese SME in the project, the share of 20% must be held for at least one). No company in the project (Piedmontese or not) can sustain more than 70% of total eligible costs. Piedmontese component of project: minimum budget 50,000€. Grant up to 50%. Maximum grant per project 450,000€. Projects must be realized within 36 months from grant assistance. http://www.regione.piemonte.it/industria/leggi/bandomanunet.htm
  • Romania: 2nd National Plan for RDI, Program "Partnerships in S&T priority areas". Research institutes, universities, research companies, research centres financed. Type of funding: grant. Maximum budget per Romanian part in a project: 600.000€. Maximum duration of a project: 3 years. http://www.cnmp.ro/int/
  • Slovakia: Only universities financed. Companies and research centres only in cooperation with universities. 15,000-20,000€ grant per project per year. http://projekty.kvs.sjf.stuba.sk/manunet_call_2007/Index.php
  • Slovenia: Companies, research centres and universities financed. Co-financing 60% small enterprises, 50% medium enterprises and 40% big enterprises. RTO-s and universities 40%. 250.00€ is available for each year of founding. Maximum 60.000 per project, per year can be claimed. http://www.mvzt.gov.si
  • Switzerland: The participating programme is focused on the promotion of innovative, application oriented research projects. Funding allowed only for projects consisting of a project partnership between a public research institute/University partner and at least one application oriented industrial partner. Only the salaries of the public research institute/University partner will be funded up to 50% of the project costs. http://www.kti-cti.ch ; http://www.bbt.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en
  • Turkey: TUBITAK provides grants for international or national innovative research and development projects proposed by industrial companies and SMEs settled in Turkey. Project personnel costs, equipment, software, travel, subcontractors and material costs are eligible. The support rate %50-60 for large companies and %75 for SMEs. No project budget/duration limit at application. http://www.teydeb.tubitak.gov.tr/
  • Tuscany: SMEs financed (universities and research centres as subcontractors). Total budget 1.000.000,00 €. Maximum contribution 200.000,00 € per partner per project. Maximum duration 24 months. Priority to ICT district. Food sector excluded. http://www.innovazione.toscana.it
  • Wallonia: Large companies, academias and research centers can be funded. Maximum funding is: 60-80% grant for SMEs, 50-60% grant for large companies, 100% grant for academia and 75% grant for research centres. Maximum projects length: 36 months. http://recherche-technologie.wallonie.be/
  • Western Greece: Only SMEs funded (universities and research centres as subcontractors or consortia members up to 40% of budget). Grant up to 50% in total. Maximum project duration 24 months.

    • Further information

    For further information, it is strongly recommended to contact your regional/national contact person: