Call for Proposal at the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT)

The Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) is requesting for:

Title: Call for Proposal on Delta-2 Programme Czech-Nigeria Bilateral Co-Funding R & D Project

Background
The Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer/ Information Exchange between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Czech Republic hereby announces a Call for Proposals for Joint R&D Projects between the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) under the Delta-2 Programme. The joint R&D projects will focus on specific outcomes in the field of applied research that will lead to new findings, innovative solutions, skills and capacity development for the production of new, high-tech and significantly improved products, processes and services.

Beneficiaries are expected to develop new products and R&D results that would be applied to solve current challenges and be commercialised by the private sector companies.

Joint Call for Proposals serves to provide the common understanding of the programme structure and to provide a brief on the general requirements. Participants are subject to additional rules and regulations. Lead organizations (Principal Applicants) on both sides, Czech and Nigeria, are responsible for seeking out and understanding their respective national laws, rules and regulations, and abiding by them accordingly.

Programme Structure
The TACR follows the concept of applied research, experimental development and innovation. In this context, applied research refers to an original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge and should be directed primarily towards a specific, practical goal or objective. Innovation is a new or significantly improved product (good or service) introduced to the market, or the introduction within an enterprise of a new or significantly improved process. The Research and Development activity proposed under this Call must therefore reflect the following features: novelty, creativity, certainty, systematic procedure and methodology, transferability and/or reproducibility.

The project should have an obvious advantage and added value, resulting from the cooperation between the participants from the respective countries (e.g. increased knowledge base, satisfy commercial needs, access to R&D infrastructure, new fields of application, etc.). Any interested applicant whose R&D project proposal is compliant with the aforementioned criteria may apply for the present open Call for Proposals in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and guiding laws.

The Delta-2 Programme hereby invites technology related organizations from both Nigeria and the Czech Republic to participate in this Call for Joint R&D projects. Joint R&D Project Proposals shall be submitted according to the following procedures:

A.) Focal Areas for R&D Project Proposals:
Priority areas of this bilateral cooperation is as follows:

• Agricultural and Food Technology;
• General Manufacturing for SMES Development.

TA CR cannot support purely Defence and Medical research projects with a predominance of clinical studies activities, as these areas of research are funded other funding institutions in the Czech Republic.

B.) Applicant Eligibility:

• Applicants shall take the form of consortiums consisting of R&D organisations based in the Czech Republic, making up one side of the partnership, and R&D organisations based in Nigeria, making up the other side of the partnership.

Nigerian Party in a Consortium
The lead organization from Nigeria shall be a company, duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), regardless of the size of the company. Universities or Research Institutions may apply for the Delta-2 Programme funding, provided the consortium includes at least one Nigerian company duly registered with the CAC. Interested applicants linked to or collaborating with NASENI are not allowed to participate in this Programme.

Czech Party in a Consortium
A company, regardless of the size, must be the lead organization on the Czech side. Universities or research organizations may only apply for the Delta-2 Programme funding provided that the consortium constitutes at least one Czech company. Interested applicants linked to or collaborating with TA CR are not allowed to participate in this Programme.

All Czech and Nigerian applicants are subjected to initial screening which examines the institution's capability to carry out the project. Screening criteria include, but are not limited to, bankruptcy history, disposition for tax delinquency, default history of the head of the company, debt ratio, review of the recent financial statement in terms of capital erosion, etc. Failure in any of these criteria will disqualify the applicant and the respective proposal will not proceed to the next stage of proposal evaluation.

Project Schedule

• Launch of the Call for Proposals - 18th May, 2022
• Project submission period - 19th May 13th July, 2022
• Results announcement deadline - 30th November, 2022
• Project/funding commencement -1st January - 30th March, 2023

The final result would be announced on TA CR, NASENI and PICTT websites on the same date. Government funding would be available for 36 months maximum.TA CR and NASENI will fund their respective nationals in the selected consortia in accordance with their national/regional funding rules. Supplementary funding may come from participant's own resources should the total project cost exceed the government funding. Matching fund is the basis of the funding scheme but flexibility in the funding ratio may be allowed depending on the roles each participant undertakes.

Click Here for information about the Czech funding scheme "Delta-2 Programme".

Information about the Nigerian funding scheme is available at www.pictt.gov.ng and www.naseni.gov.ng

Funding Budget and Support

• The maximum number of fundable projects for this Call is twenty-five (25).
• The grant is provided on the basis of matching funding requirement.
• Should the project be found to be disqualified from the interim evaluations, NASENI may retrieve the unused government funding.
• Funding will be awarded with a maximum support intensity of 70%.
• Eligible project costs include new equipment, materials, personnel costs, subcontracting or consulting, IP protection and travels for the purpose of the project.

Application Closing Date
13th July, 2022.

Submission of Proposal Documents
Czech participants shall upload a complete funding application at the time of the proposal submission. More information is available at: https:// www.tacr.cz/soutez/program-delta-2/ (CZ) or https://www.tacr.cz/en/delta-2-programme/ (ENG)

Nigerian applicants shall submit a completed funding application at the time of the proposal submission. More information can be found at: https://www.pictt.gov.ng

Consultation at an early stage is recommended. Please contact: info@pictt.gov.ng or adebimpe_sosan@pictt.gov.ng or WhatsApp/Call 07051150473 for any questions or concerns.

Address:
PIC Secretariat,
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI),
Idu Industrial Area, Idu-Karmo,
F.C.T - Abuja.