Funding competition EUREKA GlobalStars Japan

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million to develop innovative proposals with Japan and other EUREKA participating members.

This competition is now closed.

Start new application

Competition sections

Description

EUREKA, in partnership with NEDO (Japan), announce a Global Stars funding competition for research and development (R&D) projects under the EUREKA programme.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing £1 million to fund UK businesses leading collaborative research and development (R&D) projects.

Projects should result in a new product, industrial process or service, be innovative and involve a technological risk.

Projects must be co-ordinated by a lead partner from the UK and a lead partner from Japan. Partners from each additional country should also nominate a lead from that country.

UK participants must complete the application on the Innovation Funding Service, and provide all documents required, by 5pm British summer time on the deadline stated

The EUREKA application form must be submitted using the new application platform available through the Japan Global Stars call page on the EUREKA website.by 5pm British summer time on the deadline stated.

Funding type

Grant

Project size

Total eligible UK project costs are expected to be between £100,000 and £1 million.

Who can apply

State aid

Any UK registered business claiming grant funding must be eligible to receive state aid at the time we confirm you will be awarded funding. It is not possible to award grant funding to organisations meeting the condition known as undertakings in difficulty. If you are unsure please take legal advice. For further information see our general guidance on state aid.

Your project

Your project must:

  • have total UK eligible costs between £100,000 and £1 million
  • start by 1 March 2021
  • last up to 24 months

Your project start date is dependent on the national funding procedures of the participating members national funding body involved in the selected projects.

Projects must be collaborative.

If your project’s total costs or duration fall outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at least 10 days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

UK lead organisation

To lead a project your organisation must:

  • be a UK registered business, of any size
  • involve at least one UK based SME, unless the lead themselves is an SME
  • the UK registered SME in your consortium must incur at least half of the UK total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one UK SME, this minimum is shared between them
  • collaborate with a lead organisation registered in Japan

Overseas partners

Organisations from other EUREKA participating members must meet the funding and eligibility conditions of their respective national funding bodies. These will be provided in the competitions page on the EUREKA website, which will be published when this competition opens.

The consortium must include at least 2 businesses that are independent from each other:

  • one business registered in Japan
  • one business from one of the EUREKA participating members taking part in the project. As a minimum this would be the UK registered lead

UK partners

In addition to the UK lead, the collaboration can also include other UK registered businesses of any size and UK registered research organisations.

Research organisations cannot lead or work alone. They must be able to show how they will exploit the results of the project to grow the wider sector in the UK.

Each partner must carry out the majority of their funded work within the country from which they receive funding, for example the UK for Innovate UK funding.

The UK research organisations in your consortium can share up to 30% of the UK total eligible project costs. If your consortium has more than one UK research organisation, this maximum is shared between them.

Projects should have a balanced contribution of the total eligible project costs among the partners from the participating partner members. No more than 70% of the total project costs can be claimed by any single partner or by all partners from a single EUREKA participating partner member collectively.

The businesses in a consortium must be separate legal and non-linked entities. This is to ensure that projects encourage genuine international collaboration, not internal company research. Linked companies are considered a single entity under the parent company. They can specify which EUREKA participating member they want to request funding from. Each company will receive funding from its respective national funding body.

Each UK partner organisation must be invited into IFS by the lead to collaborate on a project. Partners must enter their own project costs into IFS.

Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Your project can include subcontractors, but they must not account for more than 20% of the total eligible costs of the UK participation.

Multiple applications

Any one UK registered business can lead on one application and collaborate in a further 2 applications.

A UK registered research organisation can be a collaborator in any number of applications.

Terminology

The terminology differs between EUREKA and Innovate UK. The lead applicant is responsible for the entire project, but EUREKA uses the term ‘main participant’. For partners in the collaboration it uses ‘other participants’.

Previous applications

Resubmissions

You cannot use a resubmission to apply for this competition. A resubmission is a proposal Innovate UK judges as not materially different from one you have submitted before. It can be updated based on the assessors' feedback.

If you submit a new proposal this time you will be able to use it in no more than one future competition that allows resubmissions.

Failure to exploit

If you applied to a previous Innovate UK competition as the lead or sole organisation and were awarded funding by Innovate UK or UK Research and Innovation, but did not make a substantial effort to exploit that award, Innovate UK will award no more funding to you, in this or any other Innovate UK competition. You will not be able to contest this decision. Innovate UK will:

  • assess your efforts in the previous competition against your exploitation plan for that project
  • review the monitoring officers’ reports and any other relevant sources for evidence
  • document our decision, which will be made by 3 team members, and communicate it to you in writing

Previous projects

Under the terms of Innovate UK funding, you must submit an independent accountant’s report (IAR) with your final claim. If you or any organisation in your consortium failed to submit an IAR on a previous project, we will not award funding to you in this or any other competition until we have received the documents.

Funding

We have allocated up to £1 million to fund innovation projects in this competition.

If your organisation’s work on the project is mostly commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.

12th August 2020 -Text update: clarified the limits of State aid are not to be exceeded allowing businesses to exploit IP.

For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

  • up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
  • up to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisation
  • up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Eligible project costs are defined in the project costs guidance.

The UK registered research organisations in your consortium undertaking non-economic activity, can share up to 30% of the UK total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one UK registered research organisation, this maximum will be shared between them.

This competition provides state aid funding under article 25 ‘Aid for research and development projects’ of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). It is your responsibility to make sure that your organisation is eligible to receive state aid.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to support innovative proposals developed between the UK, Japan and other EUREKA participating members.

We are looking to fund a portfolio of projects, across a variety of technologies, markets, technological maturities and research categories.

Your collaborative R&D proposal must demonstrate:

  • a clear game-changing and/or disruptive innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
  • a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses (and documents) market potential and needs
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines
  • value for money
  • a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
  • clear, considerable potential to significantly benefit the UK economy and/or national productivity
  • the benefit of participants from the countries working together and how this adds value
  • a clear definitions of where intellectual property (IP) can be used and shared between the participants and countries
  • a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion
Innovate UK reserves the right to apply a ‘portfolio’ approach for the selection of projects in this competition. This will be aligned with the priorities of participating EUREKA members.

Research categories

Your project must focus on industrial research. Please see the general guidance to help you decide which category your project fits in.

Projects we will not fund

We will not fund projects that:

  • are in the nuclear or pharmaceutical sector
  • have non-civilian applications
  • do not include at least one UK registered SME and one Japanese registered business
  • do not meet Innovate UK’s eligibility criteria
  • do not submit all mandatory documentation
8 June 2020
Competition opens
16 June 2020
Online briefing event: watch recording
11 September 2020 11:00am
Competition closes
18 December 2020
Applicants notified

Before you start

As well as submitting an application on the Innovation Funding Service, UK lead applicants must complete the EUREKA project application on behalf of their project using the new application platform available through the Japan Global Stars call page on the EUREKA website.

If you do not submit all required documentation your application will be ineligible.

After the competition deadline Innovate UK will check your application is eligible and in scope.

UK grant claiming partners in consortiums led by organisations from other participating partner members must nominate one UK point of contact. This person must submit an application through the Innovation Funding Service and upload the EUREKA form completed by the lead applicant.

If you do not submit all required documentation your application will be ineligible.

More information about the application process for participating partner members is on the EUREKA calls for projects website once the competition opens.

To complete the EUREKA process

The international consortium must complete the EUREKA project application form .

What we will ask you

The application is split into 3 sections:

  1. Project details.
  2. Application questions.
  3. Finances.

1. Project details

This section provides background for the assessors and is not scored, but we will use it to decide whether the project fits with the scope of the competition. If it does not, it will be immediately rejected.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail, and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope it will be immediately rejected and will not be sent for assessment. We will give you feedback on why. Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Application team

Invite colleagues to contribute to your application and other organisations to collaborate on your project.

Application details

The lead applicant must complete this section. Give your project’s title, start date and duration. Is the application a resubmission?

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score your answers to these questions. You will receive feedback from them for each question.

Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers unless we have explicitly requested a link to a video.

Question 1: Eureka application (not scored)

Type ‘Eureka application attached’ as your answer.

You must submit a copy of your completed Eureka application as an appendix. It must be in a PDF format. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 2. Need or challenge

What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity behind your innovation?

Describe or explain:

  • the main motivation for the project
  • the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity
  • the nearest current state-of-the-art, including those near market or in development, and its limitations
  • any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example if the project focuses on developing an existing capability or building a new one
  • the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating the opportunity, such as incoming regulations, using our Horizons tool if appropriate

Question 3. Approach and innovation

What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?

Describe or explain:

  • how you will respond to the need, challenge or opportunity identified
  • how you will improve on the nearest current state-of-the-art identified
  • whether the innovation will focus on the application of existing technologies in new areas, the development of new technologies for existing areas or a totally disruptive approach
  • the freedom you have to operate
  • how this project fits with your current product, service lines or offerings
  • how it will make you more competitive
  • the nature of the outputs you expect from the project (for example report, demonstrator, know-how, new process, product or service design) and how these will help you to target the need, challenge or opportunity identified

You can submit one appendix. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 4. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Describe or explain:

  • the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking
  • the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them
  • the details of any vital external parties, including sub-contractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project
  • the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project
  • any roles you will need to recruit for

You can submit one appendix. This can include a short summary of the main people working on the project to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 4 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 5. Market awareness

What does the market you are targeting look like?

Describe or explain:

  • the markets (domestic, international or both) you will be targeting in the project, and any other potential markets
  • the size of the target markets for the project outcomes, backed up by references where available
  • the structure and dynamics of the target markets, including customer segmentation, together with predicted growth rates within clear timeframes
  • the target markets’ main supply or value chains and business models, and any barriers to entry that exist
  • the current UK position in targeting these markets
  • the size and main features of any other markets not already listed

If your project is highly innovative, where the market may be unexplored, describe or explain:

  • what the market’s size might to be
  • how your project will try to explore the market’s potential

Question 6. Outcomes and route to market

How are you going to grow your business and increase your productivity into the long term as a result of the project?

Describe or explain:

  • your current position in the markets and supply or value chains outlined, and whether you will be extending or establishing your market position
  • your target customers or end users, and the value to them, for example why they would use or buy your product
  • your route to market
  • how you are going to profit from the innovation, including increased revenues or cost reduction
  • how the innovation will affect your productivity and growth, in both the short and the long term
  • how you will protect and exploit the outputs of the project, for example through know-how, patenting, designs or changes to your business model
  • your strategy for targeting the other markets you have identified during or after the project

If there is any research organisation activity in the project, describe:

  • your plans to spread the project’s research outputs over a reasonable timescale
  • how you expect to use the results generated from the project in further research activities

Question 7. Wider impacts

What impact might this project have outside the project team?

Describe, and where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

  • external parties
  • customers
  • others in the supply chain
  • broader industry
  • the UK economy

Describe, and where possible, measure:

  • any expected impact on government priorities
  • any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative
  • any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative on, for example:

  • quality of life
  • social inclusion or exclusion
  • jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them
  • education
  • public empowerment
  • health and safety
  • regulations
  • diversity

Question 8. Project management

How will you manage the project effectively?

Describe or explain:

  • the main work packages of the project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one
  • your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome
  • the management reporting lines
  • your project plan in enough detail to identify any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 9. Risks

What are the main risks for this project?

Describe or explain:

  • the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks, providing a risk register if appropriate
  • how you will mitigate these risks
  • any project inputs that are critical to completion, such as resources, expertise, data sets
  • any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and so on, and how you will manage this

You must submit a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 A4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Added value

What impact would an injection of public funding have on the businesses involved?

Describe or explain:

  • whether this project could go ahead in any form without public funding and if so, the difference the public funding would make, such as a faster route to market, more partners or reduced risk
  • the likely impact of the project on the businesses of the partners involved
  • why you are not able to wholly fund the project from your own resources or other forms of private-sector funding, and what would happen if the application is unsuccessful
  • how this project would change the nature of R&D activity the partners would undertake, and the related spend

Question 11. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

In terms of the project goals, describe or explain:

  • the total eligible project costs
  • the grant you are requesting
  • how each partner will finance their contributions to the project
  • how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer
  • how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise
  • the balance of costs and grant across the project partners
  • any sub-contractor costs and why they are critical to the project

3. Finances

Each UK organisation in your project must complete its own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must complete and upload a Je-S form

For full details on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance.

Background and further information

EUREKA is an intergovernmental network launched in 1985. Its aim is to support market-oriented R&D and innovation projects by industry, research centres and universities across all technological sectors. It is composed of 45 members, including the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and 4 associated members:

·Canada

·South Africa

·Chile

·Argentina

There is also a partner member, South Korea.

With its flexible and decentralised network, EUREKA offers project partners:

·rapid access to skills and expertise across the world

·national public and private funding schemes

Extra help

If you need help with the EUREKA project application, contact EUREKA directly.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network or register at the b2match virtual marketplace which you can access via the EUREKA website.

If you need more information, email us at support@innovateuk.ukri.org or call the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 between 9am and 11.30am or 2pm and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Enterprise Europe Network

If you are a UK SME and successful in receiving an award, you will be contacted by your local Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Innovation Advisor. They act on behalf of Innovate UK to discuss the growth opportunities for your business.

They offer bespoke business support services to help you maximise your project and business potential. This service forms part of your Innovate UK offer under our commitment to help UK SMEs grow and scale.

Please engage positively with your EEN contact so that, working together, you can determine the most appropriate form of growth support for your business.

Need help with this service? Contact us