2014 Competitive Call for

Research Plus Proposals

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS – CALL SPECIFICATION FUNDING INSTRUMENT F.

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETE APPLICATION SUBMISSION

IN PDF VIA EMAIL TO research@agriculture.gov.ie

THURSDAY 8TH MAY 2014 @ 1 PM

All applications will be treated in confidence and no information contained therein will be

communicated to any third party without the written permission of the applicant except insofar as

is specifically required for the evaluation of the proposal.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 1

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 2

2. OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2

3. ELIGIBILITY ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2

4. FUNDING ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3

5. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ............................................................................................................................................. 3

6. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS ..................................................................................................... 4

7. CONTRACT NEGOTIATION AND PROCEDURE FOR AWARD OF GRANT ..................................................... 5

8. FUNDING PAYMENT PROCEDURE ........................................................................................................................... 5

9. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY ............................................................................................................................... 6

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ..................................................................................................................................... 7

11. FURTHER INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................................ 7

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE COMPLETION OF APPLICATION FORMS ............................................... 8

SECTION 1: PROJECT DETAILS ...................................................................................................................................... 8

SECTION 2: PROJECT INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................... 9

SECTION 3: BUDGET DETAILS ..................................................................................................................................... 13

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1. INTRODUCTION

Research plus 2014 is an initiative that has been developed in response to the Irish Government’s

Strategy to ensure maximum value for money is gained from recent or current investments.

Research plus seeks to add value to previous investments made through the Department of

Agriculture, Food and the Marine competitive research funding programmes, Food Institutional

Research Measure, Research Stimulus Fund and the Programme of Competitive Forest Research for

Development. This initiative will provide an opportunity for those research projects, either recently

completed or near completion, to further exploit the outputs of those projects to bring them to a

point which will enable future commercialisation of the outputs. Research plus is designed to add

value to these projects with an expectation that successful applicants will seek funding from

Enterprise Ireland (EI) for the commercialisation of the research.

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of Research plus are:

• To add value, through further research, to the outputs of recently completed or nearly

completed FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD projects;

• To provide additional funding to get the research to a point where applicants are in a

position to apply to Enterprise Ireland for future funding;

• To encourage researchers to apply their research findings for commercial gain to the Irish

economy.

3. ELIGIBILITY

• Principal Investigators who recently completed (within the last 24 months) or who are nearly

finished (within the next 12 months) a FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project are eligible to apply.

• Applicants have to be in a position to continue to be responsible for the scientific and

technical direction of the project.

• Researchers should be able to demonstrate that they have managed the intellectual

property (IP) of those projects appropriately so as not to have compromised their use for

future commercial potential. In this regard, applicants will have to provide documented

evidence that they have discussed their research with the Technology Transfer Officer (TTO)

or equivalent within their research organisation and that the TTO or equivalent has deemed

the research outputs to have some future commercial potential. Funding will be contingent

on this criteria being adhered to.

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• Collaboration between the coordinator with other research and/or industry partners is

allowed and indeed encouraged, but collaboration is not a pre-requisite of the initiative.

However, if the IP was generated as a result of a previous collaboration, then

FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD will require a statement from the collaborator, should that collaborator

not be involved in the proposal, stating that they are supportive of the application. Should

the application be successful, FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD may require confirmation from the TTO or

equivalent, that this is in fact the case and there is no issue with regard to the use of that IP

in future projects.

• The applicant must be a Principal Investigator / permanent member of staff of the lead

organisation.

• Each application must be endorsed by the research organisation and the TTO or equivalent’s

office.

4. FUNDING

The total budget for a Research plus award is €100,000 for a period of no longer than 12 months

from the agreed start date. This will include staff costs, travel and subsistence, consumables and

overheads at a maximum rate up to 25% of direct costs. Equipment costs are not eligible as it is

expected that the equipment required for the project should be already in place and available for

use within the research organisation.

Please refer to Annex 1 (Section 3: Budget Details) for specific guidelines in relation to these

categories.

5. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

All completed application forms must be signed by the Principal Investigator, the VP of

Research/Head of Research and the TTO or equivalent within the lead public research performing

organisation. Applications should be submitted electronically from the lead public research

performing organisation (RPO) to research@agriculture.gov.ie with the following in the Subject box

of the email – Research plus Applicants Name – Lead public research performing organisation (For

example: Research plus Joe Bloggs - University College Cork). Applications will be acknowledged. All

applications should comply with the guidelines below; those that do not adhere to the guidelines

will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant.

Applications will only be accepted on the Research plus Application Form which is available

to download from www.agriculture.gov.ie/research. All sections of the application form

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must be completed. Incomplete applications will be returned without review to the

applicant after the deadline submission date.

• All text in attachments should be written in single-spacing using at least 11 point font, with

at least 2.54 cm (1 in) right and left margins.

• The number of words/pages in any given section must not exceed those stated in these

guidelines.

• Appendices, or other unsolicited documentation, (e.g. team member CV’s, equipment

quotations) are not permitted. However, where relevant and appropriate, letters of support

from industry indicating their support for a particular application are welcome.

• The currency to be used is the euro (€).

• Applications received after the stated deadline will not be accepted.

The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is Thursday 8th May 2014 @1pm

6. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS

Only completed applications received on or before the closing date specified in the public call for

proposals will be assessed for funding. The proposals will be assessed according to the following 3-

stage process:

1. Each application will be initially assessed by DAFM staff to ensure that it is complete and

contains adequate information to properly assess the project proposal, and that the

proposal qualifies for assistance under the terms of the measure as set out above. Any

proposal that does not adequately address the specifics and topics of the Call Specification

will be deemed ineligible at this stage.

2. Following this preliminary assessment, the project proposal will be assigned to an expert

evaluation panel or panels as deemed appropriate by DAFM. The panels established for this

purpose will consist of experts from academia, the agri-food industry and the public service.

The following evaluation criteria will apply:

• Quality and novelty of the proposed outputs;

• Potential future commercial opportunities arising as a result of the award;

• Impact of the proposed work on the Irish Agri-Food and Forestry Industry (including

degree to which the proposed work addresses a consumer and/or end user

need/expectation) and the Irish economy;

• Track record of project management & commercialisation;

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• Freedom to operate with respect to the intellectual property being exploited.

3. Following the expert evaluation of project proposals, all project proposals considered

eligible for funding will be forwarded to the DAFM Competitive Research Committee

comprising of representatives from the public sector and industry. This Committee will

advise DAFM on the projects to be funded.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process.

7. CONTRACT NEGOTIATION AND PROCEDURE FOR AWARD OF GRANT

The coordinators of projects selected for funding will be informed of the indicative level of funding

and will be invited to address any issues raised by the Expert Evaluators and the DAFM

Competitive Research Committee within a given timeframe. As part of the contract negotiations,

DAFM may also:

Seek additional information it considers necessary on the details of the project.

Negotiate adjustments to proposal details to achieve consistency in approach across

projects in this Call. DAFM reserve the right to group successful projects into new or existing

programmes as appropriate at the award / implementation stage.

Following successful contract negotiations, an award letter will be issued to successful

applicants. This letter will outline the contractual obligations and conditions that will apply to

the award. Successful applicants must acknowledge receipt of the award letter and acceptance of

the contract conditions. In accepting the award, the applicant agrees to carry out the project

according to the work programme as laid out in the finalised project proposal and the agreed

budget.

8. FUNDING PAYMENT PROCEDURE

The grant rate may be up to 100% funding for eligible costs. Eligible costs are the costs necessarily

incurred in carrying out the research project as described in the project document. They must fulfill

the following conditions:

• Be wholly necessary for the project

• Be incurred during the timeframe of the project

• Be recorded in the accounts that will be maintained throughout the duration of the project

and reported on as required.

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Eligible costs will be allowed in the categories of:

(a) Staff costs

(b) Travel & subsistence

(c) Consumables

(d) Overheads

(e) Other agreed costs

Please refer to Annex 1 (Section 3: Budget Details) for specific guidelines in relation to these

categories.

Following acceptance of the contract conditions, an advance payment may be made.

Further payments will be dependent on satisfactory progress as assessed by DAFM on submission of

progress reports, to include a technical report and details on financial expenditure incurred in the

reporting period. A final report will also be required. 20% of the grant will be withheld until the final

report is submitted, evaluated and deemed acceptable.

The beneficiary must maintain separate records for all transactions relating to the project to be

funded and must make this and all supporting documents available as and when required for

examination by officers of DAFM (a separate file holding all documents relating to the project must

be kept).

Officers of DAFM must be allowed access to the beneficiary’s premises at all reasonable times for

the purposes of assessing the progress of projects and examining the financial and other records

relating to it. DAFM aims to carry out on site inspection for all projects at least once during their

lifetime.

In the event of failure by a beneficiary to comply with any or all of the grant aid conditions, payment

of aid may be reduced, suspended or cancelled.

Payment of the final claim is dependent on DAFM being satisfied that the project has been

successfully completed.

9. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY

Prospective applicants should note that:

(a) In disseminating research achievements, public RPOs should acknowledge that the project was

funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through the FIRM / RSF / CoFoRD

Programmes. The Department’s logo may be obtained from DAFM at the address provided in

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Section 11.

(b) DAFM may publicise details of applications and awards made under this

measure.

(c) Information supplied to DAFM may be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom

of Information Act 1997 and 2003, and in accordance with the conditions of those Acts.

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Institutions must adhere to the new national IP policy “Putting public research to work for Ireland”

document:

http://www.djei.ie/publications/science/2012/Intellectual_Property_Protocol_Putting_Public_Resea

rch_to_Work_for_Ireland.pdf launched in June 2012.

Successful applicants are required to take necessary steps to:

(a) Preserve and protect such intellectual property rights including, where appropriate, applying for

patent registration; and

(b) Actively exploit any discoveries, inventions or processes resulting from the research, by means of

commercial licensing arrangements or otherwise.

Whenever possible, IP shall be managed for the benefit of enterprise development in Ireland.

Where relevant, researchers are required to discuss research outputs and potential IP with their

TTO.

11. FURTHER INFORMATION

Any enquiry with regard to the above should be addressed to:

Maureen O’Sullivan,

Research Division,

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,

Kildare Street,

Dublin 2.

Phone No: (01) 6072142

E-mail: research@agriculture.gov.ie

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ANNEX 1

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE COMPLETION OF APPLICATION FORMS

The proposal form is in four sections, as follows:

• Section 1: Project Details

• Section 2: Project Information

• Section 3: Budget Details

• Section 4: Declaration

The relevant part of each section must be completed.

SECTION 1: PROJECT DETAILS

Sector in which your innovation is expected to have most impact

The proposal should be classified under one of the sectors listed in the application form, these

include Dairy, Meat, Prepared Consumer Foods, Fresh Cut Produce, Cereals, Animal Production, Crop

Production, Forestry and Other. One box only must be ticked.

Project Title

Title, as given by the lead Institution. Please keep the title as short as possible.

Project Acronym

Please provide a suitable acronym for the project, preferably one that is easy to pronounce.

Existing/previous FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project title and DAFM project number

Principal Investigators who have co-ordinated a recently completed (within the last 24 months) or

who are nearly finished a FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project are eligible to apply. Please provide the project

title and DAFM project number.

Lead Institution

Please indicate which institution is responsible for the project. This is the Institution where the

Principal Investigator is employed.

Principal Investigator

Each project should have a principal investigator and the PI must be a permanent member of staff.

The principal investigator and the project co-ordinator may be the same person. If that is the case,

please indicate this in the Application Form.

Address/Tel/E-Mail

In the case of the project, these details should be those for the project co-ordinator.

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Dates

The start and completion date of the project must be in dd/mm/yy format. The target start date of

01/11/14 should be reported, bearing in mind that the grant award contract is unlikely to be

finalised before the autumn of 2014.

Collaborating Institutions

All institutions involved should be listed showing individual Total Project Costs (including financial

contributions) and the Grant Requested for each institution.

SECTION 2: PROJECT INFORMATION

Section 2 requires the completion of statements that describe the project, place it in context, specify

objectives and outline potential benefits. Responses should be kept brief, preferably expressed in

point form and repetition should be avoided.

The following indicate the type of responses required to the various sub-sections within Section 2.

The number of words in any given section must not exceed the amount stated below.

2.1 Project Abstract

The abstract should be short, precise and not more than 300 words. It should provide a clear

description of the objectives of the project proposal and how these objectives will be achieved.

2.2 Project Proposal

In presenting your project proposal you should structure the content under all of the following

headings:

2.2.1 Provide evidence of the commercial & consumer need/expectation for your proposed

project.

Applicants should provide evidence (in not more than 200 words) of the commercial need for their

product/process. Where is the market for the outputs of your research? It should justify the need

for the research with regard to industry/other end users and to consumers.

2.2.2 What is the specific problem to be addressed by this proposal? What are the expected

outputs that will form the basis of a solution?

Describe clearly (in not more than 200 words) the issue that you will address within your project.

Also, detail the expected outputs of the research, ensuring that your focus is on the commercial

benefit of the outputs to the end user and how the outputs form a solution. Details should be

provided on the specific additional advances to be gained from the current proposal. It is assumed

that the institution(s) will be able to make existing equipment and facilities available to the project.

This is in order to satisfy the FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD condition that funding is provided to institutions that

can demonstrate a capability for the research.

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2.2.3 What is the particular impact that your proposed project would have commercially and

economically in the Irish Agri-food/Forestry sector and the wider Irish economy at large?

The impacts of the proposed work and how these impacts relate to the end users should be set out

(in not more than 200 words). This could include a description of likely beneficial outcomes on

consumers, industry, end users, State Agencies etc. and reference to any likely commercial

application. This includes any potential for new product, process or technology development, the

potential for intellectual property, including patents or licenses, how it may assist innovation or

competitiveness in the industry and so forth. The potential market/economic impact should be

quantified where appropriate.

2.2.4 Outline how the results of the research will assist Industry to meet consumer and/or other

end users needs/expectations.

A description should be provided on the ways in which the research will help industry meet

consumer and/or end users needs and/or expectations.

2.2.5 Provide a background description/data on current FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project(s) on which

this proposal is based.

A summary of the recently completed/existing FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD project(s) should be provided and

particular reference should be made to the outputs of that project upon which this application will

be based (in not more than 200 words). The data to be exploited should also be summarised and

applicants should indicate how robust that data is. This section should provide details of previous

and ongoing related research (title and reference number), outline how the current proposal fits in

with this research and outline how it builds on existing knowledge and capability.

2.2.6 Describe your track record in relation to innovation and commercialisation (where

applicable, include details on Enterprise Ireland funding awarded to date and any other

commercialisation funding awarded from any other agency).

This section should include a description of the applicant’s experience with respect to innovation,

commercialisation and management of intellectual property (in not more than 200 words).

Information regarding Patents, Licenses, Invention Disclosure Forms and other forms of intellectual

property should be included in this section.

2.2.7 Describe your track record with respect to research management and project management

in this area of research.

This section should include a description of the applicant’s previous project management experience

at both national and international level (in not more than 200 words). Experience and capability of

the research team is one of the criteria on which the proposals are evaluated. It is necessary to

provide sufficient information to convince those who read it that the project will be well managed

and co-ordinated.

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2.2.8 What IPR has been developed to date or is expected to be developed? Where existing IPR

is the subject of this proposal, provide evidence on the freedom to operate (FTO) status of the

relevant IPR.

Each application must be endorsed by the research organisation and the TTO or equivalents’ office.

Researchers should be able to demonstrate that they have managed the intellectual property of

those projects appropriately so as not to have compromised their use for future commercial

potential (in not more than 200 words). In this regard, applicants will have to provide documented

evidence that they have discussed their research with the TTO or equivalent within their research

organisation and that the TTO or equivalent has deemed the research outputs to have some future

commercial potential. Evidence should be provided that the area of research you propose to

explore is not covered by an existing restrictive IP licence. For an IP search database please refer to

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/ or similar. Please outline, in a concise format, the results of the

search in the application form.

2.2.9 Describe any potential implications the project may have under the following headings:

Regulatory (including health claims)

A brief summary of any potential regulatory implications that may arise in bringing the project

findings to commercialisation should be given (in not more than 200 words).

Feasibility of uptake of technology/findings in Ireland

How feasible will it be for Industry in Ireland to implement the findings of the research (in not

more than 200 words)?

Market/consumer acceptance

Are there likely to be any market or consumer acceptance issues with the technology/findings

(in not more than 200 words)?

Competitiveness in the context of related existing technologies in the area

Will the technology/findings be cost competitive when compared to existing related

systems/technologies in the area (in not more than 200 words)?

2.2.10 Outline the proposed route to commercialisation

A proposed route to commercialisation of the project findings should be elucidated (in not more

than 400 words).

2.2.11 Project task list

The Task List is intended to provide details of the work being carried out in terms of the research

methodologies being proposed, division of responsibilities, the outcome of the work and the

progress of the research over time. It allows the evaluators of the proposal to determine the

scientific excellence of the research, and subsequently to facilitate the evaluation of progress made

on the task. It should enable the evaluators to determine exactly who is responsible for which

aspects of the work, on both an institutional and principal researcher basis. The latter information

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should be included within the text of the task description. A project can have as many tasks as is

necessary to undertake the research and deliver the stated objectives.

The dates should clearly specify the time period over which the task is scheduled to take place.

Tasks:

Each task should be given a title.

Start and Finish:

The start and finish dates should be included as month number e.g. start month no. 1 and finish

month no. 12.

Lead Institution:

Please indicate the lead institution for each task, the name of the lead researcher and the other

institutions involved in carrying out the task. Within the task description, the role of the various

collaborators should be clear.

Objectives:

The objectives of the task should be provided and these should be related to achieving the overall

objectives of the project.

Description:

The description should provide an outline of the work to be done to achieve the objectives. It should

include, for example, experimental methodologies, numbers of experimental units, specialised

equipment, institutions involved and role of collaborators etc.

Milestones:

Milestones denote when aspects of the work are complete and must be completed for each task.

Each milestone should indicate the work that should be completed by a certain date. The dates

should be given as month number.

Deliverables:

Deliverables should indicate what the outputs of the task will be. The outputs and deliverables

expected from the task as a whole should be described. They should be measurable/quantifiable.

Dates for deliverable to be achieved should be indicated. The dates should be given as month

number.

Dissemination Task

Your final task should outline the dissemination plans for the project in its entirety. It should include

all forms of dissemination, including scientific, technical and where appropriate, commercial

dissemination. Dissemination should be appropriate to the project. In considering how the research

will be disseminated, the research team should include all stakeholders that may benefit from these

outputs and develop plans to target these stakeholders. Details such as the journals that will be

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targeted, technical publications, workshops etc. should be provided and the rationale for their use.

Coordinators are advised to seek advice from their institutions’ technical transfer officer

on dissemination of sensitive information, which may be subject to an IP application.

SECTION 3: BUDGET DETAILS

Due to the fact that this project is 1 year in duration there is no requirement for detailed budgets,

the budget table detailed in section 3 will suffice. Section 3.1 includes the budget tables and

instructions for the completion of this are detailed below and Section 3.2 provides justification for

the costs outlined in the budget sheets.

3.1 Guidelines when Completing Budget Details

Proposed budget

Each institute’s budgets must be completed in the table provided, there are two columns provided

allowing for two institutions, if there are more institutions involved please add columns as required

Staff costs

Costs will be allowed for additional staff specifically hired to carry out work on the project. PhD

stipend or fees are not eligible. It excludes permanent staff employed by the institutions

concerned. The staff costs should be in line with those on the IUA/equivalent scale, commencing at

the minimum point of the ‘New Entrant’/equivalent pay scale.

All working time charged to the project must be recorded throughout the duration of the

project. All staff working on the project must be recorded even if their costs are not being charged

to the project.

Travel & subsistence

Travel and related subsistence costs for all personnel engaged in undertaking the project may be

claimed. These costs must be specifically related to a specific identifiable project task and must be

included on the Institute’s budget sheet. Rates paid cannot exceed those for the Public Sector and

airfares should be economy class. Travel and subsistence costs may also be claimed for

Advisory Group members (including Stakeholder and Steering Groups) should such a group be

deemed necessary/appropriate for a project.

Other agreed costs

The Research Programmes may agree to fund costs, which are relevant to approved projects and are

not covered by the categories cited above.

Overheads

DAFM will fund up to 25% of the direct costs of scientific-type research not including equipment and

subcontracting costs.

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Funds from other sources

Financial contribution from industry and any other sources to each individual institute for the

purpose of this particular project should be included. This does not include FIRM/RSF/CoFoRD

contributions.

3.2 Justification of Costs

The cost and value for money of each project is evaluated. This table serves to clarify the basis for

the budgets being requested. Under the budget procedures, there is a certain amount of flexibility

for changes in expenditure across the different budget categories, with the exception of overheads,

whose budget will be fixed.

Staff: Justify the role, cost and need of each participant in the project (exclude permanent

researchers). Information on the salary scales, point on the salary scale, costs covered by the salary

must be included here. In general, our research funding programmes are focused on early stage

researchers and accordingly DAFM will fund contributions to salaries of staff contracted to work on

the project, commencing at the minimum point of the ‘New Entrant’/equivalent pay scale.

However, in exceptional circumstances where it is well justified in the proposal, a more senior

researcher can be considered. Staffing must be commensurate with the scope and nature of the

research involved. Any exceptions to the minimum point of the appropriate scale will be taken into

account as part of the evaluation process.

Travel and subsistence (T&S): The T&S required for the project should be divided in home and

foreign travel. The major conferences to be attended, the reasons for attending them and their

location should be identified. Other travel – to meetings, to collect samples etc, should be described.

The information should be sufficiently detailed. The majority of the T&S should be targeted at the

contract researchers working on the project.

Consumables: Consumables may be identified specifically (i.e. petri dishes) or by category (i.e.

microbiological culture consumables). Either way, an indication of the amount needed – which

should relate to the information provided in the Task List – their use and justification for their cost is

required.

Other Agreed Costs: A description of what the ‘other’ budget costs cover (eg. software licences,

warranties etc.); the justification for those costs and their necessity to the project should be

supplied. With regard to external assistance, subject to obtaining good value for money, every

possible effort must be made, in the first instance, to build an Irish institutional project consortium

capable of completing all tasks proposed in the project. However, where this is not feasible, a

consultant / industry partner or overseas institute may be brought on board by way of providing

external assistance to an institutional project partner. Where such external assistance is proposed,

full justification should be provided. The external assistance is eligible for 100% of costs for services

rendered. However, as a subcontractor it has no claim to any of the results or Intellectual Property

generated by the project. The estimated cost, including a breakdown of costs for individual items is

required, however a possible supplier should not be named at this stage as the relevant

procurement rules will have to be adhered to should the application be successful.

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Ineligible Costs

Examples of Ineligible Costs include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Permanent staff costs

Sick pay, maternity pay, redundancy payments or termination costs

Hospitality or entertainment expenses, except such reasonable expenses accepted as wholly

and exclusively necessary for carrying out the work on the project

Office equipment and supplies

Patent costs;

Journal subscriptions and publication costs;

Repairs to/maintenance of equipment

Unnecessary or unsubstantiated expenditure