26.01.2010 - 15.10.2010

Announcement

by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of regulations governing the funding measure "KMU-innovativ: Research for Civil Security" 14 January 2010

With this funding measure, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) intends to strengthen the innovation potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of research and to increase the attractiveness of research funding under the Federal Government's "Research for Civil Security" programme, in particular for SMEs filing their first application for funding. To this end, the BMBF has simplified and accelerated the application and approval procedure, improved advisory services for SMEs, and made the funding measure open to all research topics. Important funding criteria include excellence, innovativeness and the significance of the project for solving socially relevant issues.

1 Funding purpose and legal basis

1.1. Funding purpose

The "Research for Civil Security" programme forms part of the Federal Government's High-Tech Strategy. The programme focuses on improving the protection of society against threats caused, inter alia, by terrorism, organized crime, natural disasters and major technical accidents (see also http://www.sicherheitsforschungsprogramm.de). The funding is expected to generate research-based solutions which will contribute to civil security and play an important role in positioning companies in the market. The civil security research programme is aimed at companies that develop innovative security solutions as well as at research institutions, authorities and organizations working in the security sector that cooperate with companies and users. It is hoped that they will work together to develop practicable security solutions. A central feature of security research under this call is practical relevance through the inclusion of the entire innovation chain, from research and industry to end users. End users, as defined in the security research programme, include operators of critical infrastructures, providers of security services, authorities (with their corresponding facilities) and security and rescue services (police, fire brigade, disaster relief and other relief organizations). Under this funding measure, the BMBF supports high-risk research and development projects that aim to increase the innovative strength of German SMEs. In particular, the aim is to encourage SMEs to make greater efforts in the area of research and development (R&D) and to empower them to respond quickly to changes and cooperate actively in making necessary adjustments.

BMBF grants will be awarded to support innovative research projects which could not be carried out without such funding.

1.2 Legal basis

Project grants may be awarded in accordance with these regulations, the BMBF's standard terms and conditions for grants on an expenditure or cost basis and the administrative regulations under section 44 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO). There is no legal entitlement to funding. The BMBF will make a decision on funding after due assessment of the circumstances and within the framework of the budget funds available. The European Commission has approved the programme.

2 Object of funding

Funding is provided for high-risk industrial research and precompetitive development projects which cut across different technologies and focus on practical applications. A major goal of BMBF funding is to strengthen the SMEs' position in the accelerated transfer of technology from the precompetitive phase to practical application. This call is geared towards research activities with market potential that aim to generate new and substantially improved security solutions. Innovative security solutions are understood to mean contributions to the protection of society and of individuals which go beyond the current state of the art and fall under the subject areas defined in the "Research for Civil Security" funding programme. Generally speaking, project proposals can focus on any subject that is addressed in the programme; they can put forward either technology-based or scenario-based solutions to improve the protection of the population and of critical infrastructures.

For example, research activities may address the following aspects:

• New and improved security technologies
• Analyses, plans of action and business models, for example to develop security or risk management systems
• New approaches to the development, integration and optimization of security services
• New models for the training and qualification of security services personnel

Social issues that are considered to be useful additions to the planned R&D work should be integrated into the projects if possible. Such research topics can, for example, include the legal framework, efforts to ensure that technology complies with data protection requirements, privacy protection, acceptance studies, threat and cause analyses, economic considerations, ethical and legal aspects, and human-technology interaction. The project proposals must include the following key features:

• Consistent use of the latest scientific and research findings
• Clear improvement over current security standards
• Clearly formulated project goal, including the envisaged increase in security, economic efficiency and acceptance

3 Recipients of funding

Applications may be submitted by SMEs as defined by the European Commission (see http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/sme-definition/index_en.htm). Companies that would like to clarify their status can contact the KMU-innovativ support service for advice (see section 7). End users, institutions of higher education, non-university research establishments and companies that do not fulfil the SME criteria can participate as partners in collaborative research projects. Research institutions which receive joint basic funding from the Federal Government and the Länder can be awarded project funding to cover their additional expenditure under certain conditions only.

4 Prerequisites for funding

Funding will be provided for industrial research and precompetitive development projects that involve a high scientific or technical risk. In general, projects between SMEs and relevant end users are eligible for funding. Funding of collaborations involving the participation of several SMEs and/or research institutions and/or companies which do not fulfil the SME criteria is also generally possible. However, the participating SMEs (manufacturers/users) must be the primary beneficiaries of the project. To be able to provide targeted funding, preference is given to small collaborative projects that focus on important links in the value-added chain. Companies wishing to embark on R&D activities in the area of civil security research for the first time are also eligible for funding. In such cases, however, cooperation with an experienced partner is advisable. In their own interest, applicants should familiarize themselves with the European Union's Research Framework Programme in the context of the envisaged national project. They should check whether the planned project includes specific European components which make it eligible for exclusive EU funding. Furthermore, they should examine whether an additional application for supplementary funding can be submitted to the EU for the proposed national project. The result of these enquiries should be described briefly in the national project application. SMEs that have questions on EU funding can contact the KMU-innovativ support service for advice (see section 7). Partners in collaborative projects must formalize their cooperation by concluding a cooperation agreement. Before a funding decision can be taken, the cooperation partners must prove that they have reached a basic agreement on certain criteria stipulated by the BMBF. For further details please refer to the BMBF form 0110, which can be found at http://www.kp.dlr.de/profi/easy/bmbf/pdf/0110.pdf.

5 Type, scope and rates of funding

Funding will be provided in the form of non-repayable project grants. Grants for commercial companies will be calculated on the basis of the eligible project-related costs, up to 50% of which can usually be covered by government grants, depending on the project's nearness to application. The BMBF's policy requires an appropriate own contribution towards the eligible costs incurred - as a rule of at least 50%. If the applicant does not have sufficient funds to cover this contribution, the project can - provided  it fulfils the scientific criteria - be divided into several successive phases; however, each sub-project needs to be autonomous. A simplified credit review can be undertaken in the case of applicants whose total own contributions to BMBF-funded research projects do not exceed €100,000 per year. Grants for universities, research establishments and similar institutions are calculated on the basis of the eligible project-related expenditure (or, in the case of the Helmholtz centres and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG), the eligible project-related costs), which can be funded up to a maximum of 100%. The BMBF aims to increase the share of universities of applied sciences that receive research funding. Universities of applied sciences are therefore specially invited to participate in the collaborative projects. The European Commission's Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation must be taken into account when determining the rates of funding. Companies that fall within the European Commission's definition of SMEs (details available from the funding advice service) will receive additional bonus grants. The project management agency (see section 7.1) can provide information on the exact amount of the SME bonus available. As a rule, projects will be funded for two years; the maximum duration of funding is three years.

6 Other terms and conditions

The Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen auf Kostenbasis des BMBF an Unternehmen der gewerblichen Wirtschaft für Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhaben (Auxiliary Terms and Conditions for Funds Provided by the BMBF to Commercial Companies for Research and Development Projects on a Cost Basis - NKBF 98) will form part of the notification of award of cost-based grants (available online at http://www.kp.dlr.de/profi/easy/bmbf/pdf/0348a.pdf).

To simplify the funding procedure, commercial companies can, in accordance with section 5.6 of NKBF 98, apply for lump-sum invoicing based on a supplement of 120% of the individual personnel costs. The Allgemeine Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen zur Projektförderung (General Auxiliary Conditions for Grants for the Promotion of Projects) and the Besondere Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen des BMBF zur Projektförderung auf Ausgabenbasis (Special Auxiliary Terms and Conditions for Funds Provided by the BMBF for the Promotion of Projects on an Expenditure Basis) will be part of the notification of award for grants on an expenditure basis.

7 Procedure

Interested companies, in particular those filing their first applications, are advised to contact the Federal Government's "Research and Innovation" funding advice service (Förderberatung "Forschung und Innovation") for detailed information. It acts as a support service, provides advice on the categorization of project ideas, establishes contact to experts in the participating project management agencies and, in particular, offers support in clarifying eligibility in accordance with the European Commission's definition of SMEs (see section 3).

KMU-innovativ support service
Hotline for SME funding: 0800 2623-009 (toll-free)
E-mail: lotse@kmu-innovativ.de
Internet: http://www.kmu-innovativ.de/

"Research and Innovation" funding advice service
Jülich Research Centre
Projekttrager Jülich (PtJ)
Zimmerstraße 26-27
10969 Berlin
Fax: +49 (0)30/20199-470

7.1 Involvement of a project management agency and request for documents

The BMBF has entrusted the following project management agency with implementing the funding measure "KMU-innovativ:

Research for Civil Security": VDI-Technologiezentrum GmbH
Projektträger Sicherheitsforschung
VDI-Platz 1
40468 Düsseldorf Contact: Dr. Udo Heugen
Phone: +49 (0)211/6214-525
Fax: +49 (0)211/6214-484
E-mail: heugen@vdi.de
Internet: http://www.kmu-innovativ.de/

Further information is available from the project management agency.

7.2 Two-step funding procedure

The funding procedure consists of two steps.

7.2.1 Submission and selection of project outlines

In the first step, project outlines can be submitted at any time to the project management agency. The assessment dates for project outlines are 15 April and 15 October every year. The last assessment date is 15 October 2012. In the case of collaborative projects, a project outline must be submitted by the proposed project coordinator in consultation with all other partners. The assessment date is not a cut-off deadline. However, project outlines received after this date may not be considered until the subsequent assessment round. Project outlines must be directly relevant to the criteria of this call and contain all necessary information for assessment and evaluation. They should not exceed 10 A4 pages in length and must be drawn up online via the Internet portal http://www.ideen-zuenden.de/de/482.php.  All information needed to take part in the call is available on this website. For the online version of the project outline to gain legal validity, a hard copy has to be signed and sent to the project management agency by the deadlines given above.

The project outlines must include a description structured along the following lines:

1. Topic and objective of the project
2. State of the art, innovativeness of the approach, patent situation
3. A sound analysis of threats and/or requirements
4. Reason for funding requirement: scientific, technological, and economic risks, with justification of the need for state funding
5. Market potential, market environment, situation regarding economic and scientific competition
6. Brief description of the companies applying for funding, specification of their business models and market prospects, including time schedule and targets, description of the own share to be contributed
7. Detailed work plan; if applicable: collaborative structure with work packages for all participating partners
8. Financing plan
9. Utilization plan (prospects of economic and scientific/technical success, potential applications and prospects for follow-up projects)

No legal claims can be derived from the submission of a project outline.

The project outlines received will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Importance of the research objective: Social importance and scientific relevance to the Research for Civil Security programme
• Scientific and technical quality of the approach
• Innovativeness
• Involvement of end users
• Qualifications of the partners
• Quality and feasibility of the utilization plan, market potential

Suitable project ideas will then be selected for funding on the basis of the evaluation. The project proposals submitted will compete with each other. The BMBF reserves the right to seek advice from independent experts before making a funding decision. Applicants will be informed of the result of the selection process in writing no later than two months after the assessment date.

7.2.2 Submission of formal applications for funding and decision-making procedure

In a second step, applicants whose project outlines have received a positive evaluation will be invited to submit a formal application for funding on which a decision will be taken after a final evaluation. Applicants are strongly advised to use the electronic application system "easy" (http://www.kp.dlr.de/profi/easy/download.html) to draft formal applications.

Application forms, guidelines, brochures, information for applicants and the auxiliary terms and conditions are also available on this website. Alternatively, these documents can be obtained directly from the project management agency. To ensure that applications can be processed and funding decisions made in a timely manner, the formal applications must be submitted to the project management agency no later than two months after they are requested.

As a rule, approval will be granted two months after presentation of the complete formal application. The approval, payment and accounting for the funds as well as the proof and examination of the proper use and, if necessary, the revocation of the award and the reclaiming of the funds awarded are governed by the administrative regulations pertaining to section 44 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO) and sections 48 to 49a of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG).

8 Entry into force

These funding regulations will enter into force on the date of publication in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) and expire on 15 October 2012. Bonn, 14 January 2010
Dr. Christine Thomas

Federal Ministry of Education and Research