12.09.2012 - 13.02.2013

Announcement

of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Regulations for funding international collaborative projects under the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030" Bioeconomy international

1. Funding purpose, legal basis

1.1 Funding purpose

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) intends to promote the implementation of the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030" in an international context by funding collaborative research and development projects involving foreign partners. By introducing the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030", the Federal Government has laid the foundations for the realization of a sustainable, bio-based economy by the year 2030. Securing global nutrition, producing safe and healthy food, shaping sustainable agricultural production, developing energy sources based on biomass and supporting the industrial use of renewable resources are challenges that call for the targeted use of biological resources and procedures. Furthermore, the use of biotechnology and the targeted improvement of biological production systems in industry are also gaining increasing significance. Companies are adopting sustainable processes and products more and more regularly in order to remain competitive. The realization of the bio-economy should not, however, have adverse effects on the global nutrition situation. Nevertheless, in many countries there are already signs of increasing competition between the different uses of agricultural biomass production such as feeding the population, producing biofuels and providing industrial raw materials.
The realization of the bio-economy as a bio-based economic system does not only call for national and European initiatives; it also requires world-wide cooperation in order to achieve the aims set out in the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030". This is where the funding programme Bioeconomy international comes in. The aim is to fund model research and development projects involving international partners and dealing with relevant issues in the field of the bio-economy. Important factors include not only technological questions and development goals but also socio-economic aspects and systems approaches.

1.2 Legal basis

Project grants will be awarded in accordance with these funding regulations, the BMBF's standard terms and conditions for grants on an expenditure or cost basis and the administrative regulations under sections 23 and 44 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO). There is no legal entitlement to a grant. The funding provider will take a decision after due assessment of the circumstances and within the framework of the budget funds available.
Funding under this regulation fulfils the conditions of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the Common Market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EU Treaty (General Block Exemption Regulation - GBER), OJ (EU) L 214 of 9 August 2008, p. 3 and is thus compatible with the Common Market within the meaning of Article 107, Para 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and exempt from the obligation to provide notification in accordance with Article 108 Para 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Projects that merit funding under these funding regulations are entitled to aid for research, development and innovation in accordance with Article 1, Para 1g of the GBER and aid for consultancy in favour of SMEs and SME participation in fairs in accordance with Article 1, Para 1e of the GBER in so far as the recipients are commercial companies.
In accordance with Art. 1, Para 6a of the GBER, no payment of individual aid will be made in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission Decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the common market.
Further information on the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030", which is exempted under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), is available at http://www.bmbf.de/de/1024.php and in the linked documents.

2. Object of funding

Funding is provided for research and development projects (R&D projects) which have been selected within the framework of a competition.
The selected projects are intended to accompany the BMBF's national activities to promote the bio-economy and to provide an additional contribution towards achieving the funding objectives that are being pursued under this measure. The collaborative projects will thereby make an important contribution to at least one of the following fields of action of the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030":

•  Securing global nutrition.
• Shaping agricultural production sustainably.
• Producing safe and healthy food products.
• Using renewable resources on an industrial scale.
• Developing energy sources based on biomass.

Furthermore, the collaborative projects will contribute to achieving one of the four goals of the Federal Government's Strategy for the Internationalization of Science and Research:

• Strengthening research cooperation with the world's best,
• Opening up international innovation potential,
• Intensifying cooperation with developing countries in education, research and development on a long-term basis,
• Accepting international responsibility and meeting global challenges.

Preference will be given to cooperation with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam.
Collaborative projects with other EU states are exempted from this measure. The Bioeconomy international funding measure focuses on international cooperation within the collaborative project, the added value this brings to implementing the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030" and its contribution towards implementing the Federal Government's Internationalization Strategy. Furthermore, the funding measure will provide an opportunity to implement project ideas that are outlined within the framework of preparatory measures.
Further information on the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030" and the Federal Government's Internationalization Strategy is available at Bioökonomie2030 and Internationalisierungsstrategie) respectively.

3. Project structure and funding recipients

Funding will only be provided for collaborative projects in which, depending on the project's orientation, companies, universities, non-university research establishments or Land and federal institutions involved in research collaborate with international partners. Funding will be provided to the German project participants. The international partners must have their own project funds or source separate funding. Evidence of the commitment of the international partners must be provided upon submitting the application. The proposed projects must be structured in such a way that the project objectives can be reached within a maximum of three years. Furthermore, the projects must be balanced between the countries as far as the volume of work is concerned. Applications may be submitted by universities, non-university research institutions, Land and Federal Government institutions involved in research work, and by commercial companies based in Germany, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (the European Community's definition of SMEs can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/sme-definition/index_en.htm). Research establishments which receive joint basic funding from the Federal Government and the Länder can only be granted project funding for their additional expenditure under certain conditions.

4. Prerequisites for funding

In their own interest, applicants should familiarize themselves with the EU's Research Framework Programme in the context of the envisaged national project. They should check whether the intended project includes specific European components which make it eligible for exclusive EU funding. Furthermore, they should check whether an additional application for funding can be submitted to the EU in the context of the proposed national project. The result of such investigations should be described briefly in the national project application.
The partners in an international "collaborative project" must regulate their cooperation in a cooperation agreement which must be completed before the application for funding is submitted. 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. Details can be found in BMBF form 0110 https://foerderportal.bund.de/easy/module/easy_formulare/download.php?datei=219.
Generally speaking, projects can only be funded under these funding regulations if funding has an incentive effect as stated under Article 8 GBER: This states that the beneficiary must submit an application for aid before work on the project has started (Article 8, Para 2). Furthermore, aid may only be granted to large enterprises if the beneficiary establishes that there is a material increase in the size, the scope, the total amount of the project/activity due to the aid, or there is a material increase in the speed of completion of the project/activity concerned (Article 8, Para 3 a - d).

5 Type, scope and rates of funding

Funds will be awarded in the form of non-repayable project grants.
Grants for commercial companies are calculated on the basis of the project-related costs eligible for funding, up to 50% of which can as a rule be covered by government grants, depending on the project's relevance to application. The BMBF's policy requires an appropriate own contribution towards the eligible costs incurred - as a rule of at least 50%. The GBER may allow higher rates of funding for SMEs.
In the case of funding for companies within the meaning of Article 107 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), it should be ensured that the thresholds stated in Article 6, Para 1 c - f GBER and the aid intensity stated in Articles 26, 27, 31, 32 and 33 GBER are not exceeded. Companies within the meaning of state aid legislation are considered to be any undertaking that exercises an economic activity, whereby an activity is considered to be an economic activity if it consists of offering goods and services on a given market (cf. inter alia Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation, 2006/C 323/01, P. 1, No. 3.1).
The basis for calculating the grants for universities, research establishments and similar institutions is the eligible project-related expenditure (in the case of the Helmholtz centres and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG) eligible project-related costs), which can receive up to 100% coverage in individual cases.
Aid for research and development in the agricultural sector depends on the fulfilment of the preconditions contained in Paras 2 - 5 and 7 of Article 34 of the GBER.
As a rule, a measure that is granted funding may run for a maximum of 3 years (see 3).

6. Other terms and conditions for funding

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 be part of the notification of award for grants on a cost basis.
The Allgemeine Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen zur Projektförderung (ANBest-P) (General Auxiliary Conditions for Grants Provided for Projects on an Expenditure Basis) and the Besondere Nebenbestimmungen für Zuwendungen des BMBF zur Projektförderung auf Ausgabenbasis (BNBest-BMBF 98) (Special Auxiliary Terms and Conditions for Funds Provided by the BMBF for the Promotion of Projects on Expenditure Basis) will form part of the notification of award of grants on an expenditure basis.

7. Procedure

7.1 Involvement of a project management organization and request for documents

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has commissioned the following project management organization with implementing the funding activity:
Projektträger Jülich (PtJ)
Geschäftsbereich Biologie
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
The contact person is:
Dr. Veronika Deppe
Fachbereich PtJ-BIO 3
Tel.: +49 2461/61-9416
Fax: +49 2461/61-1790
E-Mail: v.deppe@fz-juelich.de
Forms for funding applications as well as guidelines, information for applicants and the auxiliary terms and conditions are available at https://foerderportal.bund.de/easy/easy_index.php?auswahl=easy_formulare&formularschrank=bmbf) or can be obtained directly from the project management organization.
Applicants are strongly recommended to use the electronic application system "easy" when drafting formal applications (https://foerderportal.bund.de/easy/).

7.2 Two-phase funding procedure

The funding procedure takes place in two phases.

7.2.1 First phase: Electronic project outline

Applicants should first send Projektträger Jülich electronic project outlines via the Internet-Portal pt(outline* (https://www.pt-it.de/ptoutline/application/BIO_ECONOMY_2012). Instructions on how to draft project outlines can be found under general information at pt(outline* (https://www.pt-it.de/ptoutline/application/BIO_ECONOMY_2012/support.php). The project outlines should contain all the information needed to enable a final expert opinion. It is suggested that the outlines be structured as follows:

• Project description:
• Scientific objectives with detailed reference to relevant BMBF programmes.
• Nature and extent of the planned project cooperation.
• Proposed commercial utilization of future project results.
• Distribution of work.
• Time schedule.
• Main areas of experience relevant to the project.
• Most important publications/patents relevant to the project.

The project description is to be uploaded as a pdf file on the Internet portal pt(outline*. A project overview is generated using the data entered in an Internet form. The project overview and the project description will be evaluated together. In order for the electronic version of the project overview and the project description to have a binding effect, both documents must additionally be submitted to the project management agency on paper with the signature of the coordinator of the collaboration, or in the case of individual projects, of the project leader. Information may be submitted to the Internet-Portal pt(outline* by 15.02.2013. The Internet portal will be closed upon expiry of this deadline. The submission deadline is not a cut-off deadline. However, for technical reasons it may not be possible to consider project outlines received after this date. Applicants submitting their proposals after this deadline must contact the competent project management organization. Applications may not be sent by e-mail or fax.
There are plans to announce further submittal deadlines for the  Bioeconomy international call for proposals. Details will be announced in good time on the relevant websites of the BMBF or can be obtained from the project management organization.

7.2.2 Selection of project outlines

The evaluation of the project outlines received, which may involve external experts, is based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to the funding policy objectives of the BMBF regarding the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030" and to the Federal Government's Internationalization Strategy
• Contribution of international cooperation to implementing the "National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030"
• Relevance of the research approach, quality and originality of the solution strategy
• Chances of success and commercial exploitation of the results
• Excellence and expertise of the applicant and the partners involved (German and international); relevant previous work of all the partners
• Appropriateness of the size and structure of the project, quality and stringency of the time schedule, work and budgetary plans and distribution of work among the partners

7.2.3 Second phase: Submission of formal applications and decision-making procedure

The German project partners will be called upon to submit a formal application following the selection of suitable project outlines. A decision on these applications will be taken after a final evaluation. Funding of the projects is subject to the provision that the BMBF has the necessary budget funds at its disposal and funding/financing for the foreign partners is guaranteed.
The submission of a project outline or application does not establish a legal claim to funding. The deadlines for submission are not cut-off deadlines. However, it may not be possible to consider applications which are received after this date or which are incomplete.
Approval and payment of and accounting for the funds as well as proof and examination of proper use and, if necessary, revocation of the award and 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) unless deviation is permitted under the present funding regulations.

8 Entry into force

These funding regulations will enter into force on the day of their publication in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger).
Berlin, 27.08.2012
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
 
Dr. Henk van Liempt