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INTRODUCTION
The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) announces the Call for Proposals for the «Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPS (SEED)» Programme within the framework of the «RESTART 2016-2020» Programmes for the period May 2022-June 2025 and invites potential beneficiaries to submit relevant Project Proposals (Proposals).
The present Call will be co-financed by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the frame of the Operational Programme «ΘΑλΕΙΑ» 2021-2027 under Priority 1: «Competitive, Smart and Digital Economy» and the Specific Objective (1i): «Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies».
GENERAL CALL INFORMATION
| Pillar | ΙΙ. SUSTAINABLE RTDI SYSTEM | |
| Programme | Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs | |
| Call Identifier | SEED/0525 | |
| Funding Source | EU Recovery and Resilience Facility | |
| Call Budget | 3.000.000 Euro | |
| Maximun Funding Per Project | 500.000 Euro | |
| Publication Date | 28 May 2025 | |
| Deadline |
12 September 2025, time 13.00 |
|
The English version of the Call, even though an official translation endorsed by the Research and Innovation Foundation, is provided for information purposes only. Only the Greek version of the Call is legally binding and shall prevail in case of any divergence in interpretation.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the “Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs (SEED)” Programme aims to support the rapid development of dynamic and innovative STARTUPs which intend to develop internationally competitive products or services, as well as to mobilize private investment funds for this purpose.
DESCRIPTION
The Programme aims to support innovative STARTUPs which, based on their business plan, aim to attract investment funds and are seeking rapid growth at an international level. The Companies have already been active for a short period of time, they may have carried out a small scale and on a test basis activity towards commercialization, but their product or service has not yet penetrated the market.
The Programme supports every activity that will allow the rapid development of the enterprise and the innovative idea, the attraction of investment and the successful global market penetration of the product / service.
In the cases where the new product or service is based on new technology, it is expected that the technology falls within a high technological readiness level (at least TRL - Technology Readiness Levels ≥6, according to the relevant definitions adopted by the EUA1), having already been validated in laboratory and relevant environment and is at least being demonstrate at relevant environment. This will also apply to non-technological innovations, accordingly.
BENEFICIARIES
Enterprises, Research Organisations, Other Private Sector Organisations
SPECIFIC PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS ANS CONDITIONS
The Host Organisation (HO) must be a Start-Up Enterprise.
The Host Organisation must meet the criteria of the definition of a Start-Up enterprise, as defined in the provisions of Article 22 of Regulation (EC) 651/2014 on State Aid and referred to in Chap. 1.2 – Organisation Types of Section III of the RESTART Programmes 2016-2020.
Research Organisations, Enterprises, or Other Organisations may participate as Partner Organisations.
PROJECT DURATION
12 - 24 Months
MAXIMUM FUNDING PER PROJECT
Up to € 500.000
The aid intensity of the Host Organisation amounts up to 85%.
It is noted that, Aid Intensity for Partner Organisations is calculated according to State Aid Regulations with the provisions of Chapter 3.2 of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes for the period May2022-June 2025.
RESTART 2016-2020 WORK PROGRAMME
All general rules and procedures for the participation of organisations and individuals, the eligible activities and costs, as well as the specific information regarding the Programme «Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs (SEED)», as well as the other RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes, are included in the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Programme, which is the main reference document and an important information source for interested parties and can be found on the Research and Innovation Foundation’s IRIS (Innovation Research Information System) Portal (https://iris.research.org.cy/#/documentlibrary).
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS for this call are detailed in the attached Call for Proposals document.
SUBMISSION
Proposals are submitted through the Research and Innovation Foundation’s IRIS Portal (https://iris.research.org.cy).
The Project Coordinator and all local participating organisations in the Project Consortium, should register in advance on the IRIS Portal.
Potential applicants are advised to use the «Guide for Applicants», which contains guidelines and clarifications regarding the Submission procedure and the «IRIS Portal User Manual» which can be found on the IRIS Portal (https://iris.research.org.cy/#/documentlibrary).
The Research and Innovation Foundation encourages in all its Calls for Proposals:
- the participation of women as Project Coordinators, and
- the gender-balanced formation of projects.
The Project Proposal consists of the following parts:
- Part A – General Information & Budget (electronic form (fields) to be completed online through the IRIS Portal).
- Part B – Technical Annex - Mandatory Submission (document to be uploaded as an Annex on the IRIS Portal in PDF format). Note: The PART B form provided for this Call for Proposals should be submitted without any modification. The template form is posted on the IRIS Portal, under the announcement of the relevant Call for Proposals (Call Documents).
- ANNEX I – Curricula Vitae – Mandatory Submission at least Coordinator’s CV (document to be uploaded as an Annex on the IRIS Portal in PDF format). It is recommended that, CVs of all project team members are created according to the EUROPASS format and do not exceed 5 pages per person.
Please note that if the requested documents are not submitted at the proposal submission stage, the proposal will not be submitted for scientific evaluation.
PROJECT SELECTION
Evaluation Procedure
The evaluation procedure of the «Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs (SEED)» Programme consists of the Preliminary Check, as it is described in the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Programme, and then the Evaluation Stage I and Stage II will follow, as these are described in «Section II – Programmes», Programme «Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs (SEED)» of the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Programme.
Prior to the evaluation of each Proposal, according to the evaluation criteria, the evaluators will check the compatibility of the Proposal with the Program's objectives and the provisions of the Call for Proposals. If the Proposal is inconsistent with the objectives of the Program, the Evaluator rejects the Proposal and does not proceed with the examination of the evaluation criteria.
Evaluation Criteria/Weighting
1. Excellence - Weight 30%
2. Added Value and Benefit - Weight 35%
3. Implementation - Weight 35%
Selection
Proposals that are selected for funding are those that have been deemed, following evaluation, eligible for funding. It is understood that the total of the approved project funding will not exceed the total budget of the Call.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
GUIDE FOR EVALUATORS
RESTART-2016-2020-WORK-PROGRAMME-V17
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS