Funding a group research project to bolster the expertise and know-how of approved research centres in Wallonia (CRa) – Win4Collective

The project sponsor will be an approved research centre. However, collaboration with at least one other partner is mandatory.

Eligible partners include:

• approved research centres
• university departments
• college departments or centres with links to colleges
• public research institutions

The total number of partners shall be dictated by the skills that are sufficient and necessary to conduct the research.

The support consists of granting subsidies. The amount of the subsidies is expressed as a percentage of eligible expenses before taxes or other contributions and is set at 75% for approved research centres (CRa) and 100% for university departments, college departments and public research institutions.

Submission procedure

The submission procedure involves 3 stages:

• Stage 1: Declaration of intent

A declaration of intent, in the form of a succinct proposal that includes a summary of the project and mentions the partners, must be sent to the administration via the online form, which is available via the FPS Research ‘ONTIME’ portal: https://recherche-technologie.wallonie.be/ontime/.

• Stage 2: Information and support meeting

Information and support meetings between the administration’s representatives and the project leaders will be organised after the declaration of intent has been submitted. Applicants will present their project to the administration, with a view to receiving support.

• Stage 3: Detailed proposal

The detailed proposal (an online form, as well as all the requested annexes: project description, sector roadmap, cooperation agreement, etc.) will be completed and sent to the administration via the online form.

Selection process

The selection procedure involves 3 stages:

• Stage 1: Eligibility

The eligibility of each of the detailed proposals is examined by the administration, based on the eligibility criteria outlined in the call for proposals.

• Stage 2: Evaluation

The assessment process is carried out by the administration and involves two phases:

• The technical evaluation is graded with an overall rating from 0 to 100.
• Projects that are deemed to be eligible for funding are included in a ranking list, which is submitted to the members of the selection jury.

• Stage 3: The jury

After reading the submitted eligibility and assessment reports, the selection jury provides the Minister for Research with the following elements:

• the project ranking, which is drawn up on the basis of the ratings from the assessments carried out by FPS Research;
• the minutes of the meeting, as validated by all of the members of the jury that were present, containing the various items that were discussed and the results of the votes;
• where applicable, the report, as validated by the jury, with the comments and/or recommendations of the jury, which are explained and justified.

These elements will form the basis of the Minister for Research’s decision with respect to funding the selected projects.

Eligibility criteria

A proposal is eligible if:

• the project sponsor is an approved research centre;
• it involves at least one other partner that is an approved research centre, a university department, a college department or a public research institution;
• the budget for academic partners (university departments, college departments, public research institutions) is limited to 30% of the total budget;
• a steering committee made up of industrial sponsors (with at least five Walloon SMEs) has been established;
• the submission procedure outlined in Point 8 of this call for proposals has been followed (in particular, the completeness of the file, which includes all the requested annexes);
• the project pertains to a Walloon region skill for economic development;
• the research has not received any other public funding;
• when submitting the project, the partners have fulfilled all of their administrative obligations with respect to their prior agreements with the administration (reports, declarations of debts, etc.), in accordance with the deadlines outlined in these agreements or established by the administration.

Assessment criteria

Research projects are assessed on a technical level in accordance with the criteria defined by the Decree of 3 July 2008 and the Walloon Government Decree of 29 June 2017 concerning support for research, development and innovation in Wallonia. Each of the criteria defined in the decree has its own maximum score and is defined below:

• Article 38: The innovative nature of the project (rating/20);
• Articles 45/46: Excellence and experience (rating/10);
• Article 39: The quality, feasibility and relevance of the project (rating/20);
• Articles 40 – 43/1: The promotion of innovation (rating/40);
• Article 41: The contribution to sustainable development (rating/10)