SFI Research Centres Programme 2013 Research Centres Programme Team - - PDF document

SFI Research Centres Programme 2013

Research Centres Programme Team

Pre‐Award Post‐Award

Siobhan Roche Stephen O’Driscoll Lisa Higgins Steve Flinter Marion Boland Orla O’Neill Aine Duffy Elena Martines

Overview of Research Centres 2013 Programme

SFI Funding Programmes

Recruitment Industry Fellowships Conferences & Workshops International Collaboration

Objectives of SFI Centres Programme

• Achieve, maintain and enhance research excellence and leadership
• Deliver significant economic and societal impact
• Increase the level of industrial and commercial investment in R&D

activities with existing Ireland-based companies

• Attract large FDI investments in corporate R&D centres
• Spin-out new, high-tech start-ups
• Transfer technology & expertise to Irish-based MNCs & SMEs
• Undertake joint research projects with industry
• Educate next generation of engineers & scientists for Irish MNCs & SMEs
• Leveraging of non-Exchequer funding

Expectations

• Have an edge over competing activities worldwide
• Clearly demonstrate added value of being funded as a

Centre

• Internationally renowned Director
• Contribute to development of a vibrant Research Centre

ecosystem bringing together leading research groups and Centres nationally

2012 SFI Centres

• 2012 programme invested in 7 Research Centres
• Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research Centre (AMBER)
• Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC)
• Institute of Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT)
• Irish Photonic Integration Research Centre (I-PIC)
• Ireland’s Big Data and Analytics Research Centre (INSIGHT)
• Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI)
• Synthesis & Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC)
• €200m from SFI, €100m from over 150 industrial partners
• Funded consortia are typically made up of many (or all) of the leading

researchers in the country in a particular discipline

• Largest single investment in scientific research projects and largest

public / private research partnership to date in Ireland

Key Changes to 2013 Call

• Application Process
• No Expression of Interest stage
• Advance submission of title and abstract mandatory
• Proposal submission via SESAME
• Changes to eligibility criteria
• Minor changes to application form
• Review Process
• Pre-proposal evaluation by combined scientific and

impact panel

Programme Remit

• SFI legal remit
• To build & strengthen scientific and engineering research and

infrastructure in areas of greatest strategic value to Ireland's long-term competitiveness and development

• Defined thematic areas (10)
• Applications must clearly align with both

Research for Ireland’s Future

Selection of Themes

• Sectors of importance to the Irish economy
• National Research Prioritisation
• Emerging areas where Ireland has an opportunity to lead
• SFI portfolio analysis
• Gaps identified from Research Centres mapping exercise
• SFI’s strategy as defined in Agenda 2020
• Areas of focus from the Action Plan for Jobs
• Potential areas of focus for Horizon 2020
• Relevance to sister agency/dept. strategy

Research for Ireland’s Future

Future networks and communications (A) Digital platforms, content and applications (C) Medical devices (E) Diagnostics (F) Sustainable food production and processing (I) Smart grids and smart cities (K) Manufacturing competitiveness (L) Software (PST) Geosciences underpinning sustainable economic development Earth & ocean observation

Thematic Areas

http://www.sfi.ie/assets/media/files/downloads/Funding/Funding%20Calls/centres/Research%20Centres%202013%20Thematic%20Areas.pdf

Research Centre Structure

Hub & spoke model

• Hub
• Core operations (20%)
• Platform research (30%)
• Spokes
• Thematically related

targeted projects

• Each targeted project with

at least one industry partner Spoke

Funding

• SFI contribution max 70%
• €1-5M per annum (direct costs) over duration of six years
• Can exceed limit subject to matched funding and SFI pre-approval
• Min 30% industry contribution overall
• Min 10% industry cash
• Balance of industry contribution in-kind
• Must maintain min. 30% cost-share on an on-going basis
• Budget available for funding of 2-3 Centres in 2014
• Possibility of funding of additional Centres in 2015

Industry Partner Engagement

• Each targeted project must involve at least 1 industry

partner

• Expectation of mix of large and small companies
• Profile should align to particular research agenda of

Centre and industry sector

• Non-Irish based companies can participate but direct

benefit to Ireland must be clearly demonstrated

• Semi-state bodies eligible as industry partner
• Government agencies, charities or other not-for-profit

entities not eligible as industry partner

Intellectual Property Management

• Must be in accordance to the national guidelines
• Targeted projects
• RPO ownership is preferred option for jointly developed IP
• IP licensed to industry partner on preferential terms
• For preferential access, industry partner must contribute at least 30%
• f full cost of project (min 10% cash) prior to project commencing
• Contracts and IP agreements must be executed within 90 days
• f Research Centre start date
• Empowering TTOs to pursue most advantageous commercial

route

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant-policies/intellectual-property-management-guidelines.html

Programme Structure

• Pre-proposal application
• Review by combined scientific and impact panel
• Scientific quality and impact potential equally weighted
• Invitation to submit full proposal
• Postal review (scientific evaluation only)
• Applicant response
• Proposals demonstrating scientific excellence will progress
• Impact panel evaluation
• List of fundable proposals ranked in order of priority for

funding

Evaluation criteria

• Team
• Quality, significance, and relevance of the recent research record of the lead and co-applicants

and the strength and cohesiveness of the applicant group, including likely synergy in delivering research and potential for international leadership

• Science
• Quality, significance, and relevance of the proposed research, including value for money and the

potential to advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields

• Potential for impact
• Quality, significance, and relevance of the proposed research’s potential contribution to

demonstrably support and underpin enterprise competitiveness and societal development in Ireland

• Execution & Delivery
• Quality of plans for execution and delivery of the research programme and Centre goals,

including the appropriateness of the proposed milestones and deliverables (specific to evaluation

• f full proposal applications)

Eligibility

• Applicant group
• Lead applicant (Director) and 2-9 co-applicants
• Min of 10 senior author publications each
• Hold at least 1 independent research grant each
• Secured min. €10m combined research funding 2007-2013
• Lead applicant can only be named on 1 application
• Co-applicant can be named on up to 2 applications
• 2012 Research Centre
• Directors not eligible to apply as lead or co-applicant
• Co-investigators eligible to apply as co-applicant or FI
• Requirement to strongly justify substantial role in

more than 1 Centre

Research Centre Network

• Connected bids to 2013 call
• Overlapping Spoke or Targeted Project between 2 applications
• Include full description and budget within both proposals
• Will be reviewed independently at full proposal stage
• If both funded, SFI will decide where Spoke will reside
• Connect up to 2012 Research Centre
• Submit application to Spokes programme directly or
• Co-investigator or funded investigator of 2012 Centre can engage

in a prominent role within 2013 bid

Large or Small?

• SFI expects to fund a range of Centre sizes
• We want to fund centres that have ambition

and growth potential

• Small and excellent better than large and

mediocre

• It may be more appropriate to be a spoke in a

larger centre

Key weaknesses in 2012 Proposals

• Not all members of applicant group were internationally

competitive

• Case for need for Centre funding not clearly made
• Ability of Centre to compete internationally questioned
• Scope too broad
• Lacking in critical mass
• Unique aspects of proposed Centre unclear
• Failure to demonstrate strong potential for delivery of

economic impact to Ireland

• Poorly developed business plan
• Collaborative nature of partnership with industry unclear

Application Procedure

Abstract Sheet

• Require submission of abstract sheet by 25th October 2013, 13:00

GMT

• Abstract sheet will be used by SFI staff as part of our proposal

management process

• Abstract sheet:
• Thematic area
• Research Area
• Title of Proposal
• Host Institution
• Applicant name
• Scientific abstract (max. 200 words)
• Template (MS‐Word) can be downloaded from SFI website
• Lead applicant should submit to centres@sfi.ie with subject line

“SFI Research Centres Abstract Sheet”

SESAME

https://grants.sfi.ie

RESEARCHERS SFI STAFF REVIEWERS RESEARCH BODY

Application Submission ‐ SESAME

Application Submission ‐ SESAME

• SESAME is SFI’s online grants and awards management system
• SFI Research Centres 2013 call will be managed through SESAME
• NOTE: Submissions will only be accepted through SESAME
• Access to SESAME is controlled by host Research Office staff

Follow your internal organisational process to request this access

• Once registered, the applicant will receive:
• Username, Password and SFI PIN number
• SESAME is accessed via web browser ‐ https://grants.sfi.ie
• Once submitted, an application cannot be withdrawn

SESAME Application Form

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1 1

SESAME Application Form

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2 2

SESAME Application Form

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3 4 5

SESAME Application Form

31 SFI Confidential 2013_Centres_PreProposal_CV_Template.docx Applicant CV Template (2 page) Appendix B – Call Document

Proposal Title

Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Submission of pre‐proposal involves:
• Entry of information directly into fields of SESAME application form

AND

• Upload of files (PDF and MS‐Excel)

+ +

Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Proposal Info divided into a

number of sections

• Proposal Summary
• Proposal Title (max. 30 words)
• Location of Applicant
• Total Funding Requested
• Duration of Award (72 months)
• Thematic Area
• Research Area (Primary)
• Research Area (Secondary)

Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Team Details
• Lead Applicant Details
• Lead Applicant Commitment to Project

(% Time)

• CV ‐ “Pre_CV_Smith.pdf”
• Publications to Date
• Supervisory Experience

Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Team Details
• Lead Applicant Details
• Lead Applicant Commitment to Project

(% Time)

• CV ‐ “Pre_CV_Smith.pdf”
• Publications to Date
• Supervisory Experience
• Co‐Applicant Details
• To add a co‐applicant to a proposal, their

SFI PIN number is required

• They are initially associated with

proposal

• Co‐applicant then adds information
• CV ‐ “Pre_CV_Jones.pdf”

Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Team Details
• Lead Applicant Details
• Lead Applicant Commitment to Project

(% Time)

• CV ‐ “Pre_CV_Smith.pdf”
• Publications to Date
• Supervisory Experience
• Co‐Applicant Details
• To add a co‐applicant to a proposal, their

SFI PIN number is required

• They are initially associated with

proposal

• Co‐applicant then adds information
• CV ‐ “Pre_CV_Jones.pdf”
• Collaborator Details
• Contact Details
• Type of collaborator
• At pre‐proposal stage – no CV required

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Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Main Body of Proposal
• Keywords (max. 15)
• Scientific Abstract (max. 200 words)
• Lay Abstract (max. 100 words)
• Pre‐Proposal Programme

Document

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Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

• Pre‐proposal programme document constitutes a significant portion of the pre‐

proposal

• 9 Sections
• Thematic Area (max. 1 page)
• Profile of the Applicant Group (max. 3 pages)
• Funding History
• Research Programme (max. 5 pages)
• Impact Statement (max. 5 pages)
• Membership Structure (max. 1 page)
• Budget Summary
• Budget Justification (max. 1 page)
• Letters of Support
• Template (MS‐Word) for document can be downloaded from SFI website
• Prior to upload, document must be saved as a PDF and named according to

Pre_ProgrammeDoc_ACRONYM.pdf (e.g. “Pre_ProgrammeDoc_NOVA.pdf”)

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Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

• Thematic Area
• Identify thematic area(s) of relevance
• Brief description as to how the proposed Research Centre is aligned with

NRPE where appropriate

• Profile of the Applicant Group
• Description applicant group
• Background to history and development
• Key

scientific/technical discoveries, key economic/societal impact achievements

• Funding History
• Provide a funding history (using template table), should demonstrate

achievement of €10 million

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Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

• Research Programme ‐ Message
• What are you aiming to do?
• Why are you doing it?
• Why is it important, timely, relevant?
• Do you have the capacity and capability?
• Why are you the right group to be doing it?

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Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

• Impact Statement ‐ Message
• Is there a market need?
• What is the commercial opportunity? “Pain points” in

established market, a new market, an underserved market, is the technology disruptive?

• Is there a commercial roadmap? Strategic partnership, spin‐out
• What is the USP?
• Who is going to be interested in your results? Opportunities for
• tech. transfer, patenting?
• How will your technology benefit society?

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• Research Programme
• What is the overall vision of the proposed Research Centre?
• What specific research question(s) will the Research Centre address?
• What is the current state‐of‐the‐art in the area and how will the proposed

research advance this?

• Why is a Research Centre required to address the proposed research

question(s) and what is the competitive advantage of the team to deliver in this area?

• Impact Statement
• Outline the high‐level economic and societal impact objectives of the Research
• Centre. Describe the expected economic or societal impact of the proposed

Platform Research and each of the Targeted Projects. See SFI website: http://www.sfi.ie/funding/sfi‐research‐impact/

• Membership Structure
• Provide a brief description as to how the intended membership scheme will
• perate

Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

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• Budget Summary
• Provide details of all relevant costs, including staff, equipment, materials, travel
• An overall centre budget – breakdown SFI and industry (cash and in‐kind)

contribution over lifespan of centre

• Summary breakdown of SFI contribution (in terms of staff, equipment, materials,

travel) over lifespan of centre

• Summary breakdown of SFI contribution to centre operations, platform research

and each targeted project over lifespan of centre

• Applicants must provide SFI with a completed summary budget in a Microsoft Excel
• file. Template (MS‐Excel) can be downloaded from SFI website. Prior to upload, MS‐

Excel file should be named according to Pre_SummaryBudget_ACRONYM.xls (e.g. “Pre_SummaryBudget_NOVA.xls”)

• Budget Justification
• Justification of requested resources within platform and targeted projects (Spokes),

ensure that budget request adheres to the SFI Grant Application Budget Policy ‐ http://www.sfi.ie/funding/grant‐policies/grant‐applications‐budget‐policy.html

Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

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• Letters of Support
• One letter of support (or intent) must be provided from each proposed

industrial collaborator

• Applicants must ensure that each letter of support is accompanied by a

completed company contribution table

• Letters should provide details of industry partner’s intended intellectual

input and level of financial (cash or in‐kind) contribution

• Actual commitments for 2015 and 2016 need to be in place at full proposal

stage, can include projections for 2017 and beyond

• All template sections should be completed, table of contents

updated and document saved in PDF format before upload to

• SESAME. File must be named according to specification.

Pre‐Proposal Programme Document

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Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Main Body of Proposal
• Keywords (max. 15)
• Scientific Abstract (max. 200 words)
• Lay Abstract (max. 100 words)
• Pre‐Proposal Programme

Document

• Pre_ProgrammeDoc_NOVA.pdf
• Pre_SummaryBudget_NOVA.xls

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Pre‐Proposal Submission ‐ SESAME

• Main Body of Proposal
• Keywords (max. 15)
• Scientific Abstract (max. 200 words)
• Lay Abstract (max. 100 words)
• Pre‐Proposal Programme

Document

• Pre_ProgrammeDoc_NOVA.pdf
• Pre_SummaryBudget_NOVA.xls
• Research Funding

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Full Proposal Programme Document

• Submission of pre‐proposal involves similar process as pre‐

proposal stage

• Full Proposal Programme Document
• Will be made available to those invited to submit full proposal
• Similar in structure to pre‐proposal programme document but more

detail required

SECTION

• Max. Pages

Background Context 15 Research Programme 30 Impact Statement 15 Execution and Delivery 15 Budget Not specified Budget Justification 5 Support from the Host Research Body 2 Research Centre Executive Summary 10 International Collaborators/Partners Not specified Description of Funded Investigators Not specified Funding History Not specified

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Full Proposal Programme Document

• Submission of pre‐proposal involves similar process as pre‐

proposal stage

• Full Proposal Programme Document
• Will be made available to those invited to submit full proposal
• Similar in structure to pre‐proposal programme document but more

detail required

SECTION

• Max. Pages

Background Context 15 Research Programme 30 Impact Statement 15 Execution and Delivery 15 Budget Not specified Budget Justification 5 Support from the Host Research Body 2 Research Centre Executive Summary 10 International Collaborators/Partners Not specified Description of Funded Investigators Not specified Funding History Not specified

49 SFI Confidential

Full Proposal Programme Document

• Background Context (max. 15 pages)
• Cohesiveness, Value‐Add and Profile of the Research Centre
• Literature Survey / State of the Art Review
• International Benchmarking
• National Research Landscape
• International Collaborations and Partnerships
• Research Priorities and Alignment
• Funding History
• Research Programme (max. 30 pages)
• Key research objectives
• Identify key discoveries, inventions or innovations and their importance
• Describe the Platform research and each Targeted Project or Spoke
• Provide evidence that the proposed research is relevant, timely and novel

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Full Proposal Programme Document

• Research Programme (max. 30 pages) contd.
• Describe how research leadership will be achieved – compete successfully in

H2020

• Project Management
• Impact Statement
• What are the economic and societal impact objectives of Centre, Platform

projects, Targeted projects or Spokes?

• How will they be achieved? Who will benefit, how and when?
• Entrepreneurship in the Centre – what will be its role, how will it be

supported/fostered

• Training and development – what activities will be undertaken?
• Education and Outreach

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Full Proposal Programme Document

• Execution and Delivery (max. 15 pages)
• Executive Management
• Business Development Plan
• Intellectual Property and Commercialisation
• European Initiatives
• Performance Indicator Targets
• Infrastructure Access Plan
• Industry Membership Scheme

Timeline

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Research Centres Evaluation

Evaluation of Research Centres

SFI uses a number of evaluation instruments

• Every six months -
• Metrics report (automatically generated)
• Governance report & balanced score-card
• Every year -
• Annual census (including financial reporting)
• Annual report
• Every two years -
• Site visit with external panel

SFI Confidential

Performance Indicators & Targets

• Applicants will be asked to provide targets for 13

performance indicators, under four headings:

• Academic outputs
• Human capital outputs
• Funding diversification
• Commercialisation
• Targets aligned with objectives of Research Centres

programme, and overall SFI objectives (Agenda 2020)

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SFI Confidential

Targets

KPI 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Academic Outputs # Journal publications # Conference publications Human Capital Outputs # MSc/MEng Graduates # PhD Graduates % trainee departures with industry as first destination Funding Diversification # Participations in major EU initiatives # Coordinations of major EU initiatives # ERC awards Amount of research income from non-Exchequer, non- commercial sources Amount of research income from commercial sources Commercialisation # Spin-out companies formed # Enterprise Ireland commercialisation awards # Licence agreements

Targets

• Targets must be ambitious, but realistic and

achievable

• Targets should reflect strategic & commercial

positioning of centre

• Targets will form part of the evaluation of the

proposal

• For funded Centres, metrics will be reported

against the KPIs and evaluated against the targets on an annual basis

SFI Confidential

Management & Governance Structures

All Research Centres will establish –

• Executive Committee
• Governance Committee
• Scientific Advisory Committee
• Industry Advisory Committee

SFI Confidential

Other SFI Industry Collaborative Programmes

SFI Spokes Programme

• Mechanism to support expansion and sustainability of

Research Centres

• Add new capabilities
• Encourage new industry partners
• Support new projects with existing partners
• Link different centres
• Fixed and rolling calls

Spokes Fixed Call

• Fixed call:
• Run annually
• 30% cost share (10% cash, 20% in-kind)
• Min SFI contribution of €300k per annum (direct costs)
• No maximum award size
• Min duration of 12 months,
• Award cannot continue beyond duration of Centre
• Submission deadline of 8th November 2013

Spokes Rolling Call

• Rolling call:
• 50% cash cost-share
• Min SFI contribution of €200k per annum (direct costs)
• No max award size
• Min duration of 12 months,
• Award cannot continue beyond duration of Centre
• Timing of application determined by applicant
• Assessment of the proposal on its own merit and not in

competition with other proposals

• Fast-tracking

SFI Strategic Partnerships Programme

• Foster and develop strategic partnerships
• Initiatives of scale with strong potential for delivering economic

impact to Ireland

• Significant cash co-funding requirement (~50%)
• Flexible programme for projects not otherwise served
• Rolling call – open now
• 2-stage review
• Expression of interest
• Full proposal (by invitation only)

http://www.sfi.ie/funding/funding-calls/additional-documents/strategic-partnership-programme/