Call for In Lab Engineering projects
Montpellier's PUI has considerable potential to help reduce the region's economic contrast by stimulating the creation of start-ups, fostering innovation in SMEs and improving its attractiveness to outside companies.
With the aim of fostering the sustainable development of the local economy by promoting relationships with start-ups and SMEs, PUI is offering the In Lab Engineering call for projects. The aim? To facilitate access by SMEs to the skills of PUI structures, by providing funding to the winning structure at Research or platform. The projects submitted must demonstrate that the platforms are open to companies.
A first session of the In Lab Engineering 2023 call for projects has already supported 3 winning projects, each receiving €50,000 in funding.
Following a positive evaluation by the PUI Montpellier Executive Committee (COMEX), the call for In Lab Engineering projects has been relaunched to continue its activities. These sessions are organized by CNRS on behalf of PUI Montpellier.
Objectives
Research structures can position themselves flexibly within this dynamic, becoming innovation relays by contributing their know-how and expertise. The aim here is to remove technological barriers and boost the competitiveness of companies, while at the same time developing sustainable business models that generate financial returns for research units and platforms.
To this end, the Montpellier PUI intends to offer a range of services specifically adapted to the size and needs of SMEs. This range of services is designed to give SMEs easier access to the skills of PUI structures, thereby encouraging the establishment of collaborations and increasing the number of partnerships between SMEs and research laboratories.
The underlying idea is to create innovation units within laboratories and research structures, under the authority of their director, with the aim of achieving financial sustainability.
Candidate projects must demonstrate a concrete and significant commitment to opening up the platform to industry. Over the life of the project, this openness must be reflected in an increase in the financial volume of contracts between industry and the platform.
Target audience
This program is aimed at research units (UAR, UR, UMR) as well as technology platforms and service centers attached to the research clusters of PUI's founding members and to the services of the FHU, CHU of Montpellier, Nîmes or the Montpellier Cancer Institute, which are open to the socio-economic world and have a fee structure.
The project must therefore be supported by one of the PUI's founding members.
List of the PUI's 14 founding members: Université de Montpellier; CHU-M Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier (Montpellier University Hospital); CHU-N Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes (Nîmes University Hospital); CIRAD (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement); CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique); ENSCM (École nationale supérieure de chimie de Montpellier) ; ICM (Institut du Cancer de Montpellier); IFREMER (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer); INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); INRIA (Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique); INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale); Institut Agro de Montpellier; IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement); SATT AxLR.
Allocated resources
The financial envelope for this In Lab Engineering AAP is €580,000 (excl. VAT) over two campaigns (one in 2024, one in 2025).
Degressive financing will be granted to the winning structure for a period of three years (until December 2027). It will finance up to €145,000 (excl. VAT) per project:
- 1 fixed-term contract worth between €56,000 and €75,000 including all expenses in the first year, with degressive financing in the following two years, provided that the winning structure has the capacity to finance the remainder in line with its business self-financing plan;
- Operating: €15,000 in the first year, with the possibility of using the remaining funds for operating purposes in the following two years (capped at €15,000/year).
At the end of each year, an annual evaluation will determine whether or not the project can be continued, with a go/no-go decision.
It is possible to apply for additional funding from the Occitanie Region, via the PRIO call for projects.
Process
- The structure identifies the PUI partner institution, which will manage the funding, employ the platform engineer and manage the engineer's contracts (up to the engineer's salary cost). The managing institution is the CNRS if it is the structure's supervisory body, unless another supervisory body or institution has delegated management of contractual activities for this structure under existing agreements with one or more PUI partners. The structure's scientific manager sends the completed and validated In Lab Engineering form to the Partnership and Valorization Department of the managing structure for review and approval, no later than one week before the submission date.
- A panel of four rapporteurs from the COMIN evaluates the dossiers according to the "Timetable" and "Evaluation methods" below.
- The final decision to award aid is taken by COMIN according to the timetable set out in the "Timetable" paragraph below.
- The CNRS allocates funding to the structure whose project has been selected. If the CNRS is not a trustee, it transfers the funding to the designated trustee on an annual basis, with funds released on an annual go/no go basis.
Eligible expenses
Eligible expenses are as follows:
- non-permanent staff costs (platform engineer) ;
- laboratory operation ;
- small equipment.
Evaluation methods
Four rapporteurs from COMIN (two platform scientists, and two from the valorization/innovation sphere) are responsible for evaluating the proposals and producing a ranking of eligible applications. CNRS will submit these evaluations to COMIN for decision.
COMIN is a body made up of :
- representatives of the PUI's founding establishments ;
- representatives of valorization subsidiaries ;
- Directors of the Pôles de Research or their representative;
- invited scientific or technical experts.
Evaluation criteria
Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Project viability (out of 6 points);
- the platform's ability to achieve economic equilibrium at the end of the program period (out of 6 points);
- willingness to sustain the action beyond the funding program (out of 6 points);
- project ambition (0 to 2 bonus points).
Please note
State aid regulations require platforms not to carry out economic activities exceeding 20% of their overall activity, in order to qualify for a rate of public aid higher than 50%. This implies monitoring this "economic ratio" of the platforms, by tracking machine usage time. Platforms must therefore be able to report these data reliably.
Composition of the application file
The completed and signed AAP ILE 2024 application form.
Calendar
- Call for projects: 07/17/2024
- Deadline for applications: 15/10/2024
- Results announcement: 05/12/2024
Project implementation and follow-up
An annual report will be submitted to the COMIN, together with an interim half-yearly report in the form of a paper copy.
As part of these periodic reports, the structure's Director provides the information needed to evaluate the project, in particular:
- Actual appropriation of funds (financial report on expenditure incurred) ;
- The volume of industrial contracts signed as part of the project ;
- The platform's contribution to the scientific influence of its cotutelles.
A go/no go decision will be taken by COMIN on the basis of the project's annual evaluation.
COM'IN may unilaterally terminate the project if it falls too far short of the business plan initially presented, and if sales are not sufficient to renew the engineer.
Deposit procedure
The application form must be sent by e-mail in PDF format before the deadline.