The value of R&D&I in international cooperation
There are numerous financial instruments to support international R&D&I. To ensure the success of the proposal, it is of vital importance to identify the international programme that best suits the initiative and to follow some fundamental steps in the different stages of the application and execution of the project: identification of the consortium, design and drafting of the proposal, monitoring and technical, economic and administrative justification.
Access to public funding for the execution of R&D&I projects has many advantages for the entities that benefit from them. We are not only talking about the financial support for the project itself, but also the capacity it gives it to achieve greater projection and scope.
This aspect is even more accentuated when we talk about collaborative projects and, even more so, if we are dealing with an international R&D&I project in which different countries, perspectives and backgrounds come into play, enriching the consortium as a whole.
Our International Project Finance team has more than 10 years of experience in the promotion and management of this type of R&D&I projects. They advise our clients from the initial design and development stage of the proposal, to its subsequent monitoring and justification.
International R&D&I projects: steps to ensure success
Proposal and consortium design
The starting point is the identification of R&D&I activities and tasks to be developed within the framework of the project, as well as the definition of the most appropriate consortium and the articulation of the roles that each of the partners will have in the work plan.
In this first stage, it will also be essential to identify the best international funding tool and to start drafting the proposal.
Technical and financial management
Once the international project proposal has been designed and the consortium that will implement it has been defined, based on the best international funding tool available, it is important to prepare and process the documents for the international project application, including the individual budgets of each partner and/or the consortium as a whole.
Monitoring and justification
Throughout the life of the international R&D&I project, the funding entity will request the delivery of reports and technical indicators to assess the correct progress of the project. In the same way, it will be essential to monitor the expenses assumed by all the entities of the consortium within the framework of the project, as well as to document them and include them in the corresponding monitoring reports.
Administrative management
It is advisable to establish a constant dialogue with the public administration or the initiative’s funding body to resolve administrative doubts throughout the life of the project or in stages such as the acceptance and signing of resolutions or contracts for the acceptance of aid.
Our experience in international calls for proposals, success stories
There are numerous international R&D&I funding instruments and programmes. From the European Financial Framework, endowed with more than 1 billion euros for the period 2021-2027, which includes Horizon Europe among others, to programmes such as Interreg or Prima to promote innovation in cooperation with a focus on the Mediterranean area. Not forgetting “closer” instruments such as Eureka or Iberoeka, which the CDTI makes available to Spanish companies to collaborate with other international entities.
Our experience covers different types of projects and calls for proposals. Such is the case of COPPEREPLACE, an international initiative currently underway financed within the framework of the Interreg Sudoe Programme with more than 1 million euros. It is a project aimed at reducing the use of copper in viticulture and is led by the Wine Technology Platform, which works hand in hand with 12 other Portuguese, French and Spanish entities.
NOVATERRA is a project funded within the framework of Horizon Europe with more than 4.8 million euros and led by IRTA. It has the support of our team as technical office of the project and management of a consortium composed of a total of 18 entities from 6 countries, working with the aim of reducing the negative impact of chemical pesticides in Mediterranean vineyards and olive groves.
Another international project in which we participate as technical office is LAB4SUPPLY. An initiative coordinated by CREDA (UPC-IRTA) and financed in the PRIMA-S 2 framework by the State Research Agency with Next Generation EU funds. It is a cooperative project involving 9 partners from 7 different countries in the Mediterranean area (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco). In addition, in the framework of this same call, the SUSTEMICROP project was also approved, which aims to develop an innovative, practical and viable solution to help small Mediterranean producers to increase their competitiveness and profitability. This project is composed of 10 partners from 7 different countries and has a budget of more than 2 million euros.
Within the framework of CDTI bilateral calls, it is worth highlighting the BAKE4SAFE project funded in the 4th joint Algeria-Spain call for R&D&I projects 2021. This project, which also has the support of our international project management team, has recently started with the aim of increasing the shelf life of biscuits and biscuits through innovative technologies and ensuring food safety. In this case, artica+i is collaborating directly with the Spanish company, Bandesur Alcalá, although the Algerian entities ISO 9 International and the Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou are also participating in the project.
Finally, BETTERSOIL is an international R&D technological cooperation project also financed by the CDTI in the framework of the EUREKA programme, co-financed with ERDF funds. This initiative is led by Bodegas Terras Gauda and has the participation of the Argentinean company Finca Von Wigstein (Alpamanta), as well as the collaboration of the University of Vigo (Spain) and INTA-Mendoza (Argentina). Its objective is to develop and implement ecological intensification strategies for vineyard management to determine how they affect productivity and sustainability. This initiative also studies how to recover vineyards from conventional treatments that lead to soil impoverishment and, in this way, recover the soil-plant balance.
