DARD Research Challenge Fund Information Briefing 9 January 2014 Welcome Dr Alistair Carson Departmental Scientific Adviser

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What does the RCF aim to do? RCF Aim “Encourage industry and public sector research establishments to collaborate on innovative, high quality, pre-commercial research and technological development projects” Reasoning We will help further the sustainability and competiveness of Northern Ireland’s agri-food and rural enterprises – a broader DARD and NI Executive goal

Key features of the RCF Collaborative i.e. industry and research organisations come together to develop and undertake a research project; Subjects fall within DARD’s Evidence and Innovation Strategy categories; R&D which links to DARD’s strategic goals; R&D which benefits the primary production sector; R&D which is classed as industrial research or experimental development; Between 6 months and 36 months duration; and For a project in which the total grant aid from all public source(s) is no more than £250,000

How is RCF different from other schemes? Other schemes exist to support increased innovation and industry relevant R&D e.g. Invest NI’s Grant for R&D and Competence Centres and DEL’s Connected initiative None of these are targeted specifically towards the needs of small and medium sized enterprises in the agriculture and fisheries sectors DARD introduced the RCF in 2010 to “pump-prime” rural businesses’ interest and involvement in R&D

What happened in previous rounds? In 2010/11 we awarded grants of almost £500k In 2012/13 we awarded grants of almost £870k In 2012/14 we awarded grants of almost £550K Successful projects cover current issues in the dairy, beef and pig industries, vaccine development, soil conditioning treatments, animal welfare and food safety Full details of successful projects are available on the DARD website

What’s new this time? Application window is 10 weeks this year Pay thresholds have been replaced with actual vouched and approved salary

Who are the team? RCF Team Heather Maginnis Tori Henderson Jennifer Kennedy address:

Application – the fundamentals Application process – the how and when and where Application form – it’s not that bad Initial assessment – what we do with your form Presentation to RCF Assessment Panel – the selling of your idea Award of grant – getting going!!!

Application process Closing date is on 20 February 2014 Application available on-line or in hardcopy Electronic and hardcopy completed forms accepted We will issue an acknowledgement and a reference number RCF team happy to help

Application form Section 1 - Consortium Breakdown

Application form Section 2 – Overview If your application is successful the information provided here may be used in RCF publicity material No “techie” speak please

Application form Section 3 – Need Spending time on both of these is worthwhile as we must understand how the proposal fits with what we do

Application form Section 4 – Work Plan Try to explain as fully as possible - the work plan is crucial to our understanding of what you are trying to achieve Remember the more understandable and non-technical the better !

Application form Section 4 – Work Plan cont’d Please note milestone and deliverables definitions

Application form Section 5 – Outcomes Outcomes are things like 500 farmers using our new process Remember the more understandable and non-technical the better !

Application form Section 6 – Risks We need to know that you have thought everything through We know from experience that the unexpected frequently happens!

Application form Section 7 – Benefits We want to know this so that we can evaluate if the project gives value for money

Application form Section 7 – Benefits cont’d Demonstrate benefits locally! Although partners can be from anywhere – benefits being focussed on the north is a key element of the scheme.

Application form Section 8 – Project Management Project manager should be from the lead industry partner organisation

Application form Section 9 – Costs Tasks can be linked to Section 4 – Work Plan Cost details are vital to avoid breaking EU rules

Application form Section 10 – Exploitation This section allows identification of commercial prospects and helps us decide if grant funding is essential

Application form Section 12 – Collaboration and Intellectual Property Agreement If this is not included – the application will be ineligible Section 14 – Declaration by Lead industry Partner Representative Ensure it is signed!

Initial assessment Initial eligibility check means all applications will be - Cross-checked with the mandatory requirements set out in page 4 of the RCF Explanatory Booklet And Cross-checked with the ineligible activities identified on page 5 of the RCF Explanatory Booklet So please read these carefully!

Initial assessment (contd) We will review the financial information to decide if the project is good value and if your application is eligible - will seek extra detail to complete an economic appraisal for the RCF Assessment Panel – please try to get this to us as rapidly as possible as it will speed up consideration of your application We will share the appraisal with you before sending to the RCF Assessment Panel

Presentation to RCF Assessment Panel We will contact you to arrange a 15 minute presentation to the Panel: this isn’t an interview it’s an opportunity to sell the idea! The lead industry partner will give the presentation You will have a minimum of 2 weeks notice to prepare and can use powerpoint, flipcharts etc (we will provide a projector if needed) The RCF Assessment Panel will have your application and the Economic Appraisal: all 3 are used to mark your project The Markframe used is on page 26 of the RCF Explanatory Booklet: make sure you read it beforehand!

Markframe Project Aims and Objectives Innovation Research Quality Technical Viability Commercial Prospects Consortium’s Experience

Broader Sustainability Benefits Additionality Economic Efficiency of the project

Panel Departmental Scientific Advisor DETI representative CAFRE representative DARD policy representative DARD economist

Award of grant If you are successful we will get in touch as soon as possible – there may be a delay if we have to rank successful projects The last stage is the letter of offer and the RCF team will meet with you to develop this We expect that projects will start on or around 1 June 2014 but projects can not start until a signed Letter of Offer is in place If you are unsuccessful you have the right to appeal the decision as described in the RCF Explanatory Booklet page 13

Where to get help Invest NI offer; –Project definition assistance –Financial assistance RCF team can advise on the process

Summary Read the explanatory booklet thoroughly Ensure all eligibility criteria are met (Section 2 of explanatory booklet) Ensure language used is understandable and non-technical Check your sums Consider the assessment criteria – weighting is on the markframe Ensure application is signed Deadline is 20 February – we recommend recorded delivery! Prepare for the presentation carefully – it’s worth the effort