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RESTART Programmes 2016-2020

The RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes constitute a multiannual framework of Programmes for Research, Technological Development and Innovation (RTDI) Support in Cyprus, co-funded by national and European funds and implemented in conjunction with other national initiatives and programmes.

The vision of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes is to enhance but also highlight the role of the RTDI sector as a key factor in the economic development of Cyprus, contributing to addressing the key economic and social challenges in a way that will bring about the necessary conditions for achieving sustainable development. To this end, the vision is in line with the principles outlined in the “Europe 2020” strategic framework for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.The structure of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes is based on the objectives, as well as the Priority Areas presented in the Smart Specialisation Strategy for Cyprus, S3Cy. At the same time, it is part of the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Sustainable Development 2014-2020”, the development strategy of Cyprus for the use of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources under Priority Axis 1 “Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Economy”.

The total budget of RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes is 215.505.000 Euros.

For the full text of the RESTART 2016-2020  Work Programme click here.

Main Objectives

The main objectives of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes, which are reflected in the three (3) key Strategic Pillars, are the following:

  • Intelligent growth, with emphasis on the selected priority areas,
  • Ensuring sustainability and bringing out the potential of the RTDI system whilst enhancing its future prospects,
  • Supporting the RTDΙ system operating framework and adding value to research and innovation activities by developing supporting tools and pilot measures.

The three pillars of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes are separated into sections with individual sub-programmes targeting specific areas, as described in the Call for Proposals for each one.

The design of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes is centred around the following horizontal objectives:

  • The exploitation and further development and upgrading of the Human Resources of Cyprus and especially the new generation of researchers.
  • Strengthening the collaboration between the industry and the RTDΙ System as a key pillar of the development process and maximizing the return on public investment in the RTDI sector.
  • Enhancing Extroversion and Developing International Partnerships in the interests of the implementation of the strategic goals of Cyprus.

At the same time, it addresses innovation in its broader meaning, as a key component in the economic process, in ensuring a competitive advantage for companies while also addressing the problems of society overall.

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Strategy Pillars

The structure of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes reflects the vision and the main and horizontal objectives, which are outlined in the text of the Work Programme.Firstly, three (3) key Strategic Pillars are identified, which correspond to the main objectives of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes, as follows:

Pillar I, “Smart Growth”, aims at smart development, focusing on the selected priority sectors, through the liaison of academic and research organisations with the productive base of the economy, the enhancement of the RTDI System’s quality and effectiveness, the enhancement of its extroversion and the reinforcement of its links and interoperability between its components.

Priority Sectors

The study of the Smart Specialisation Strategy for Cyprus (S3Cy) highlighted the most prevailing productive activities in fields where Cyprus is realistically expected to play a major role in the next years. As the country has comparative advantages such as relevant infrastructure, technical knowhow and human resources in the priority sectors, these sectors may become levers for growth of the economy, while at the same time it is expected to support and adapt them to the current state-of-the-art, new technologies and needs, in order to promote entrepreneurship and innovation at the highest possible degree.

The Priority Sectors that have been selected through the study for Smart Specialisation Strategy for Cyprus (S3Cy) are the following:

  • The Sectors of “Tourism” and “Energy” as the dominant priority sectors.
  • The Sectors of “Agriculture- Food Industry3”, “Built Environment- Construction Industry”, “Transport- Shipping” and “Health”, as secondary priority sectors, and
  • The Sectors of “Information and Communication Technologies”, “Sustainable Growth- Environment” and “Key Enabling Technologies (KET)” as important Horizontal Sectors which, beyond their intrinsic importance, deeply affect the qualitative development of the Priority Sectors.

Pillar II “Sustainable RTDI System”, aims at ensuring the sustainability and dynamics of the RTDI System. In contrast to Pillar I which deals with the implementation of specific targeted Programmes in the Priority Sectors, Programmes of Pillar II aim at addressing the needs of the RTDI System and enhancing its prospects. The Programmes focus around “excellence”, following a bottom-up approach meaning that participants may implement projects in the scientific or technological field of their choice.

The objectives of Pillar II are reached through the following Sections which include specific Programmes for the support of the RTDI System in terms of activities and human resources and in a way that contributes to the restructuring and transformation of Cyprus’ economy and also towards addressing social challenges:

  • “Excellence” Section: It includes Programmes that aim at the promotion of scientific, technological and industrial excellence for the development of pioneering research concepts in cutting-edge fields, and the development of effective, internationally competitive solutions and products.
  • “Young researchers, New Ideas, New opportunities” Section: It includes Programmes targeting the strengthening and mobility of human resources and creation of new jobs for researchers in enterprises and research organisations. It also aims to optimise the use of synergies between the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes and the Horizon 2020 Programme of the EC for the implementation of frontier research and innovation projects. It also supports new concepts for addressing social challenges.

Pillar III “Transformation of RTDI System”, contrary to the first two Pillars, does not concern the implementation of RTDI Projects, but the application of policy measures for supporting and upgrading the complete RTDI System, the optimisation of its results exploitation, the promotion of research and innovation activities, and generally overcoming the main challenges of the System.

The objectives of Pillar III are achieved through the following sections, which include specific Programmes that supplement the research and innovation development actions:

  • “Support Mechanisms” Section: It includes Programmes aiming to the involvement of the SMEs in innovative activities, the enhancement of research result exploitation mechanisms, the management of intellectual property rights, the technology transfer, the enhancement of extroversion of Cypriot organisations, and the creation of collaborations.
  • “Alternative Forms of Funding” Section: It includes Programmes aiming at the commercial exploitation of research results by research organisations and Enterprises, and the enrichment of the funding instruments and mechanisms by utilising European initiatives and attracting foreign investments.
  • “Culture” Section: It includes Programmes aiming to the cultivation of research and innovation culture for the three levels of the educational system, the enterprises, the public sector, and the general public.

Secondly, each Pillar is categorized into individual sections with a specific focus on the achievement of the key objectives and priorities of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes.

Finally, each section includes specific Programmes that constitute the tools and measures to implement the individual objectives and priorities of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes.

Structure and Programmes

The RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes includes twenty two (22) specific Programmes as follows:

SECTION PROGRAMME BUDGET
(Euros)
R&I Partnerships Integrated Projects 20.000.000
Infrastructures New Strategic Infrastructure Units- Young Scientists 11.000.000
Participation of Enterprises Research in Enterprises 9.300.000
Research in Start-Ups 1.000.000
Proof of Concept for Technology/Knowhow Applications 1.000.000
Extroversion – Open Horizons Bilateral Collaborations 1.600.000
International Collaboration- Dual Targeting 1.200.000
EUREKA Cyprus 1.200.000
European Initiatives- National Development 8.000.000
SECTION PROGRAMME BUDGET
(Euros)
Excellence Excellence Hubs 17.100.000
EUROSTARS Cyprus 2.500.000
Creation and Initial Development of STARTUPs with International Orientation (PRE-SEED) 3.600.000
Development of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by STARTUPs (SEED) 9.000.000
Development and Promotion of Internationally Competitive Innovative Products and Services by Existing Enterprises (INNOVATE) 11.400.000
New Researchers, New Ideas, New Opportunities DIDAKTOR (Post-Doctoral Researchers) 9.400.000
Horizon 2020 – 2nd Opportunity 5.500.000
Social Innovation 1.000.000
SECTION PROGRAMME BUDGET
(Euros)
Support Mechanisms Innovation Vouchers 260.000
Industrial Property 200.000
Participation in International Brokerage Events 140.000
Encouragement of Project Coordination in Horizon 2020 1.000.000
Alternative Forms of Funding Commercial Exploitation of Research Results Stage Α: 270.000

Stage Β: 1.000.000
Commercial Exploitation of Research Results by Enterprises Stage Α: 270.000

Stage Β: 1.000.000
Complementary Funding 4.000.000
Culture Nurturing an RTDI Culture 500.000
Participation Process

The Work Programme provides a description of all the Programmes to be announced by 2020 as well as information on different procedures and rules for the participation.

Organizations wishing to participate in proposals either as partner organisations or as Coordinators of Proposals must register on IRIS, the RIF’s Electronic Services Portal. All necessary documents for the validation of entities are submitted through the registration system. Proposals will also be submitted electronically via IRIS before each submission deadline.

The IRIS Portal can be accessed here.

The submission of proposals follows the announcement of a relevant Call for Proposals for each Programme. Calls for Proposals indicate the total available budget per Call, the maximum funding per project, the deadlines for submitting proposals, specific terms and conditions in relation to those described in the Work Programme and details on the Evaluation Criteria for each Call.

Interested parties can find the Work Programme and information on open Calls for Proposals a on the RIF’s IRIS Portal.

Proposal Evaluation Process

For the evaluation of proposals, the RIF uses one of the following evaluation methods or a combination of these depending on the nature of each Programme/Call:

  • Method I – Remote evaluation based on three (3) evaluation criteria (Excellence, Added Value and Benefit, and Implementation). Scores per criterion range from 0 to 5, and the overall score is derived from the sum of the scores for each of the three criteria based on specific weightings defined in the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Program and / or in the individual Calls for Proposals. Proposals are considered eligible for funding Proposals if they receive a minimum score of 11.00 / 15.00. In the majority of programmes, evaluation is carried out by two (2) Independent evaluators, or by one (1) independent evaluator in Programs with a Low Maximum Funding Per Project. In the case of evaluation by two independent evaluators, the final score of a Proposal is defined by the average of the scores provided by the evaluators. If the difference between scores is greater than 3.00/15.00 in total, then the proposal is also evaluated by a third evaluator and the final score will be the average of the two scores with the least difference.
  • Method II – Evaluation by a Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC), which during a consensus meeting classifies the Proposals in a ranking list and presents the rationale for the final decision in an Evaluation Report.
  • Method III – Internal Evaluation for specific Programmes where the nature of the evaluation is not scientific. Proposals are evaluated by the RIF according to a specific internal procedure aimed at ensuring compliance with specific objectives and conditions as specified in the Work Programme and / or in the relevant Call for Proposals.

Evaluation Criteria

On the Evaluation Report Form, as a first step, the evaluator is required to assess to what extent the proposal is compatible with the Programme objectives. The extent to which the project activities meet the requirements of the Call for Proposals is evaluated in the context of the compatibility assessment. If the proposal is not compatible with the Programme objectives, the evaluator rejects the proposal and does not proceed with examining the evaluation criteria.

The scientific evaluation will be based, as a rule, on the following three general criteria:

Excellence

  • Quality of Project Objectives.
  • Degree of Project Innovation and Originality in relation to the existing knowledge (state-of-the-art) at international level.
  • Soundness, credibility and feasibility of the proposed concept.

Added Value and Benefit

  • Scientific, technological, social and/or economic impact and measures to maximize it.
  • Effectiveness of the proposed measures for the exploitation (including management of Intellectual Property Rights) and dissemination of results for achieving maximum Project visibility.

Implementation

  • Completeness and appropriateness of the Work Packages’ content, the allocation of the various activities, the timetable and the budget.
  • Effectiveness of the proposed methodology for the implementation of the deliverables.
  • Completeness, quality and capacity of the Consortium for the qualitative implementation of the Project (at the level of Organisations and/or individuals) and achievement of the proposed objectives.
  • Suitability and adequacy of the proposed coordination and management activities, including identification and handling of potential risks.

The content of the criteria is specified in each Call for Proposals so that it may express each Programme’s philosophy and aims. Differences shall pertain to the interpretation, analysis and specialisation of each criterion and its weight over the total evaluation score.

Evaluation Results

Upon completion of the proposal evaluation procedure, the evaluation results are approved by the RIF Board of Directors (BoD), unless the BoD decides to follow a different approval procedure for specific Programmes. Upon approval, the results shall be posted on the RIF’s website by means of a Table of Results showing the ranking of the project proposals in descending order of evaluation scores, anonymously (stating the Proposal Number for each one).

For transparency purposes, after the evaluation procedure is completed, the evaluation results (including, where applicable, the Evaluation Report Forms with detailed comments and individual scores and/or the Evaluation Reports) shall be officially communicated to the beneficiaries through a letter. In the case of a two (2) stage evaluation procedure, the beneficiaries receive evaluation results upon completion of each stage.

After announcement of the results, the beneficiaries are entitled to submit a request for redress, as described in section “Redress Procedure” of Chapter 4.3 of Section ΙΙΙ of the Work Programme.

Evaluators’ List

The evaluators’ list can be accessed here.

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