2020 Innovation Challenge Fund: Future Mobility in Maharashtra – Combatting COVID-19 and Climate Change

Deadline: 31-Aug-20

The UK Government is delighted to announce a £1.5 million fund that is now open for applications for innovative projects in Future Mobility that address the challenges of COVID 19 and/or climate change.

Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 will fund innovative research and development projects in Future Mobility that propose tech-led or tech-enabled solutions to the greatest challenges of time: COVID 19 and climate change. This represents the UK and India’s commitment to work together to combat the pandemic and its impacts, and to ‘build back better’.

The aim of the Innovation Challenge Fund is also to support the development of the Maharashtra Future Mobility Tech Cluster by promoting closer scientific collaboration between industry and academia, and by promoting links with international counterparts and centers of excellence, including in the UK. As such, proposals for research and development projects are invited from consortia made up of researchers and industry from India, and international counterparts, including the UK. Projects must be led by an Indian not-for-profit organization. Projects can either develop original ideas or adapt successful technologies, techniques, or processes from other fields.

Funding Information

UK Government expects to make at least 6 awards of up to £250,000 each, to fund research and development projects by consortia of researchers and industry from India, and international partners, including the UK.
The grants are for projects lasting 12 months, with a proposed start in January 2021.

Focus Areas

UK Government is looking for proposals that meet the primary criteria of addressing the COVID 19 response/recovery and/or climate change/environmental protection and meet the following challenge areas:

Safety and Convenience (such as hygiene/sanitization/social distancing in shared and public transport, contactless deliveries)
Technology Leap (such as new energies, temperature-controlled transport for essential/medical supplies, drone mobility)
Connectivity (such as first-mile/last-mile healthcare delivery services, micro-mobility for logistics and services delivery, rural mobility)
Energy Transition (such as ICE electrification, hydrogen fuel cell, energy efficiency)
Smart Mobility (such as intelligent transport systems, trip repurposing tech, demand-supply matching)
Other (they will consider proposals which do not fit into the categories provided the focus is on Future Mobility and there is a strong connection to the climate change/environmental agenda or COVID-19 containment.)

Eligibility Criteria

Grants will be awarded to a lead organization, which must be an Indian not-for-profit organization and should have the necessary FCRA clearances. Applicants must demonstrate collaboration with other organizations. Applicants will need to explain how their proposal will facilitate the development of partnerships between researchers, industry (including but not limited to start-ups, scale-ups, and small & medium enterprises), and potentially NGOs, policymakers, and practitioners in India and their International counterparts. Consortia must be composed as follows:
- Essential
  - Indian university research department or research institute or academic institute
  - Indian business (including but not limited to start-ups, scale-ups, and small & medium enterprises)
  - At least one of these organizations must have a base in Maharashtra
- Desirable
  - International business
  - International university or research organization
- Optional
  - Indian or International non-commercial organization
The lead organization will be responsible for the overall management of the grant including control, disbursement, and assurance of funds.
All applicants will need to show that their proposed idea has a credible and practical route to the market. Applicants must ensure they have considered and addressed requirements on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and gender inequality.