EU-Montenegro: Collaborative Grant Scheme for Innovative Project Ideas

Deadline: 18 March 2019

The European Commission is seeking proposals for its Collaborative Grant Scheme for Innovative Project Ideas to strengthen research and innovation in Montenegro.

The specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to develop innovative ideas in business, academy and civil sector in Montenegro that will be applied through implementation of innovative projects, with the aim to contribute to the smart and sustainable economic growth.

Thematic Areas

Project proposals must be in line with at least one of the thematic priorities defined by the Strategy of Innovation Activities (2016-2020) and Strategy of Scientific Research Activity (2017-2021):

• Energy;
• Agriculture and food;
• Sustainable development and tourism;
• Information and communication technologies;
• Medicine and health of people;
• New materials, products and services and
• Science, education and identity.

Priority

The priority of this call for proposals is engagement of young researchers (at least 2 per action/innovative project), in order to strengthen human resources capacities as well as research and innovation system in Montenegro.

Funding Information

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• minimum amount: EUR 60.000,00
• maximum amount: EUR 80.000,00

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person or an entity without legal personality and
    • be non-profit-making or profit-making organisation, which however cannot generate profit from the proposed action and
    • be a specific type of institution, such as:
      • scientific-research institution, licensed by the Ministry of Science of Montenegro (in accordance with Art 28 of the Law on Scientific-research activities – Official Gazette of Montenegro, No. 80 of 31 December 2010, 40/11, 57/14 ). Please note that the license must be effective at the time of submission of the application;
      • public or private university;
      • private entity (innovative and entrepreneurial centre, business incubator, enterprise);
      • centre of excellence;
      • Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union or a member state of the European Economic Area, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, including Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99 as well as of other countries eligible under the Regulation (EU) N°236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for external action (CIR) for the applicable Instrument under which the contract is financed.
      • For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise , if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article 12.2 e) of the grant agreement and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  • The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
• Affiliated entity(ies)
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
    • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
      • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
        • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

How to Apply

• The application procedure consists of two phases:
  • Concept notes
  • Full applications
• The concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant must be submitted at the address given on the website.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2BpKyXp and download the guidelines.