March 2006

PPARC KITE Club - Technology and Industry News – March 2006

Over the past few months, PPARC has developed a range of new funding opportunities for technology and industry partnerships. This issue of Technology and Industry News is effectively a ‘funding special’, highlighting these opportunities and reminding you of forthcoming call close dates. For support on all of these programmes, please contact Nathan Hill, Glyn White or Mark Littlewood in the KITE Club Innovation Advisory Service (contact details below). Next month’s issue will focus on recent success stories and events.

1. PIPSS Fellowships – first call closes 4th April
2. Enterprise Fellowships – annual call closes 31st March
3. Basic Technology Research Programme – call closes 4th April
4. PIPSS – next quarterly closing dates 4th April, 4th July and 3rd October
5. mini-PIPSS – open call for proposals
6. Follow-on Fund – next quarterly closing dates 4th July and 3rd October
7. Project Research and Development (PRD) – next quarterly closing dates 25th April, 13th July and 23rd October
8. Forthcoming meeting - Commercialising research for Bio- and Medical Photonics 12th April

1 PIPSS Fellowships – first call closes 4.4.06

PIPSS Fellowships offer institutes or consortia additional resource to build medium-term capacity for engagement with industry by appointing a PIPSS Fellow who will spend up to four years focused on:
• Transferring technologies developed through PPARC research funding to industry and to other academic disciplines
• Developing the institution’s capacity for knowledge transfer from the PPARC programme
• Engaging with industry in Programme Technology Development opportunities in support of the PPARC programme

Please see http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Rs/Fs/Fw/PIPSSFell.asp for details and consult with Nathan Hill prior to submitting an application.

2 Enterprise Fellowships – annual call closes 31.3.06

PPARC and the Royal Society of Edinburgh jointly support an Enterprise Fellowship scheme to exploit research and technology development undertaken within the UK astronomy and particle physics programme. Enterprise Fellows provide a unique opportunity for researchers to spend a year gaining business training whilst developing the commercialisation of PPARC research results.

Applications may be submitted on any subject provided that the original research was part of a programme largely funded by PPARC. The applicant does not need to have participated in the original research, but they must have the support of the host institution.

Fellowships provide one year's salary costs and some additional support funding and can be held at any UK Higher Education Institution, Research Institute or CERN.

Please see http://www.pparc.ac.uk/in/sc/list/enterprise_fellowships.asp for details.

3 Basic Technology Research Programme – call closes 4.4.06

The annual call for proposals to the Basic Technology Research Programme is currently open. Proposals are invited for large scale projects, feasibility studies and for network-building consortia. Over £100m of projects have already been funded through this route, including several which are developing technologies of application in the PPARC programme. Further information is available at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/basictech/calls/index.asp.

The Technology Champions for the programme are Glyn White and Mark Littlewood, both of whom also work for the PPARC KITE Club Innovation Advisory Service – please contact them for support.

4 PIPSS – next closing dates 4.4.06, 4.7.06, 3.10.06

After funding over seventy projects in its earlier format, the new PIPSS scheme is open for business. PIPSS funds collaborative partnerships with industry and with other academic disciplines. Distinctive features of PIPSS are (a) funding available up to £375,000 over up to 3 years, (b) funding is now available directly to industry as well as to academic groups, (c) increased flexibility of application of funds and (d) strong focus on business and Knowledge Transfer outcomes.

Details and guidance notes are available at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/in/sc/list/pipss.asp. You are strongly encouraged to discuss the project objectives with the Innovation Advisory Service and provide a draft proposal for no-liability comment.

5 Mini-PIPSS

Many knowledge transfer projects do not require extensive technology development in the first instance. A short, targeted project may provide evidence of feasibility or funding for staff secondment between partners. Mini-PIPSS now encourages applications for smaller projects than PIPSS and offers funds of up to £80,000 for projects with duration of up to 12 months. The call for mini-PIPSS is open at all times and decisions will be forthcoming in most cases in about a month.

6 Follow-on Fund – next closing dates 4.7.06, 3.10.06

Following last year’s successful pilot call, PPARC is pleased to announce that there will now be quarterly closing dates for applications to the Follow on Fund. The Follow on Fund:
• Aims to support the commercialisation of research ideas
• Provides funds to enable these ideas to be brought to a stage where commercial opportunities can be secured
• Is supported by NERC, BBSRC, EPSRC and PPARC
• For PPARC, all institutions eligible to receive grant funding may apply - eligibility also extends to CERN and ESO.

The Follow-on Fund is a more appropriate route than PIPSS at the stage before external partners have been identified. Technology demonstration outside of the original PPARC programme application and market assessment will be funded through this programme. The value of a Follow on Fund project may be up to £110,000 with duration of up to 12 months. More information including guidance notes is available at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/In/FoF.asp. Consultation with the Innovation Advisory Service is necessary before an application is submitted.

7 Project Research and Development (PRD) - next quarterly closing dates 25.4.06, 13.7.06, 23.10.06

The new PRD scheme funds Programme Technology Development projects in industry and academic groups of up to £500,000. This funding scheme is intended to develop the capabilities needed to underpin UK science and technology leadership in future PPARC projects and includes a new opportunity for industry to apply directly to PPARC for funding for research and development.

It applies to the pre-construction phase of projects and seeks to pave the way for more:
• UK intellectual leadership in key work packages in international projects;
• UK industrial return on construction phase contracts;
• Knowledge transfer through collaborative developments, spin-out formation, skills transfer and intellectual property licensing.

Information is available at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/rs/pp/sp/prd.asp and support is offered for partnerships with industry by Nathan Hill and Glyn White.

8 Commercialising research for Bio- and Medical Photonics

Institute of Physics, London, 12.4.06 from 10:00-15:30
This meeting is organised by the Institute of Physics Emerging Technology Programme and sponsored by the PPARC KITE Club. Please see http://industry.iop.org/induni/opto/index.html for details.

Note: All grant amounts in this note are shown at full Economic Cost. PPARC will typically award 80% of the total grant value, with standard adjustments for items such as capital equipment purchase.

Contacts:

KITE Club Innovation Advisors and CERN UK Technology Transfer Officer. Nathan Hill: email: nathan.hill@qi3.co.uk Tel: 01223 422405. Also Mark Littlewood mark.littlewood@qi3.co.uk, Glyn White glyn.white@qi3.co.uk and David Rafe david.rafe@qi3.co.uk. For enquiries about the Basic Technology Research Programme, please call 01223 422407. Registration for events is available via www.qi3.co.uk/events