Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (Ireland)

Objectives

• To support enterprises in Ireland to collaborate on challenges associated with new disruptive technologies that will have a transformative impact on how they will work and live in the future.
• To support enterprises in Ireland to avail of opportunities associated with ‘disruptive technologies’ by de-risking collaborative projects.
• To demonstrate commercial impacts within 3 to 7 years of DTIF project completion.
• To strengthen company start-up activity associated with disruptive technology.
• To build on research undertaken in Ireland and to leverage that research further by supporting the delivery and exploitation of new technology-based solutions from that research.
• To promote innovation and drive collaboration between Ireland’s enterprises and its research base.
• To foster deeper and wider RD&I collaborations between the public and private sectors in key technology areas and support collaborations between large firms and SMEs in Ireland.
• To prepare Irish enterprises and public bodies to engage in European and global partnerships around the development and deployment of disruptive technologies.

Focus Areas

• Funding applications must be within the Irish Research Priority Areas:
  • ICT
    • Future Networks, Communications, and Internet of Things
    • Data Analytics, Management, Security, Privacy, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (including Machine Learning)
    • Digital Platforms, Content and Applications, and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
  • Health and Well Being
    • Connected Health and Independent Living
    • Medical Devices
    • Diagnostics
    • Therapeutics
  • Food
    • Food for Health
    • Smart and Sustainable Food Production and Processing
  • Energy, Climate Action, and Sustainability
    • Decarbonising the Energy System Sustainable Living
    • Sustainable Living
  • Manufacturing and Materials
    • Advanced and Smart Manufacturing
    • Manufacturing and Novel Materials
  • Services and Business
    • Innovation in Services and Business Processes.

Funding Information

• The consortium must request DTIF funding of at least €1.5 million.
• Maximum project duration is three years.

Eligible Activities

• Industrial Research: Industrial research, means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or for bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. It comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, when necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.
• Experimental Development: Experimental development, means the acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills for the purpose of producing plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. These may also include, for instance, other activities aiming at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services. The activities may comprise producing drafts, drawings, plans and other documentation, provided that they are not intended for commercial use.

Expected Deliverables

• All Deliverables must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound).
• The ownership of the deliverable and collaborator(s) assigned to their delivery should be
  clearly specified in all cases.
• Deliverables should be drafted with sufficient descriptive text to allow evaluators assess
  the relevance of the deliverables in the context of the project.
• Deliverables should be clearly linked to the overall project objectives and where possible
  be aligned to payment milestones which are typically at 12 monthly intervals.
• Deliverables should be periodic and equally dispersed through the entire project
  timeframe, capable of demonstrating progress to the final objective.

Eligibility Criteria

• The main eligibility criteria for DTIF include:
  • each project to have at least three independent partners seeking funding from DTIF, including at least one SME and one other enterprise partner
  • SMEs can claim no more than 50% of their eligible costs, whereas large companies can claim no more than 40% of their eligible costs
  • research organisations (including colleges) can claim up to 100% of their eligible costs but can receive no more than 50% of the total DTIF grant aid per project
  • to draw down funding under DTIF, project partners must be:
    • a current client of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland or Údarás na Gaeltachta or an eligible Research Performing Organisation (RPO)
    • based in Ireland
  • the type of eligible research to be carried out by all partners, must include ‘industrial research’ and/or ‘experimental development’, that is, within Technology Readiness Levels 3-9
  • all company partners must provide financial information to demonstrate that they are not Undertakings in Difficulty (UiD)

Application Requirements

• The lead partner is required to complete and submit the online application form on behalf of the consortium.
• Lead partner means the party that has overall responsibility for project management structures.
• The online application form can be completed in multiple instalments, BUT it is not possible to make any changes in the application once it has been formally submitted.
• The application must be signed by all participants.
• RPO participation must be approved by an authorised signatory for the RPO (e.g., VicePresident/Dean of Research).
• It is the lead partner’s responsibility to ensure Enterprise Ireland receives the complete application.
• Each enterprise partner in the consortium must have provided, at the time of application submission, financial information to allow their “Undertaking in Difficulty” (UiD) status to be verified.

For more information, visit Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.