Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department launched the first call of the disruptive technologies innovation fund, DTIF, on 29 June 2018 and expressions of interest were sought by the deadline of 3 p.m. on Friday, 17 August 2018. Information on the fund and how to apply was provided by my Department with the support of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. Expressions of interest were sought for funding commencing in 2019. Subsequent calls will be announced in due course.

We received more than 300 expressions of interest for this first call for funding. All represented collaborations of two or more partners with at least one SME in each partnership. The DTIF is a competitive offer and all applications for funding under this first call are subject to the same assessment and selection criteria.

In line with what was agreed by Government in May 2018 for all Departments involved in running national development plan, NDP, funds, we appointed an advisory board with civil servants and relevant experts from the sector as members. Accordingly, an advisory board chaired by my Department and comprised of nominated members of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland Science Foundation Ireland, along with nominated members of other Departments and public sector organisations was appointed to oversee the assessment and selection process of the DTIF. A panel of independent national and international experts comprised of both technical and commercialisation experts was also formed to assess applications.

Under call 1, all the expression of interest, EOI, forms were screened for eligibility. Only eligible applications were put forward for assessment by the advisory board and the panel of experts. Assessment of applications of these eligible applications was based on the selection criteria set out in the guidelines for this fund. Briefly, they are: the strength of the disruptive technology dimension, economic and market impact of the proposal, the quality and efficiency of the collaboration, and the overall excellence of the proposed approach.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Decisions on expressions of interest were made in September 2018 and were communicated to the lead partner of all collaborations. Only those applicants that met all of the eligibility criteria and met the minimum threshold of the selection criteria were invited to submit a full application. Projects that are deemed ineligible for this first call under the DTIF may still be able to apply in subsequent calls. Applicants were offered feedback on the outcome of the expressions of interest stage and many have availed of this. Applicants that met the minimum threshold of the selection criteria were invited to submit a full application which will then be assessed by relevant experts.

Details on allocations will be submitted to me, as Minister, for final approval. I expect that successful projects will be confirmed in late 2018.

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