R&D Student Grants: Postgraduate Internships 2013/14 Your guide to the application process June 2013 Disclaimer Callaghan Innovation reserves the right to withdraw or change this document. 1 of 15
Table of contents PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT...3 SECTION 1 OVERVIEW... 3 APPLICATION ASSESSMENT TIMEFRAMES...3 GENERAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA...3 SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA...4 FUNDING CRITERIA FOR POSTGRADUATE INTERNS...4 SECTION 2 THE APPLICATION PROCESS... 5 REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS IN THE CALLAGHAN INNOVATION PORTAL...5 PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION INFORMATION...6 TIPS TO HELP YOU COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION IN THE PORTAL...6 SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION...7 GETTING HELP...7 SECTION 3 THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS... 8 SECTION 4 THE DECISION & NOTIFICATION PROCESS... 10 SECTION 5 THE CONTRACTING PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS... 11 TERMS OF FUNDING CONTRACT... 11 THE CONTRACTING PROCESS... 11 APPENDIX 1: FUNDING APPLICATION FORM DETAIL... 12 R&D STUDENT GRANTS: POSTGRADUATE INTERNSHIPS 2013/14... 12 2 of 15
Purpose of this document This document is a guide to your application for the Postgraduate Internships 2013/14 investment fund. This covers the: application process. assessment criteria. approval process. contracting process. Section 1 Overview The funding process has five stages where: 1. You apply for funding. 2. Your application is assessed. 3. Successful applications move to the contracting stage. 4. Successful applicants claim eligible costs and report their progress. 5. The results of the project are reported. Each of these stages is explained in more detail in sections 2 through to 5. Application Assessment Timeframes Timeframes for contestable funding applications Postgraduate Internships. This is an annual funding round, applications for the 2013/14 investment process will open on Tuesday 4 June 2013 and close on Monday 8 July 2013. Please refer to Appendix 1 for the funding application form detail. General Eligibility Criteria Businesses applying for funding must first check that they meet general eligibility criteria. To qualify for funding from us, your business must: be a person or entity that is in business and resident in New Zealand. not be an entity established under the Education Act 1989, Crown Research Institutes Act 1992, Local Government Act 2002 or the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000; or an entity that is 50 per cent or more owned by one or more of those types of entities. 3 of 15
Specific Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to participate in the programme, businesses must be able to offer an intern a challenging research and development (R&D) project to develop a new product, process or service. Successful businesses will be funded for one intern only and must recruit and contract a postgraduate intern within six months of signing a contract with Callaghan Innovation. A business must: provide evidence that the intern will be undertaking work on a new or existing problem beyond business as usual activities. have the ability to mentor the intern to ensure they get maximum exposure to the business environment and practices. This means there is a preference for businesses with 10+ full-time equivalent staff, in the business or on the particular R&D project. provide an environment for strong intern immersion in a positive R&D culture. have committed overheads to support an intern s engagement. demonstrate the potential for future business growth. be a person or entity that is in business and resident in New Zealand. may not be an entity established under the Education Act 1989, Crown Research Institutes Act 1992, Local Government Act 2002 or the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000; or an entity that is 50 per cent or more owned by one or more of those types of entities. Funding Criteria for Postgraduate Interns Eligible interns must: be postgraduate and be either completing masters or doctoral studies from science, technology, engineering, design, business or marketing faculties of a New Zealand university by 1 April 2014, or have graduated within the last six months from 1 July 2013 and are not currently employed. have a current New Zealand work visa at the time of application (or an application in progress as at 1 September 2013 that is subsequently approved). be prepared to work fulltime in a company, starting no later than 1 April 2014. 4 of 15
Section 2 The Application Process The application process consists of four stages: 1. Registering your business for access to the online portal. 2. Preparing your application information. 3. Entering your application information in the portal. 4. Submitting your application via the portal. Registering Your Business in the Callaghan Innovation Portal The portal is a secure, online space where you apply for funding. Successful funding applicants also manage their contracts, claim expenses and report to us through the Portal. If you have not applied for funding through the Portal before, you need to register and receive a username and password. These can then be used for all applications you make through the Portal. To register, email investments@msi.govt.nz and provide the following information: Business details: Name (as registered). Postal and physical address. NZ IRD GST number. Office phone number. Contact person details: Name (this person will be set up as the Portal user). Position in company. Email. Phone number. You will receive a username and password, and instructions for registration by return email. If you have technical problems or questions about the Portal, please email or phone support staff who are available Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Phone: 0800 693 778 Email: investments@msi.govt.nz For questions about application forms or other content, please talk to your Investment Manager or Regional Business Partner. 5 of 15
Preparing your application information The application process requires that you provide information about: Your company and its ownership. Your proposed project. Your market and strategy. Your financial history. People involved in your project and company. This information is provided through: Data entry boxes in the Portal. Documents you may upload into the Portal (Word, or PDF) if applicable and requested. Spreadsheets you may need to upload in the Portal if applicable and requested. This information is reviewed as part of the assessment process. Please ensure that it is accurate and complete. It will also form the basis of successful applicants contracts. We recommend you familiarise yourself with the Portal, and the information you need to provide, before starting your application: Log in to the Portal and browse the questions. These can also be read in Appendix 1 of this document. Tips to help you complete your application in the Portal Once you have familiarised yourself with the information you need to provide, log into the Portal to complete and submit your application. Icons and help text Coloured icons beside each section of the application form indicate your progress. You have not started and saved the section yet, or validation of the section was unsuccessful You have started and saved progress in the section Validation of the section was successful The icon is a link to help text information. A red asterisk * indicates a compulsory section that must be completed before you save that section. You will receive an error message if you do not do so. A black asterisk * indicates a compulsory section that must be completed before you submit your application. You can leave these sections without entering any data, but will not be able to submit your application. The Portal features help text guidelines throughout the application process also. 6 of 15
Text boxes You will be required to enter information into a text box in some sections. Many text boxes contain character limits that are stated in each section. To help you, a character count is displayed. You cannot add pictures, tables or graphs to the text boxes, but can attach these in the upload section in the application form. Uploading documents in the Callaghan Innovation Portal All forms of documents (e.g. Excel, Word and PDF) can be uploaded to the Portal. Only unsecured PDFs should be uploaded. We will not be able to access or print your application if you load a secured PDF. Submitting Your Application When you have completed all sections thoroughly you can print and submit your application in the Manage this application section. Other options for actions in the Available actions section depend on your role and on the status of your application. The actions are: Print/preview this application. Submit to Callaghan Innovation: submits the completed application. Manage users for this application: Super users and assigned users for an application can manage access to an application by other users in your organisation. Super users have full access to any application. Other users can be assigned different levels of access such as view or edit. Users who create a new application will automatically be assigned Edit access. You cannot change the information in your application once it has been submitted. If you need to make changes, contact your Investment Manager, Regional Business Partner or contact the support staff. Getting help If you have technical problems or questions regarding the Portal please email or phone our support staff that are available Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Phone: 0800 693 778 Email: investments@msi.govt.nz For content related questions, please talk to your Investment Manager or Regional Business Partner. 7 of 15
Section 3 The Assessment Process The assessment of an application that involves Callaghan Innovation s Investment Managers and Regional Business Partners. 1. Applications are assessed against eligibility criteria. 2. The applications and assessment recommendations are presented for a decision. The decision is made by Callaghan Innovation staff with appropriate authority, or for large investments, by Callaghan Innovation s Board. Table 1: The four assessment criteria BENEFIT TO NEW ZEALAND RISK OR SUCCESS FACTORS Investment returns Key question: Assuming this project is successful, what are the potential commercial returns to the firm and the benefits to New Zealand? Issues to be covered in the answer Assessment of the market opportunity and potential returns from the R&D project (i.e. returns from entering globally competitive markets). Benefit to NZ assuming successful commercialisation: company turnover growth. the industry related companies. sector end users - eg dairy sector. Potential for the investment to increase the speed of delivery or improve the outcome significantly (bigger, better, faster through investment). Pathway to market (commercial outcomes) Key question: What is the likelihood the firm will successfully commercialise the new technology? Issues to be covered in the answer Commercialisation track record of firm including, but not limited to, past funding contracts. possessing governance/management capability to support commercialisation. Addresses barriers to commercialisation Intellectual property strategy, freedom to operate including ethical issues, and regulatory hurdles. Takes account of existing or new competitors, substitutes and alternative development pathways to achieve the commercial outcomes. Pathway to commercialisation Customer demand substantiated. Manufacture and rollout strategy is credible. Relevant partnerships, collaborations in place. Investment revenue available to support commercialisation. 8 of 15
TECHNICAL STRETCH AND CAPABILITY BUILDING Key question: Will the research be technically challenging for the firm and build capabilities of potential future benefit for the firm and New Zealand? Issues to be covered in the answer Feasibility of achieving the scientific and technical outcomes Feasibility of achieving the R&D given the proposed methods. Technical stretch for the firm in undertaking the project Relative to company, and the sector; NZ and overseas. Sufficient to warrant Government investment? The potential for this project to develop new RS&T capability and the firm s ability to exploit those capabilities Ability of the firm to create new technological and management ability for the firm s future growth. Ability of firm to exploit new R&D capability and technical advances into a sustainable competitive advantage. ABILITY TO DELIVER (R&D OUTPUTS) Key question: What is the likelihood the project will deliver the R&D results? Issues to be covered in the answer R&D track record of firm Fit-for-purpose R&D track record (including, but not limited to, previous funding contracts). Collaborations where necessary to bring together the best team to deliver the proposed research (including accessing relevant NZ science & technology capability). Project management and support Extent of involvement of key R&D personnel and firm s management. Organisational and infrastructural support. Company has sufficient financial backing to deliver the proposed project (co-funding, due diligence score). Contract-ready plan Clearly defined, well-sequenced critical path milestones and objectives (technical and commercial). Change events, critical go/no go points identified, project risks mitigated. 9 of 15
Section 4 The Decision & Notification Process When a decision about your application has been made, we will advise the contact person listed in your application by email. Callaghan Innovation will decide to either: Approve your application. Decline your application. Approve your application with conditions that may need to be met before or during the contract. Approve your application, but for an adjusted amount of funding. Following notification Callaghan Innovation will publish its decisions and may announce these with a press release. The details Callaghan Innovation or the Minister of Science and Innovation may make public are: The name of your company. The short title of your project. The amount of funding awarded. The duration of your project. 10 of 15
Section 5 The Contracting Process for Successful Applicants Terms of funding contract Successful applicants will be invited to enter into a funding contract with Callaghan Innovation. Key information provided in the application form submitted via the Portal will form the basis of this contract, so it is important this information is correct. This information includes: Project details section Total project cost. Total funding requested. Project title. Start and end dates. Key people section All entries in this section will be recorded in your contract. Project objectives and milestones Information about the intermediate and final deliverables expected from the project. The Contracting Process Most contracts (including those with conditions) will be sent to your business for signing via email. You will be required to return the signed contract within two weeks. If you are unable to sign and return the contract within the two week timeframe you need to inform us as soon as possible. In exceptional circumstances you may ask to renegotiate the contract conditions before signing it. Any conditions need to be met within the timeframes before we will sign the contract and send it to your business for signing and returning within two weeks. If a condition is not met by the due date it will affect the funding payment schedule or result in the withdrawal of the funding offer. If you are unable to meet any conditions on time you need to inform us at least two weeks before the due date. We will discuss and may renegotiate the conditions. 11 of 15
Appendix 1: Funding Application Form Detail If you are unsure which type of funding to apply for, please contact your Investment Manager or Regional Business Partner. The information for each type of fund in this section will be useful to you when filling out the application form online. R&D Student Grants: Postgraduate internships 2013/14 Charged to create and deliver innovative products and services enabling businesses to invest more in research, science, engineering, technology and design, Callaghan Innovation s R&D Student Grants programme funds New Zealand businesses to employ an intern. The postgraduate internship programme is available to businesses that have a focus on research and development, and to all science, technology, engineering, design or marketing postgraduate students who have completed their studies. The objective of the programme is to broker an introduction for New Zealand s future innovators starting their careers. This is to be achieved by enabling postgraduate participants to gain and develop their technical skills in a commercial research environment while bringing in new capability and resources into New Zealand businesses. Based on an annual salary of $60,000, Callaghan Innovation will provide companies with 50% of annual salary costs up to $30,000 (GST excl) to cover the salary of the postgraduate for the first six months. The application form Manage this document Print and submit In this section you can generate, submit and print your application form. Because the complete document consists of multiple sections, it needs to be generated. The generation time is dependant on the amount of information in the application. For this reason you must request the document to be generated. Section 1 Key information Application Summary In this section you need to complete: Total funding requested Callaghan Innovation will support by providing a maximum 510640 v3 12 of 15
Manage this document of $30,000 (GST excl) or $34,500 (GST inc) towards a postgraduate salary. Project Title Please use a project title that is not commercially sensitive (5-10 word title). Certain information in this application will become public if the application is approved, specifically Project Title, Company name and funding type and value. For successful applications this section will be extracted directly into a contract. Proposed start and end date Internship term covered is any six months within the contractual term from 1 September 2013 to 30 September 2014. The internship period covered can be any six months within this period. Key people Please list the key people who are assigned to this project. If you wish to list more than one contact person, please note that the person listed first will be the initial point of contact. NOTE: There must be at least one contact person from the applicant business. Postgraduate Intern: There is no need to identify an intern before you make your application for funding. However, if you already have an intern signed up please add their details as the role of 'student' and the university they are currently enrolled at. Organisation detail In this section please provide: Name of the ultimate holding company for the applicant organisation. If the applicant does not have a holding company, please leave blank. Date of incorporation for the applicant organisation. NZ IRD GST number for the applicant organisation. Section 2 Company overview Company financials Please provide information from the last three financial years. Please provide the following information: Financial year end date. 510640 v3 13 of 15
Manage this document Total revenue - Gross revenue is money generated by all of a company's operations, before deducting for expenses. Profit. Exports revenue. R&D spend - Include all expenditure on Research and development, whether expensed or capitalised at the end of the year. Staff (FTE): R&D staff employed - Include contractors, express this in 'full time equivalents'. Company background Please provide an overview of your company's history and current products and services. Feel free to include detail on any recent significant events or achievements, or management's skill sets and/or track record. Section 3 Project overview Project summary Project background: What are the project deliverables? * Please outline what the project will deliver and provide an overview of the main activities involved to achieve this. GUIDE: * Be specific about what the project will deliver, for example, "a prototype lifting device capable of 100kg". * The description of the main activities need only give a general idea of the skills and stages of the project, for example, "preliminary design and analysis, prototype construction from die cast aluminum, evaluation and certification to industry standards". You will be asked to provide further detail within the Technical and commercial outcomes section. In regards to the intern, please identify the area of study and specialisation that you are looking for. GUIDE: * Allow some scope, look for areas of study as opposed to study of a specific problem, for example, "studying in the formulation of dairy or bake house ingredients'" as opposed to "We need someone who has completed a Masters in Butter Cake Formulation for pastries". You will not find a student who has studied exactly what you need to resolve. * Identify any specific expertise that is required, for example, must have a good understanding of Finite Element Analysis. 510640 v3 14 of 15
Manage this document Project overview What increased capability, product or process knowledge do you expect to attain as a result of this project? Why is this a challenge? What increase do you expect in the company's technical capability? Why is this of benefit to the company and what is its relevance to the main activities of the company or business unit? What steps are in place to ensure the intern is mentored through their internship? As a result of this project, what revenues, profits or cost savings do you expect in dollars per annum? How will these benefits be realised? What market channels will be used to create the extra revenues or how will profits or cost savings be realised? Technical and commercial outcomes Indicate the main phases of the project that the intern will work on, and the estimated duration of each phase. Show the key milestones in the project and the expected due date for each. Keep these high-level, agree on the final detail once your intern is in place.. 510640 v3 15 of 15