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General Information 

IraSME (International research activities by SMEs) is a network of ministries and funding agencies which are owners or managers of national and regional funding programmes for cooperative research projects between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Research and technology organisations (RTOs) can be additional partners or subcontractors in most of those programmes. Against the background of growing competition in global markets, IraSME supports SMEs in their transnational innovation activities, helps them acquiring technological know-how, extending their networks and bridging the gap between research and innovation. Current network partners are Alberta (Canada), Austria, Belgium (Wallonia and Flanders), Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia and Turkey.

25th IraSME Call Results

The 25th IraSME call for joint proposals closed on 26 March 2020. It was open for applicants from Alberta (Canada), the Czech Republic, Flanders & Wallonia (Belgium), Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, and Turkey. We are pleased to have received a total of 11 proposals by applicants of all countries / regions which participated in the latest call. The project proposals aim at developing new products, processes or technical services from various fields of technology. The coordination office and your local funding agencies are currently undertaking eligibility checks and registering the main proposals in their respective national application processes. All future developments and evaluation results of the participating countries and regions are communicated directly to the applying consortia.

An update of our call statistics will be published soon on www.ira-sme.net/statistic

Innovation Day for SMEs postponed due to Corona pandemic

With regard to the various effects of the current Corona pandemic, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and AiF Projekt GmbH have jointly decided to postpone this year’s Innovation Day for SMEs to next year, as local authorities have prohibited any events taking place in Berlin for the time being. The new date is set to 10 June 2021, and we are looking forward to meeting attendees from the fields of research, politics, and economics as well as all exhibitors and interested visitors at this exciting open air fair in Berlin-Pankow next summer. For further information on BMWi’s Innovation Day, please visit their website --> www.zim.de/innovationstag

New ZIM guidelines and project management agencies in Germany

The German funding programme participating in the IraSME network is called “Central Innovation Programme for SMEs”, known under the acronym ZIM. Every five years, this programme is revised and renewed by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), which is why a new set of guidelines was published on 20 January 2020.  As part of the revision process, the project management agencies of the programme were required to (re)apply on the issued management tenders. A complex evaluation process then determined which agencies are chosen to handle the programme management, including network management of IraSME, for the upcoming five years. This whole process was finalized by 31 March 2020. AiF Projekt GmbH has been announced again as your contact point for ZIM cooperation projects including the coordination of international R&D cooperation and the IraSME network management. The ZIM programme will be re-opened within the next weeks, and applications by SMEs and RTOs will be possible soon. For further information on the German ZIM programme, please visit --> www.zim.de

If you are interested in receiving more information on international cooperation possibilities in ZIM aside from IraSME, please visit --> www.zim.de/international and/or sign up for our ZIM International Mailing --> www.zim.de/newsletter