PSL-Valorisation and Qlife Institute launch a call for Proof-of-Concept projects

An activity report is required at the end of the project, along with some financial reports (depending on the payment schedule).

PSL will transfer the funding to the host institution or to one of the supervising institutions (“tutelles”) of the leading research team. This institution will manage the funds. The institution who validated the project proposal is usually chosen for the management of the funds. The other supervising institutions may sign the funding agreement depending on the agreements concerning the research unit. If needed, consultation involving all the supervising institutions and stakeholders will be held when preparing the funding agreement, to discuss all relevant issues, notably any pre-existing intellectual property linked to the project.

Yes; the start-up company can be a partner of the project but the funding will go to the research team presenting the project and to the other PSL research teams involved. The funding cannot be granted to the start-up company. However the funding agreement may mention the intention of the stakeholders to transfer exploitation rights on the project results to the startup company.

No. The socio-economic impact is a major criterion but the short term profit is not, nor the financial return for PSL. Non-profit projects can be funded.

The selection committee will evaluate the risk and potential impact of the projects as well as their feasibility. The high-risk/high gain projects will not be disadvantaged, on the contrary.

Yes.

PSL does not charge any management fees, the funding is allocated to one of the supervising institution (“tutelle”) in charge of the research team. This Institution can claim management fees, within the limit of 3% of the funding. (For the projects funded by Qlife, management fees are limited to 2,5% and are added to the allocated funding).

Projects applying to this call are expected to be early stage, and thus not to have achieved an advanced maturity level both in terms of technology readiness and of transfer to the socio-economic sphere. However, they have to be based on a preliminary proof of concept, and describe the remaining technological issues to be addressed during the course of the project. Applicants must give an overview of the envisioned applications, targeted users and associated markets. They must describe the valorisation model they envisage, and the process they will follow to develop a more precise vision of the market, a value proposition and a business model. The innovative aspects, the added value compared to competing technologies or existing offers and the associated intellectual property, if any, will be major evaluation criteria.

There is no prerequisite in terms of TRL. Typically, projects applying to this call would have a TRL of 3 and would aim to reach a TRL of 5 at the end of the funding period, but this is only indicative. The most important criterion is that the configuration of the project and its level of advancement be compatible with a credible approach of the transfer/market aspects of the project, and enable progress on these issues. If the R&D program absorbs the majority of the resources and/or the technological uncertainties make contacts with users end potential partners too difficult, the project will likely be found unconvincing, even if its scientific quality is excellent.

No. Prematuration projects based on a recently filed patent are quite common, but other scenarios are also valid : projects based on software, on know-how, and/or aiming at developing intellectual property (patent or other) at a later stage. Projects based on an application linked to a market need, and aiming at developing or aggregating technological components will not be disadvantaged, on the contrary.

No. Such studies can be a good point for the application and should be mentioned if they exist but are not a prerequisite.

The funded projects will be supported by  one of the TTOs of PSL (PSL Valorisation or the valorisation department of a member institution). If the team developing the project has already established contacts with a TTO, continuity will be favored.
The management and the valorisation of the project results, and of pre-existing intellectual property, if any, will aim at facilitating their transfer (to a start-up or to another industrial partner), at maximising socio-economic impact and at ensuring an appropriate financial return to the stakeholders and to PSL.

All eligible applications will be evaluated, as far as possible, i.e. provided that the number of applications is compatible with the reviewing process.

Yes, as in 2018, a summary of the evaluation will be sent to the project leader. For additional information, the project leaders may ask for the full reports of the experts (anonymized).