Funding tools

To fund an innovation, and particularly the collaboration between company and university, there are several types of call for projects.
 

Calls for Projects (CfP)

Internal Schemes

• Start'Innov
• CIREX

Regional Schemes

• Programme Génération PI
• Innov'up

National Schemes

• CIFRE
• PSPC
• PRCE
• ASTRID
• LABCOM
• Sci-Ty : Le programme d'accompagnement Sci-ty (ANR PIA4), la Deep tech pour les Villes et Mobilités de demain
• AAP N° 1 - FRAME XG - pour les projets de prématuration pour mettre la 5G et les futures XG au service de la compétitivité industrielle française
• Chaires industrielles

European Schemes

• Horizon Europe Programme

The Start’Innov scheme is a new University scheme for fostering and supporting innovation transfer. It aims to support science and technology projects with a strong potential during a preliminary stage of “prematuration”, prior to a support scheme (“maturation” and “comaturation”) run together with SATT ERGANEO..

This call funds projects that turn existing proofs of concept (PoC) into operational laboratory prototypes, making it possible to produce “robust” demonstrators, design experiments, or fully validate the concept experimentally. It also funds complementary studies (positioning, IP, market, etc.) conducted by researchers to develop their PoC.  

The CIREX scheme will, on the one hand, help conduct joint research together with the socioeconomic world and, on the other, contribute to its transfer and development potential.
The aims of this CfP are:

• Strengthen a web of lasting relationships with the socioeconomic world and companies
• Develop innovation nationally and internationally together with the Initiative partners
• Help establish industrial partnerships in Europe (via EUTopia) and across the world (Asia – Europe – Africa dynamics)
• Technology transfer and development in CY Transfer’s three priority sectors

The CIREX scheme has two strands:
- CIREX projects, which are focused on a given topic and require the recruitment of one person
- CIREX chairs (following the model of industrial chairs), which constitute a research programme with several projects and require the recruitment of several people.

For further information: Download documentation 

This scheme seeks to support all research projects which require complementary results for the purposes of making an intellectual property application (patent, software, know-how, etc.) or consolidating the results during the application’s priority year.

Thus, throughout the year, Erganeo constantly examines academic research projects on all topics to foster the development of research conducted within its community of researchers.

For more information: Erganeo 

Innov’up provides unique help in the form of subsidies and innovation development aid (R&D innovation loan or innovation advance), irrespective of the projects’ nature, progress, or industry. Whether they relate to products, services, processes, or organisation, and whether they are disruptive or incremental, technological or social, a very wide range of innovations are eligible for this scheme. 

For morr information: Innov'up

The French Ministry for Higher Education, Research, and Innovation has entrusted the ANRT with running the CIFRE scheme. Its aim is to foster public-private joint research and provide doctoral students with employment opportunities. It relies on the coming together of four actors. 

The company recruits, on a permanent or fixed-term basis (CDI or CDD as per Articles D. 1242-3 & 6 of the French Labour Code), a Master’s graduate to whom it assigns a research project. The gross starting salary will be at least €23,484 per annum. The work conducted will be the subject of the employee-doctoral candidate’s thesis. 

The academic research laboratory will supervise the work of the employee-doctoral candidate and as such the latter will enrol with the graduate school to which the laboratory belongs.

For more information: CIFRE

This scheme wishes to support joint research and development structural projects which target, in particular, direct economic and technological benefits in the form of new products, services, and technologies, and indirect benefits in terms of the sustainable structuring of industries. The economic benefits expected from these projects and the structuring of industries need to concern all industrial partners and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The projects can include stages of industrial research as well as later stages of experimental development, prior to marketing.

For more information: ANR

The PRCE scheme is devoted to collaborations set up between at least one laboratory belonging to a research and knowledge dissemination organisation or institution eligible for ANR funding and at least one business or trading company involved in R&D. The project can be coordinated be either the public or private partner.

These projects seek to jointly achieve research results that are of benefit to both parties, allowing public or private laboratories belonging to research or knowledge dissemination institutions to tackle new research questions, or tackle them differently, and allowing businesses to access public research of the highest level so as to improve their innovation capacity in various ways.

For more information: https://anr.fr/fr/plan-daction-2023/

The ASTRID programme seeks to help open up new research avenues on topics of dual interest (civil and military applications), covering a wide range of fields. The aim is to explore science and technology hard points and foster potential technological breakthroughs that can be of benefit to Defence, civil research, and industry. The importance of Defence needs is one of the selection criteria (potential benefits to be described in the application).

The ASTRID Maturation programme is intended to help develop scientific research conducted as part of research support schemes funded by the French Defence Innovation Agency, which include ASTRID projects.

For more information: ASTRID 

The scheme, which supports the creation of joint laboratories (LabCom) between public research or knowledge dissemination institutions or organisations and small or medium-sized enterprises (SME) or intermediate-sized enterprises (entreprises de taille intermédiaire (ETI)), seeks to develop the industrial partnership and transfer potential of academic research actors, particularly those conducting non-partnership research activities. The goal of this scheme is to support these actors in setting up lasting bilateral partnerships with businesses, particularly SMEs and ETIs, given that these connections are crucial in the innovation chain. The transfer of results or know-how from public research to this type of companies can be an important innovation, competitiveness, and job-creating factor.

For more information: LABCOM 

The “Industrial Chairs” programme seeks to mobilise resources in order to consolidate and strengthen the competitiveness of French businesses. It has a threefold objective:

• Enable internationally renowned and possibly mobile French and international teacher-researchers or researchers to work on an ambitious, innovative project of unquestionable industrial significance.

• Build and structure joint science research initiatives in priority areas that are strategic for the public and private actors involved in the industrial chair through a strong, enduring partnership.

• Ensure research-based training of the highest international quality by giving doctoral and postdoctoral students hosted by the academic research laboratories access to the long-term vision, methods, and experience of business actors.

This programme comprises a call for projects open to all research fields, on topics defined jointly by the industrial chair’s host institution and one or more partner businesses. The project is led by an eminent academic, future holder of the industrial chair, and is funded equally by the ANR and the partner business(es).

For more information: Chaires industrielles 

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s research and innovation framework programme for the period between 2021 and 2027. Horizon Europe thus continues Horizon 2020 which finished at the end of 2020.

Horizon Europe’s general objectives are:

• Strengthen the Union’s scientific and technological bases;
• Foster its competitiveness, including that of its industry;
• Give concrete expression to the Union’s strategic political priorities;
• Help tackle global issues, including the sustainable development goals.

The aim of this programme is to anchor research and innovation more deeply and concretely in a context marked by societal and European challenges.

The Horizon Europe framework programme rests on four pillars:

• Excellent science

This pillar supports basic research projects through the European Research Council and also funds exchanges and grants for researchers as part of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Finally, it supports networking, access, and development within research infrastructures.

• Global challenges and European industrial competitiveness

This pillar aims to support research related to societal issues, such as health, an inclusive, creative, and safe society, the digital world, industry, as well as food, bioeconomy, and natural resources. The Joint Research Centre is also included in this pillar

• Innovative Europe

This pillar involves the creation of a European Innovation Council that seeks to support innovation together with national and local bodies. It further addresses the need to organise European innovation ecosystems.

• Widening participation and strenghening the European Research Area

This is a cross-cutting pillar that underpins the whole framework programme. It supports activities that will help attract talent, foster its movement, and prevent a brain drain from the European Union. This pillar also focuses on a more innovative Europe, which respects gender equality and encourages transnational cooperation.

For more information: Horizon Europe
(Clicking on Funding Opportunities will give you access to an engine for searching among the various ongoing and upcoming calls.)