The 4th call for projects of the Science Offensive was launched on 5 January 2023. It focuses on knowledge and technology transfer to contribute to the objectives of the Trinational Metropolitan Region of the Upper Rhine (“RMT”).
The RMT Strategy 2030, the regional strategies of the partner regions and the planning documents for the EU Structural Funds programmes 2021-2027 form the strategic framework for the Upper Rhine Region and define the priorities for the coming years for the Pillars Science and Economy. The RMT 2030 strategy places particular emphasis on the current topics of climate and environmental protection, sustainable mobility, renewable energies, digitalisation and health. In order to strengthen the innovative capacity and performance of the 290,000 SMEs in the Upper Rhine, the transfer of knowledge and technology from science to business and society must be intensified.
The objective of this call for proposals is therefore to support research and transfer organisations in their efforts to transfer scientific knowledge and research results to the industry and civil society and thus to support the preliminary conditions for the development of research results into innovative products, processes or services, thus bridging the “valley of death” between scientific research and economic and societal exploitation.
Through this funding mechanism, cross-border projects may be supported in the areas identified in the smart specialisation strategies of the Upper Rhine regions for which there are common needs and strong added value to be worked on at cross-border level. These topics include digitalisation, cybersecurity, quantum sciences and technologies, energy transition, sustainable mobility, agriculture, bioeconomy, innovative therapies and medical technologies, personalised medicine, materials and processes, as well as social innovation.
The call for projects is open from 5 January 2023 to 24 March 2023; the call for proposals and all the necessary application documents are available on the website of the Interreg Upper Rhine programme (https://www.interreg-rhin-sup.eu/). In case of submission of an application, the pre-forms and the required annexes must be sent in electronic form by 24 March 2023, 12:00 (Paris time, France) at the latest.
The Science Offensive is a joint initiative of the Länder of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, the Grand Est Region and the Interreg Upper Rhine programme to finance cross-border projects of excellence in the field of research and innovation. This exemplary scheme has existed since 2011 and has enabled 21 cross-border collaborative research projects to be carried out. With €21.6 million invested in research in the Upper Rhine, this instrument has demonstrated its effectiveness and its importance for the territory. It enables the Upper Rhine to position itself as a model region for cross-border cooperation, particularly in the scientific field.
For more information (Info sessions, documents for application), see: