Call for proposals under the Challenge program
1. Does the budget distribution among applicant and partners submitted in the Concept note become fixed and non-modifiable in the Full application? Are we required to provide only the budget distribution per applicant and each partner, or must we also specify a detailed breakdown by cost categories (e.g. personnel, equipment, services) for applicant and each partner already in the Concept note?
Applicants are expected to complete the Concept note in accordance with the instructions provided in Annex IV. Concept note form. As stated in the form, the applicant should briefly outline the key budget (cost) categories and estimated funding required for the project.
At the Concept note stage, the project budget is indicative, structured by main cost categories (e.g. personnel, equipment, services), and serves to demonstrate the overall financial needs and rationale of the project. It is not required to provide a detailed per-partner budget breakdown or fully itemized costs at this stage. When preparing the budget, applicants should take into account the requirements set out in Section 8, Section 10.3 and Section 11 of the Guidelines for Applicants.
2. Does the signature of the applicant and partners on the declarations (Annex II. and Annex III.) in Stage 1: Concept note legally bind them to a specific percentage share of the total budget or to a detailed category-wise budget allocation.
The declarations signed by the applicant (Annex II.) and each partner (Annex III.) relate exclusively to participation in Stage 1: Concept note. As such, they confirm understanding and acceptance of the call conditions, eligibility, ethical compliance, and commitment to participate in Stage 2: Full application upon a positive evaluation decision.
Since detailed budgets are not required at the Concept note stage, the signature does not legally bind the applicant or partners to a specific percentage share of the budget or to any detailed allocation across cost categories.
Final budget distribution and financial responsibilities among consortium members will be formally defined and agreed upon in the Full application form and the Partnership agreement, which must be submitted before the Award decision is made. Proof of secured own funds for project co-financing (in the case of enterprises) must be provided before the Grant agreement is signed.
3. Can a project that involves research on human and/or animal tissue and cell samples, and is assessed as low or moderate environmental and social (E&S) risk based on the World Bank’s environmental and social policies criteria and the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), as described in Annex I. Conditions for the preparation and implementation of projects within the DIGIT Project, be considered eligible for funding?
In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the MSEY cannot provide prior eligibility opinions regarding individual project proposals or activities.
The E&S screening will be conducted based on the submitted Environmental and social screening questionnaire (ESSQ), which is to be provided after the project proposal has been ranked within the available allocation of the Call.
Projects assessed as having a low or moderate E&S risk are eligible for funding under this Call. As outlined in Annex I., activities that are classified as high or substantial risk following the E&S screening process are deemed ineligible.
4. Please provide clarification regarding the document “Supporting document(s) related to the validated proof-of-concept”. Should the document be prepared in free form or is there a template that we must use?
As described in Table 12 of the Guidelines for Applicants, the applicant is required to submit a supporting document of up to 5 pages, which must include the mandatory information listed in the table. There is no predefined template for this document. The format is free, but the content must clearly address the required information to be considered valid.
In addition, the applicant is allowed to submit other relevant supporting documents, such as laboratory testing results, earlier trial outcomes, or critical function evidence, to strengthen the credibility and maturity of the proof-of-concept.
5. The Guidelines fo Applicants state that between 50 and 75 percent of the total eligible project costs may be allocated to the applicant. Is this a recommendation or a mandatory requirement?
This is a mandatory requirement. As defined in Table 7 Eligibility of costs and budget cleaning in Annex I. Conditions for the preparation and implementation of projects, the share of the total eligible project budget allocated to the applicant must fall within the range of 50% to 75%.
6. Are cumulative increases of the base aid intensity permitted, for example, combining the base rate for industrial research (50%) with additional increases for medium-sized enterprises (+10%) and for effective collaboration (+15%), resulting in a total intensity of 75%?
Applicants are not required to distinguish costs by type of research activity (i.e. industrial research and experimental development). Instead, a base aid intensity of 25% is uniformly applied to all research activities, as the Call supports activities following proof-of-concept (PoC) validation.
Additional increases to the aid intensity may apply as follows: +10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises; +20 percentage points for small enterprises; +15 percentage points for effective collaboration, as defined in the call documentation.
However, the total aid intensity must not exceed the maximum thresholds specified in Table 8 Intensity of grant for enterprises by category of aid, as outlined in the Guidelines for Applicants. These ceilings are:
- Croatian micro and small enterprises: up to 60%
- Croatian medium-sized enterprises: up to 50%
- Croatian large enterprises: up to 40%.
Applicants must ensure that the final proposed aid intensity complies with these maximum permissible levels.
7. Does the number of project proposals in Table 5 of the Guidelines for Applicants refer to the total number of project proposals a public higher education institution or public research institute may participate in, both as applicant and as partner combined, or is the count separate for each role? For example, can an organization with 251–500 employees participate in two applications as coordinator and two as partner, or is it limited to only two applications in total, irrespective of role?
As stated in Section 7.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, the limits set out in Table 5 Maximum number of applications permitted to be submitted by public higher education institutions and public research institutes apply separately to each role, applicant and partner.
This means that the number of project proposals in which public higher education institutions and public research institutes may participate as applicant and as partner are not cumulative.
Applicants must ensure that the number of project proposals submitted in each role does not exceed the applicable limit.