Notice on Issuing the Application Guide to the Program of Collaborative Innovation with Foreign-Funded R&D Institutions under the 2023 Shanghai Action Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation

To those concerned,

To thoroughly implement the innovation-driven development strategy, speed up building Shanghai into a globally influential center of science, technology and innovation, and encourage and support international science and technology cooperation with foreign-funded R&D institutions, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) now releases the Application Guide to the Program of Collaborative Innovation with Foreign-funded Research and Development Institutions under the 2023 Shanghai Action Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI for short).

I. Scope

Objective: To encourage foreign-funded R&D institutions to make collaborative research and development with local universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises in order to promote the building of Shanghai into a center of science, technology and innovation; through sharing of innovative resources such as facilities and equipment, R&D sites, technical personnel, funds and data etc., to produce substantial R&D achievements and to encourage transfer and transformation of such achievements in Shanghai as a priority.

Foreign-invested enterprises that have been listed among "Shanghai Top 10 Foreign-Invested Enterprises in Collaborative Innovation" are encouraged to apply.

Areas: Advanced manufacturing, new materials, biomedicine.

Duration: From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026.

Funding: Non-fixed grants with a ceiling of RMB1,000,000 for each project, the ratio of self-raised fund to applied fund is not lower than 1:1.

Eligibility: The Project concerned shall be carried out by a foreign-invested enterprise with its own R&D institution(s) in Shanghai, joined by local universities, research institutions or Shanghai-registered domestic enterprises. The partners concerned must be in an established cooperation and agree in advance on the IP rights and benefit distributions, with an agreement of cooperation signed.

Limitation: One application only by each applicant organization.

II. Application Requirements

The following requirements shall be observed apart from the above conditions:

1. An applicant organization shall be an incorporated or unincorporated body registered in Shanghai and have the capability of implementing a project.

2. The project that has been fiscally funded by the government shall not be submitted.

3. All applicant organizations and project participants shall abide by the research ethics, observe the laws on the management of human genetic resources and the regulations on the biosafety management in pathogenic microbiology laboratories, and meet the management requirements of research integrity. The Principal Investigator (PI) shall certify the authenticity of all materials submitted. The applicant organization shall be responsible for the eligibility of applicants, verify the authenticity and integrity of materials submitted, and shall not submit an application involving confidential information.

4. If the application for excluding specific experts from the review panel is submitted, an official letter indicating the list of excluded experts and the reason issued by the applicant organization shall be uploaded with the feasibility plan of the project.

5. A person who has served as the PI of two or more research projects under this Action Plan shall not apply for any project as the PI.

6. To verify its established cooperation with a Shanghai-registered partner, the applicant organization shall submit a photocopy of the valid cooperation agreement or text (a valid Chinese translation shall be attached to the original copy in a foreign language). In particular, such cooperation agreement or text shall contain: (a) detailed information such as both parties' names, organizations, departments, posts (or titles) and contacts, or stated otherwise separately; (b) items such as the term of cooperation, the content of cooperation, each party's input, division of roles, distribution of intellectual property and other benefits, and the date of signature; (c) the research content shall be consistent with the project under application; and (d) the seal of the applicant organization shall be affixed on the cooperation text and supporting documents.

7. The applicant organization shall submit the stamped guarantees with the seal of the enterprise containing the following information: (a) the ratio of self-raised fund to applied fund is not lower than 1:1; and (b) there is no  technology transfer of cross-holding with the partner concerned.

8. Documents and other written materials testifying the applicant organization's compliance with the above requirements shall be uploaded in a scanned digital format to the application system as attachments.

III. Application Method

1. The application shall be submitted online without any printed materials. Applicants may access the application page in two ways: (Note: The project application system is in Chinese ONLY.)

(1) "Government Online-Offline Shanghai" -- "Government Services" -- "Information Management Platform for Fiscal Expenditure on Science and Technology in Shanghai";

(2)[Initial filling] Log on "Government Online-Offline Shanghai" (an unregistered applicant organization shall first create an account on the registration page), open the application guide page, and click a corresponding subject to start project application;

[Continued filling] Log on "Government Online-Offline Shanghai" and proceed with project application. 

Please refer to Online Help for instructions.

2. The online application starts from 9:00 on March 29, 2023, and ends at 16:30 on April 18, 2023 (including review and submission by the applicant organization).

IV. Review Method

Single-round face-to-face review.

V. Announcement

The STCSM will release the list of approved projects for public notice and feedback.

VI. 

Service Hotlines

021-12345

8008205114 (Landline)

4008205114 (Mobile)

Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality

03/21, 2023