Overview
The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic is an organizational unit of the stat that was founded in 2009 by the Act No. 130/2002 Coll. on the support of research, experimental development and innovation. The creation of TA CR is one of the cornerstones of the fundamental reforms in research and development (R&D) in the Czech Republic. The key features of the reform is the redistribution of financial support from the national budget. The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic simplifies the state support of applied research and experimental development which has been fragmented and implemented by many bodies before the reform.
In accordance with the Act No. 130/2002 activities assigned to TA CR are:
- preparation and realization of its own programmes of applied research, experimental development and innovation; and realization of programmes from those governmental departments without public financial support,
- evaluation and selection of programme proposals,
- administration of functional financial support of applied research from the national budget,
- control of a fulfilment of project contracts,
- evaluation of fulfilment of objectives of programmes and control of their results,
- counselling (legal, financial and IPR) for programmes and projects of applied research, experimental development and innovation,
- communication support between research organizations and the private sector,
- negotiations with institutions in the Czech Republic and the European Union in terms of permitted public support of applied research and innovation, and
- cooperation with similar foreign institutions.
There are 7 funding programmes of The Technology Agency CR:
- Alfa Programme
- Beta Programme
- Gama Programme
- Delta Programme
- Epsilon Programme
- Omega Programme
- Competence Centres
The DELTA programme is aimed at supporting collaboration in applied research and experimental development projects through joint projects of enterprises and research organizations supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as “TACR”) and major foreign technological and innovation agencies and other similar agencies with which TACR has/will have at the time of publication of the public tender in research, development and innovation (hereinafter referred to as the “public tender”) established collaboration.
The objective of the DELTA programme is to increase the number of specific results of applied research and experimental development in areas where there is a consensus with foreign partners who will successfully implement the results in practice, whereby strengthening the competitiveness of the Czech Republic by promoting bilateral or multilateral collaboration of leading Czech and foreign participants. The selected projects must respond to the current and future needs of the country, which are defined in the Czech Republic in the National priorities of targeted research, experimental development and innovation.
The DELTA Programme will improve access of teams from the Czech Republic to international expertise and know-how, international research capacity and facilitate the penetration of foreign markets. The synergistic effect of the DELTA Programme is also a transfer of best practice from abroad to the Czech Republic. The DELTA Programme will also fulfil one of the National priorities of targeted research, experimental development and innovation, which is to promote the participation of research teams from the Czech Republic in international research.
The DELTA programme can only support projects that are reasonably expected to achieve at least one of the following types of results (classification according to Register of Information on Results):
P - Patent
Z - Pilot operation, verified technology, variety, breed
F - Results with legal protection - utility model, industrial design
G - Technically realized results - prototype, functional sample
N - Certified methodologies and practices, treatment, conservation methods, specialized maps with expert content
R – Software
The planned duration of the DELTA programme is 6 years (2014-2019). Public tenders will be announced up to four times per year for projects performed in collaboration with one or more partner agencies at the same time. Pursuant to Governmental Regulation No. 668 of the 28th of August 2013 the DELTA programme will be funded from the state budget of the Czech Republic.
The DELTA programme must have at least one candidate participating from a country in which the partner agency is registered and at least one candidate from the Czech Republic, which is an enterprise. Research organization from the Czech Republic Research meeting the definition of a research organization pursuant to Article 2.2 of the Community Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation - Official Journal of the European Union C 323, 30thof December 2006 may be an applicant for support only if there is at least one enterprise from the Czech Republic among the other project participants. Only the costs of applicants from the Czech Republic may be covered may be covered by TACR from the state budget of the Czech Republic.