Canada has been very active in supporting research, development and innovation in recent years and definitely has something to offer to the Czech Republic. In the context of COVID-19 the federal government has announced a program to support research centers and highlights their potential as generators for the future growth. The announced joint calls should make it easier for Czech companies and academic institutions to establish and, where appropriate, expand cooperation with the Canadian partners.

1) Program DELTA 2

The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR) has announced the 2nd public call for proposal for the Program for the Support of Applied Research, Experimental Development and Innovation - DELTA 2 on May 13th 2020. The project proposals can be submitted until July 15th, 2020. The announcement of the results of the call is planned for November 30th 2020.

The program, as such, is not thematically focused, but the selection of topics will be determined for each foreign partner agency separately and will reflect the priority areas of applied research of the participating countries.

Within Canada, there are two participating agencies:

-  Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ), in the province of Quebec, focusing on the aerospace industry

- German-Canadian Center for Innovation and Research (GCCIR), in the province of Alberta, focusing on different areas of research and development.

Other countries covered by this call include Brazil, Zhejiang , Israel, Korea, Taiwan, Jiangsu and Vietnam.

The applicant may be an enterprise, a research organization (only as an additional participant) and linked and partner enterprises.

More information on the call and the DELTA 2 program can be found on the TA CR.

2) Program EUREKA

The Technology Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, within the EUREKA program, announces a call for proposals for projects of applied research and development in the field of advanced materials. The call includes 14 member countries, including the Czech Republic and Canada.

It is one of the few European international R&D cooperation projects that is open to entities across Canada. The Czech partner is the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, on the Canadian side it is the National Research Council. The deadline for submitting projects is June 30th, 2020, Czech applicants can apply at the national level under the INTER-EUREKA program until September 25th, 2020.

The program is focused on the following thematic domains:

- semiconductors and display

- secondary batteries and sensor technology, including energy storage

- carbon industry and chemistry, including lightweight materials, composites and recycle of plastics, nano materials and plastic materials

- machinery, robots, and metal Industry

The applicant mustbe an enterprise; university and research organization can only be invited as a co-partner.

More information on the EUREKA call can be found on the website here.

3) Program EUREKA GlobalStars (with Japan)

Czech and Canadian companies can jointly participate in the EUREKA GlobalStars call, together with Japan and other selected member countries.

The proposed project in not limited by any sector, but scientific research activities must lead to a new product, industrial process or service. The Czech partner is the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, on the Canadian side it is the National Research Council.

Companies can apply from June 8th to September 10th, 2020. Czech applicants will be able to apply in the aforementioned INTER-EUREKA national program until September 25th, 2020.

The consortium must have at least two participants, including a Japanese participant. Applicants on the Czech side can be small, medium or large companies; university and research organization can only be invited as a co-partner.

More information on the call can be found on the website of EUREKA. 

For futher assistance or information you can also contact the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Canada.