MINISTRY OF SCIENCE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

STATE OF ISRAEL SLOVENIA

SLOVENIAN-ISRAELI SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COOPERATION

Call for Research Proposals in

2006-2007

Within the framework of the Israeli-Slovenian Programme of Cooperation in the fields of Culture, Education and Science, the governments of the two states provide financial support for joint research projects carried out by Israeli and Slovenian scientists. Slovenian-Israeli research teams are hereby invited to submit joint proposals on the topics detailed below.

Biotechnology

· Marine Sciences

· Plant Sciences

· Bioinformatics

Robotics

Advanced Materials

B. MODE OF COOPERATION

Cooperation may take the form of:

· joint research activities where interdependent subprojects of a single program are conducted in the Slovenian and the Israeli laboratories;

· complementary methodological approaches to a joint problem;

· joint use of research facilities, materials, equipment and/or services by cooperating scientists;

· joint planning of research and evaluation of results

C. LEVEL OF FUNDING AND PROJECT DURATION

Support will be given to joint research projects requiring an annual budget of approximately $40,000 ($20,000 for each side). Projects should be planned on a two year basis, while contracts would be signed annually.

D. Eligibility

1. Proposals must involve a Principal Investigator from each country.

2. The Principal Investigator on each side must be affiliated to an academic institution or research institute. Researchers from industry may take part in the program as partners in teams headed by Principal Investigators from an academic institution or research institute.

3. The Principal Investigators are expected to take responsibility for the execution of the research work throughout the duration of the project.

4. Proposals should be submitted in English on the attached forms in 20 copies, 10 to each of

the Cooperating Agencies, to the following addresses: The application forms and accompanying material (in ‘pdf’ or ‘doc’ format) should be submitted

together on CD.

תיבת טקסט: Slovenian Research Agency
Tivolska 30
SI-1000 Ljubljana

Tel.: +386 1 4784 715
Fax: +386 1 4784 719
E-mail: razpis-izrael06-08@arrs.si Avi Anati

Deputy Director General for Planning & Control

Ministry of Science and Technology

P.O. Box 49100

Jerusalem 91490

Tel: 02-5411170/3

Fax: 02-5823030

E-mail: avi@most.gov.il

All applications must be received not later than 27/4/2006

E. Mutual Visits

Participating scientists are encouraged to spend an extended period of time visiting in the institutions of their counterparts. So long as the visits are an integral part of research cooperation, international travel and in-country living expenses of visiting scientists will be borne by the funding agencies. International travel costs should be included in the budget of the visiting side, while in-country living expenses should be included in the budget of the host side.

F. EVALUATION CRITERIA & PROCEDURES

1. Proposals will be evaluated by a joint Israeli-Slovenian scientific committee. Evaluation will be based on:

a) Scientific merit;

b) Extent of genuine collaboration between the Slovenian and Israeli research teams.

G. CONTRACTS, PAYMENTS AND REPORTS

1. The expected starting date for approved projects is 1/8/2006

2. Contracts

Upon approval of a particular research, separate contracts will be signed in Israel and Slovenia, respectively, between the responsible funding agency and the institution of the Principal Investigator. The contracts will include provisions regarding intellectual property rights. A request for the continuation of research funding must be submitted to the responsible agencies on the appropriate forms at least two months prior to the end of the first year of the project, together with the annual scientific report. (Contract example is inclosed)

3. Renewal of Ongoing Project

While projects are to be authorized for a period of two years, the responsible agencies

reserve the right not to fund a second year of work for scientific-professional, administrative or

budgetary reasons.

4. Payments

     Payments will be made in keeping with the provisions of the contracts mentioned
           above, according to the practices and regulations in effect in each country and depend on
           budget availability.

5. Reports

a) Financial Reports

Financial reports will be submitted according to the practice of each country, as specified in the research contract.

b) Scientific Reports

A joint scientific report must be submitted to the funding agencies two months prior to the end of the first year of the research contract, together with the request for continuation of research funding (see Paragraph G[2] above).

A joint final report covering the work carried out during the entire two-year project period must be submitted within two months of the conclusion of the project. Additional interim progress reports may be required, according to the practices and regulations of each country, as specified in the research contracts.

Application Form

H. INFORMATION

Additional information can be obtained from the following:

Slovenia:

On scientific and administrative matters:

Ms. Alenka Mihailovski Ms. Marjetica Primožič

Alenka.Mihailovski@gov.si marjetka.primozic@arrs.si

Tel.: + 386 1 4784 690 Tel.: +386 1 4784715

Israel:

On scientific matters:

On administrative and financial matters:

Robotics: Avi Anati