CRAFT organizations on CORDIS RTD-Partners
The Step 1 call for proposals for CRAFT (Cooperative Research Action for Technology) closed in December 1993. Approved Step 1 organisations have now been added to the RTD-Partners database on CORDIS and are seeking partnerships for the next stage, Step 2. CRAFT is a European Commission initiative, operating under the BRITE/EURAM II Industrial and Materials Technologies programme, which facilitates participation of industrial SMEs in Community research activities. CRAFT encourages groups of SMEs, with limited RTD resources of their own, to join together in order to contract necessary research work to a third party (eg research organisation, university or company). CRAFT projects are funded (up to 50% of total costs) by the Commission. The balance of funds must be contributed by the participating SMEs, which may provide in-kind contributions or find additional industrial funding sources. CRAFT projects should have a 2 year maximum duration and a ceiling of 1 Million ECU in total costs. For those unfamiliar with the CRAFT system, at the initial stage (Step 1), a consortium of at least 2 SMEs from different Member States submits an outline proposal of 3-4 pages. Approved Step 1 Proposals are given an expansion award of ECU 15,000 to allow them to proceed to the final stage, Step 2. Partnership profiles from approved Stage 1 Proposals have been included in RTD-Partners and provide an opportunity for prospective participants to join selected Step 1 CRAFT projects in their expansion phase (i.e. the period during which the detailed Step 2 proposal is defined and the consortium expanded to include a larger group of SMEs). To proceed to the second stage, a consortium of at least 4 SMEs from at least 2 Member States is required. Participating in an approved Step 1 proposal will provide the only opportunity in 1994 to benefit from the CRAFT initiative as the next call for proposals is not expected to open before late 1994/early 1995. The Step 2 proposals have two deadlines for submission in 1994: 25th March 1994 and the final deadline 1 July 1994. These proposals will then be evaluated before the final awards are made. There will be ongoing collaboration between RTD-Partners and CRAFT during 1994 and under the next Community Framework Programme. RTD-Partners will be regularly updated and newly approved organisations added. The information on approved Stage 1 companies, available on RTD-Partners, may also be obtained through the CRAFT National Focal Points.