The aim of the MANUNET call for proposals is to foster the competitiveness of Europe’s Manufacturing Industry by co-funding manufacturing research projects performed by enterprises (preferably SMEs), research centers and universities. Detailed information on the MANUNET Call is available on the website of MANUNET III project. 

24 national and regional funding organisations in 12 countries (see full list here) have commited national budgets to fund research and development projects in a transnational setting. Together with EC contribution, the total MANUNET-III Call budget amounts to over 30 Million euro.

A two-stage procedure will be employed:

  • Deadline for pre-proposal submission: 17th March 2017, 17.00 (CET)
  • Deadline for full proposal submission: 12th July 2017, 17.00 (CET)

Topics: The MANUNET Call 2017 for proposals includes all fields in Manufacturing, structured in the following topics:

  • Knowledge-based engineering, information and communication technologies for manufacturing (industrial robotics, computer-aided engineering and design, automated manufacturing, zero defect manufacturing, product lifetime management, etc.).
  • Manufacturing technologies for environmental and energy applications including resource efficiency and recycling
  • Adaptive manufacturing technologies including processes for removing, joining, adding, forming, consolidating, assembling
  • New materials for manufacturing (alloys, lubricants, coatings, textile fibres, construction, composites, insulation, etc.).
  • New manufacturing methods, components and systems (development of demonstrators, devices, tooling and equipment, logistic systems, etc.).
  • Other technologies, products and services related to the manufacturing field.

The Materials Innovation Institute (M2i) has pre-committed a budget of 500.000 euro to fund Dutch participants in transnational MANUNET consortia. By taking part to the MANUNET-III calls, M2i aims to expose the Dutch high tech materials community to collaborative international research opportunities.

Eligibility conditions for M2i funding in MANUNET:
Dutch consortia formed by one university and at least one industrial partner are eligible for funding (provided the other MANUNET rules are complied with), for the following funding rates and under the following conditions:

  • 85% for research organizations , provided that the remaining 15% is funded from industrial sources. Only temporary research positions (postdoc, PDEng) can be applied for. The match funding must be covered by the industrial partner(s) in the Dutch consortium and needs to be confirmed at the submission in the form of a signed commitment letter attached to the application. Proposals which do not include a letter of commitment for the co-financing will not be considered eligible.
  • 40% funding for the industrial participants (companies) of a maximum eligible budget of 50.000 euro. The companies with SME status can receive 60% funding of a maximum eligible budget of 50.000 euro.

Additional conditions:

  • At least one company in the consortium must have already contributed to the “PPS (formerly TKI) grondslag” for High Tech Materials (HTM, within the top sector HTSM). The other Dutch companies will commit to contributing to the “TKI grondslag” for HTM as of 2017, for the full duration of the project. This must be stated in the letter of commitment.
  • The administrative costs related to project monitoring at national level, amounting to 10.000 euro/project*year*company for large enterprises and 5.000 euro/project*year*company for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) will be fully covered by the industrial participants and will be clearly indicated in the letter of commitment, but will not be included in the proposal budget.

Thematic restriction for M2i funding:
Proposals must fit within the High Tech Materials roadmap (HTM). Proposals related to additive manufacturing of metals will receive priority.

Maximum duration of projects:
Maximum duration set in the MANUNET Call 2017 (24 months) applies. Exceptionally, a third year can be funded separately from MANUNET, provided the industrial commitment for the project is extended accordingly.

Limits of funding: The requested funding (from M2i) is limited to 300.000 euro per project.

National deadlines: Stage-1 proposals with Dutch participation will undergo an evaluation in the TKI HTM Roadmap council. The Council will evaluate the fit within the HTM Roadmap, as well as the commitment to report the external research expenditure as contribution to the TKI Grondslag. The deadlines will be closely aligned to the MANUNET Call deadlines and published on the M2i website www.m2i.nl.

Advice & guidance: Potential applicants are advised to contact M2i at an early stage to receive feedback on their proposal ideas and be connected with the relevant industrial contacts from the intended partners contributing to the TKI Grondslag.

Contact person:manunet-logo

Iulia Degeratu – Program Manager
E-mail i.degeratu@m2i.nl;
Tel. +31 (0)88 035 1921.

Resources: all call documents can be downloaded from the MANUNET website.

Documents for download (M2i):