The 4th Brazil-European Union Coordinated Call in Information and Communication Technologies (TIC) was released and the interested parties will have up to March 14 to submit their proposals in the topics Cloud Computing, pilot in Internet of Things or 5G Network. This is a partnership between RNP, through its Research and Development Center on Digital Technologies for Information and Communication (CTIC), and the Office for Information Technology (Sepin) of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC). The electronic address for submission is https://jems.sbc.org.br/ctic_eubr_4.

Cooperation between Brazil and the European Union has been going on for some years, and the results of the projects approved in previous programs and in the 3rd Program, still in force, have been important to sustain this partnership. This is what explains coordinator of Projects of the CTIC/RNP, Wanderson Paim. For him, the 4th Program represents the beginning of a new phase in supporting the projects of the BR-EU Coordinated Programs. “We have expanded the economic and innovation potential now reaching small companies as well, since large companies have always participated in these BR-EU cooperation programs. This was the missing link for the research results to arrive in a faster and more impactful way to society”, he says.

In this regard, the description of the challenge and expected impact of the projects makes clear the need for practical demonstrations of its results. In IoT, for example, the focus will be on widely replicable pilot projects that take into account the solution of specific social challenges in the context of Brazil-European Union cooperation. Furthermore, it is in the interest of the proposals to study the feasibility of standardization in order to maintain the compatibility of applications developed on both sides of the Atlantic.

In order to clarify doubts and promote the initiation of consortia and proposals, the rules of participation and the molds of the 4th Program have been announced and released since the beginning of 2016. One of the differentials of this program is that now the proposing institutions can only receive the resources prove their accreditation in the IT Area Committee (Cati) or if they are company incubated in an incubator accredited in Cati. Paim explains that the restriction aims to ensure the quality and adequacy of the proposing institutions to the minimum requirements for the execution of ICT Research and Development projects evaluated by Cati.

The coordinator also explains that something new is in the project funds allocation. “From this moment, it shall direct 44.45% for institutions in the areas of influence of Sudam, Sudene and Midwest. This kind of restriction is already common in federal notices and aims to balancing the investment in naturally less favored areas of Brazil”, he emphasizes.

For more information, please access Public Notice.