The European Research Council (ERC) will release a new round of proof of concept grants to 33 research projects. Each project will receive EUR 150,000 that is put towards commercial translation such as IP dilligence, market research, and commercial validations. There was a yield rate, or projects funded vs proposed, in this round of 44%.
‘The “Proof of Concept” scheme is gathering speed,’ adds President of the ERC, Professor Helga Nowotny. ‘With relatively little investment, it helps to harvest the very best ideas coming from frontier research, and takes them one decisive step further in the direction of potential innovation. This new funding initiative has also inspired more of our grantees to explore the possibilities of the results and findings they have obtained. It leads them to ask the question: “What follows from my research?” In the longer term, such a change in attitude will be good for Europe and will strengthen links between research and society.’
More here: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=35001