Applications Invited for EforA Research and Development Fund

About the Organization:

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition promoting energy efficiency as a potent catalyst in clean energy access efforts. Since their founding in 2015, Efficiency for Access has grown from a year-long call to action and collaborative effort by Global LEAP and Sustainable Energy for All to a coalition of 15 donor organizations. Coalition programmes aim to scale up markets and reduce prices for super-efficient, off- and weak-grid appropriate products, support technological innovation, and improve sector coordination.

Research & Development Fund - Third Call: 

The Efficiency for Access Coalition (EforA), supported by UK aid and the IKEA Foundation, will invest funding into Research and Development (R&D) projects with the aim to accelerate the availability, affordability, efficiency and performance of a range of low energy inclusive appliances that are particularly suited to developing country contexts and promote social inclusion.

Affordable and efficient electrical appliances for domestic and small-industrial uses are essential for increasing both the pace and impact of energy access in poor countries.

EforA invites organisations to apply for the third call of the EforA Research and Development Fund. Applying for this grant will involve registering your organisation (if it is not already registered) and then completing an application form that provides a comprehensive breakdown of your R&D project. Full due diligence will be conducted on successful applicants, which may involve an interview and site visit. The successful applicants will then be notified and the project milestones and funding agreements will be finalised. The key dates involved are specified further below.

Eligibility:

The minimum eligibility criteria are:

• Applicants must be a legally registered and physically established business, academic organisation, non-profit, public sector organisation, or research and technology organisation from anywhere in the world. Applicants for funding may also form partnerships (such as between academics and businesses, or between entrepreneurs and established businesses). However, the lead partner will assume responsibility for the project and will be the recipient of the grant funding.
• Your application must demonstrate outcomes linked to both the programme’s overall objective (of accelerating the availability, affordability, efficiency and performance of a range of low energy inclusive appliances particularly suited to developing country contexts) and the R&D scope for this call, as detailed in the Scope section.
• Applicants must demonstrate sufficient match funding for project costs, as outlined in the Funding section.
• Applicants must demonstrate a track record in research and innovation, and/or provide strong evidence of your capacity to successfully implement the R&D project.
• Applicants must be compliant with fundamental in-country and international human rights, labour standards, and environmental management laws. Applicants must not be involved in any act of terrorism or support terrorist activities.
• Applicants must allow regular due diligence.

Please email us at EforAgrants@est.org.uk if you are unsure if you are eligible or if your application is within the scope of this Call.

Application Assistance:

If you are looking for partner organisations with specific areas of expertise, the EforA team can help support you in your search by matching you with other organisations looking for partners. You may contact us at EforAgrants@est.org.uk and make a request for assistance by 14 February 2020.

Additionally, if you are a Micro-sized organisation (as defined in section 3. Funding), or your organisation is based in a UK aid priority country (as defined in section 6. Applying and Assessment), we are available to assist you in reviewing your draft application. Please note that they will provide a basic review (requiring a maximum of 1 hour of EforA staff time) and the comments provided by the reviewer may differ from the ultimate judgement of the application assessors. If you wish to have your draft application reviewed, you must contact us at EforAgrants@est.org.uk and make a request for assistance by 14 February 2020.

The assistance EforA provides will be managed to ensure that no conflict of interest arises during the assessment process.

R&D Categories and Length

Your project should fall under one of the following categories based on the stage of your R&D. The allowable length of your R&D project is based on the stage of your R&D:

• Early stage for feasibility studies (lasting 6 to 12 months) – This includes both developing and demonstrating the concept for a technology, and analysis and evaluation of a technology’s potential, aimed at supporting the process of decision making. This is achieved by uncovering its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as identifying resources needed and the prospects for success. Feasibility studies will usually help businesses decide to work either individual or collaboratively with other industrial or research organisations, before conducting a subsequent larger project.
• Mid-stage for industrial research (lasting 12 to 24 months) – This should be for the purpose of product development, processes or services that lead to an improvement in existing products, processes or services. It can include the creation of component parts to complex systems and may include prototypes in a laboratory or environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems, particularly for generic technology validation.
• Late stage for experimental development (lasting 12 to 30 months) – Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessarily the final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes. Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in progress, even if those changes may represent improvements.

Funding: Grants are available from £50,000 to £300,000. Up to £2 million in funding has been made available for this call.

Key Dates:

Stage one

• 21 January 2020 – Registration and Call for applications opens

Stage two

• 15 March 2020, at 18.00 GMT – Submissions of applications closes

Award

• May 2020 – Successful applicants that pass due diligence are notified
• 1 June 2020 – Projects must start by this date

For more information, email us at EforAgrants@est.org.uk

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