Call for Applications for Public-Private Partnerships in Dementia Research

Call for applications for public-private partnerships in dementia research

Alzheimer Nederland and Health~Holland are inviting research organisations and companiesto apply for co-funding for public-private partnerships(PPP)aimed at improving the lives of people with dementia. In total €320.000 is available.

Aim of the call

Health~Holland has allocated€320.000 in PPP -allowance (‘PPS-toeslagregeling’, formally known as ‘TKI-regeling’)for Alzheimer Nederland. This funding is available for public-private partnerships in dementia research that work towards the following aims:

To improve the lives of people with dementia and/or their carers as defined in de Deltaplan Dementie
To boost the Topsector Life Sciences & Health as defined in the ‘TKI Kennis en Innovatie Agenda 2016-2019’ by stimulating and (co-)funding research and innovation.

Who can apply?

Partnerships consisting of at least one research organisation and at least one company are eligible for funding. All partners must contribute financially (cash or in-kind) and intellectually to the project.

The partners must be able to show that there is a true and solid co-operation between all partners. This implies amongst others that all partners share the risk and cost of the project; a ‘partnership’ between a client and supplier, contract research or service agreements don’t not qualify. More information on the criteria and definitions can be found on Furthermore, the applicants must adhere to the rules and regulations as set by Health~Holland. A template for a Consortium Agreement will be provided.

The main applicant must be based in The Netherlands.

If you are interested in this call, but unable to fulfil all criteria, please contact Alzheimer Nederland since they may be able to bring you in contact with other researchers and/or companies.

Full proposals can only be submitted by applicants who have submitted a successful letter of intent.

What can be applied for?

The PPP allowance is a co-funding programme. Both the research organisation(s) and company/companies will have to provide cash and/or in kind contributions. Depending on the nature of the research various amounts of co-funding is available:

For Fundamental research up to 75% co-funding is available
For Industrial research up to 50% co-funding is available
For Experimental development up to 25% co-funding is available

In your application you must specify your type of research; this can be a mix of the above. The definitions of fundamental research, industrial research and experimental development can be found in the appendix.

The company or companies must contribute, in kind or cash, at least 15% of the total project cost. Larger companies are expected to provide a cash contribution of at least 2/3 of the stated 15% (i.e. 10% of the total project cost).

Criteria

Applications will be assessed on:

The degree to which the project improves (in due time) the lives of people with dementia and/or their carers.
The degree to which the projects fulfils the aims of the PPPAllowance as set by Health~ Holland.
The projectplan, including proposed steps, milestones and budget.

Ad 1.

Applications must indicate how the aims of the project fall within the aims of the “Deltaplan Dementie”. This Deltaplan for dementia is the Dutch national strategy to tackle and manage the growing problem of dementia. In this initiative public and private partners join forces and work together on three programmes:

Prevention and cure of dementia. By facilitating cutting-edge research, we will develop a better understanding of how dementia occurs and how to prevent it, as well as points of action for diagnosis and treatment. Also, it facilitates the development and implementation of effective and workable tools, interventions, care models, and innovations designed to improve the quality of life, as well as the quality and efficiency of integrated care and support, for people with dementia and their carers. The research programme is organised in topics:
Cause and mechanism of the disease;
Diagnosis;
Treatment and prevention;
Efficient care and support.
Improving healthcare for people with dementia.People with dementia require care that fits their specific needs. One of the aims of the Deltaplan is to improve the quality of dementia care, by ensuring that people with the disease can continue to live at home as long as possible, supported by appropriate professional and informal care. Next to developing an improvement programme to optimise the quality of dementia care and setting up a national dementia registry, the partners of the Deltaplan will work together to provide the best possible assistance and information to people with dementia, their carers, and healthcare professionals who work with people suffering from the disease.
Creating a dementia friendly society. This programme is an initiative that will help our society to learn more about dementia and the small ways one can help people with dementia and their carers. A milestone in this programme was the launch the online platform aimed at carers of people with dementia. The platform provides them with practical information on how to care for a loved one with dementia.

Although applications can be submitted in any of these three aims of the Deltaplan Dementie it is, due to the aim of the PPPallowance, and the requirement to focus on research, likely that applications mainly focus on ‘Prevention and Cure of dementia’and/or ‘Improving healthcare for people with dementia’. More information on the Deltaplan Dementie can be found on (in Dutch and English).

In case multiple projects qualify for funding, preference will be given to projects that are likely to benefit people with dementia and/or their carers in the shortest time possible. Applicants must therefore clearly describe what problem they propose to solve for people with dementia and/or their carers, how they know that this is a true problem and why they think that the proposed solution is the best possible solution. In addressing these questions it is highly recommended that the applicants include (representatives of) people with dementia and/or their carers when setting up and conducting the project.

Ad 2.

To qualify for PPPallowance the applicants must show the project fulfils the requirement as set by Health Holland. These include:

The project is aligned with the ‘LSH Kennis en Innovatie Agenda 2016-2019’
The project will (mainly) be conducted in The Netherlands and the main applicant is Netherlands based.
All knowledge and intellectual property that arises from the project is available for all partners within the consortium.
The project is a new project and has not started yet when applying for funding.
The project ends before November 2021.

More information on all criteria from Health~Holland can be found in the appendix and on We strongly advise you to visit this page as it outlines in more detail what project can be eligible for PPP allowance.

Ad 3.

Besides the criteria derived from the Deltaplan Dementie and the PPPallowance, applicants must also show that they have a robust projectplan and an adequate budget. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applicants must use the provided templates for their application, including budget forms. Seen the fact the consortium agreement also covers topics such as intellectual property, it is highly recommended that the Technology Transfer Office of the public partner(s) is involved in writing the application.

Planning

1st May 2017: Deadline for letters of intent
8th May 2017: Selection of letters of intent and invitation for full applications
15th June 2017: Deadline for full applications (note: this is on invitation only)
July-August: Peer review
September 2017: Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and final selection of successful applications
22nd September 2017: Alzheimer Nederland presents selected projects to Health~ Holland.
September/October 2017: final decision by Health~ Holland

Contact

For any questions regarding this call, including advice on how to set up a PPP, please contact:

Dr. Minke Kooistra, Alzheimer Nederland

Email:

Phone: 06 57346662/ 033 3032502

Appendix A Definitions of fundamental, industrial research and experimental develeopment.

The percentage of co-funding depends on the type of research. You are strongly advised to adhere to the below definitions since misclassification can lead to insufficient budget. When in doubt about your type of research activities, please contact Health~Holland

'fundamental research' means experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any direct commercial application or use in view;

'industrial research' means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or for bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. It comprises the creation of components parts of complex systems, and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, when necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation;

'experimental development' means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services. This may also include, for example, activities aiming at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services. 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 where 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;

The following Technology Readiness Levels can be used to categorize your research activities.

Appendix 2 Brochure PPS-toeslag voor aanvragers