Continuous call for applications for Minigrants – Science4Business (Development Incubator)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR FUNDING OF PRE-IMPLEMENTATION WORKS

The Maj Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IP PAS) announces a call for applications under the Minigrants Competition for researchers and research teams of IF PAN, implemented within the framework of the project Science4Business – Science for Business (Partnership Agreement No. MNiSW/2025/DPI/262), financed under the European Funds for a Modern Economy Programme 2021–2027, Task No. 1: Inkubator Rozwoju. The project at IF PAN is implemented by the Department of Technology Transfer (DTT).
The aim of the competition is to increase the technological and/or business readiness level of innovations with commercialization potential.
Detailed information on the call procedure, selection process, as well as implementation and financial settlement of pre-implementation works is specified in the Consortium Framework Regulations (Annex 1) and the IP PAS Detailed Regulations (Annex 2).

Who can apply?

• Researchers of IF PAN who have promising scientific research results and recognize their potential market applications within the areas of the National Smart Specializations (NSS 1–12; Annex 3);
• Eligible applicants include doctoral candidates, IP PAS employees, or research teams (teams may also include individuals from outside IP PAS), provided that the team includes the creator or co-creator of the Innovation and at least one person employed at IP PAS;
• Applications may concern only Innovations submitted and registered at the pre-selection stage at the IP PAS DTT (Innovation Disclosure Form), for which property rights belong at least partially to IP PAS;
• The minimum required Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the Innovation (Annex 4): TRL 2;
• Eco-innovations implementing the 6R principles, or projects conducted in accordance with the 6R principles, will be preferred (Annex 5).

What are the requirements?

• The Minigrant Project Leader and each team member are required to submit all mandatory declarations and statements;
• Appropriate protection of rights to the Innovation covered by funding is required, including the transfer of proprietary intellectual property rights to IP PAS in the case of persons who are not IP PAS employees;
• Confirmation of consent from the infrastructure owner and the supervisor of a student or doctoral candidate (if applicable) is required.

What will be funded?

Pre-implementation works aimed at increasing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and/or Business Readiness Level (BRL), including, but not limited to: research and advisory services, market and legal analyses, necessary software and materials, remuneration, civil law contracts, and business travel – implemented in cooperation with the IP PAS DTT staff, related to the promotion and commercialization of the Innovation.

Please note the Science4Business project rules, which do not allow:

a) outsourcing services to other institutional partners of the Science4Business project;

b) outsourcing services to personnel of those partners;

c) financing remuneration of persons holding managerial positions at IP PAS.

Amount of funding

• Funding amount: up to PLN 200,000, with the possibility of increasing the allocation – up to the maximum amount specified in the Framework Regulations – subject to agreement with the Department of Technology Transfer (DTT) and the IP PAS Directors;
• The total funding amount for a single Innovation (combined for Track A and Track B) may not exceed PLN 400,000. Pre-financing received at the pre-selection stage proportionally reduces the maximum funding amount available under the main competition;
• Budgets proposed in applications will be subject to negotiations at the stage of preparing the work and financial schedule, in cooperation with the IP PAS DTT.

How to apply?

• Step 0: Pre-selection stage – rapid verification of the implementation potential of the submitted Innovation (Annex 6), conducted in accordance with the IP PAS Intellectual Property Protection Regulations (Annex 7). The pre-selection includes, among others, verification of the intellectual property status and compliance with NSS areas. Teams that successfully pass the pre-selection stage will receive comprehensive support in preparing the application for the main competition;
• Step 1: complete the Application Form (Annex 8) and sign it using a qualified electronic signature or in paper form (then scan it). Please remember to attach all required declarations. Original documents must be retained and submitted to the IP PAS DTT before the Minigrant is launched;
• Step 2: prepare the Innovation Presentation (pitch deck; Annex 9) in accordance with the provided guidelines;
• Step 3: submit the signed Application Form and the presentation (formats .ppt(x) or .pdf) to:k.kaczor@if-pan.krakow.pl, brysz@if-pan.krakow.pl

Please include the following subject line: “S4B – Application for funding of pre-implementation works”.

Timeline

• The continuous call will remain open until 31 August 2026;
• Application evaluation will be conducted quarterly (competition rounds closing on 6 February, 8 May, and 7 August 2026, respectively);
• The expected evaluation time, calculated from the closing date of a competition round, is up to 21 days.

The competition results will be published on the project website https://www.demodayinnowacji.pl/ and on the IF PAN TTO website https://transfer.if-pan.krakow.pl/. Applicants will also be informed of the results via email.

Evaluation criteria

Formal evaluation: verification of completeness and correctness of the application, as well as submission of all required declarations.

Substantive evaluation:

1. Link to eco-innovation / implementation of the 6R principles – weight: 10%
2. Addressing challenges/needs defined by socio-economic partners – weight: 5%
3. Justification of planned activities, including the schedule and budget, in the context of achieving the objective (commercialization) and the technological/economic readiness level of the Innovation before and after project completion – weight: 20%
4. Team members’ experience in cooperation with the socio-economic environment – weight: 5%
5. Justification for supporting the Innovation based on market analysis – weight: 30%
6. Project implementation risk assessment – weight: 10%
7. Scientific justification of the planned activities (project description) – weight: 20%

To receive funding, an application must achieve at least 65% of the maximum possible score.
Note: The Applicant is required to present the Innovation before the IP PAS Evaluation Committee. In justified cases, the Investment Committee may additionally invite the Applicant for an interview or an additional presentation of the Innovation prior to its approval for funding.

Implementation and settlement

Duration of the Minigrant: up to 20 months, but no later than 30 September 2028;

• The Minigrant shall be implemented in accordance with the approved application, while expenditure of funds shall comply with FENG rules, Project rules, and IP PAS procedures;
• IP PAS reserves the right to respond to identified irregularities in the implementation of the Minigrant, including issuing warnings, suspending or terminating funding, and requesting reimbursement of funds;
• The final report must be submitted within 30 days of completion of the Minigrant; • All intellectual property rights (IP) generated within the Minigrant belong to IP PAS.

Contact and support

Contact us at: k.kaczor@if-pan.krakow.pl, brysz@if-pan.krakow.pl

The complete call documentation, together with all the listed attachments, can be found at the following link:

Project Documentation