Notice on Issuing the Application Guide to the Belt and Road Cooperation Program under the 2023 Shanghai Action Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation

To those concerned,

To thoroughly implement the innovation-driven development strategy and speed up building Shanghai into a globally influential center of science, technology and innovation, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) now releases the Application Guide to the Belt and Road Cooperation Program under the 2023 Shanghai Action Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI for short) in accordance with the 14th Five-Year Plan of Shanghai Municipality for Building into a Globally Influential Center of Science, Technology and Innovation.

I

Scope

Theme 1: Construction of BRI International Joint Labs

Objective: To support the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI for short), boost the BRI into an initiative of innovation, build Shanghai into a globally influential center of STI, secure high-level STI cooperation, and contribute STI strength to regional socioeconomic development.

Areas: Cell therapy, high-intensity laser technology and its application, green and low-carbon technology for shipping, deep decarbonization technology for energy, the safety technologies for connected and automated transportation system.

Content: To facilitate high-level STI cooperation with BRI countries through personnel exchanges, academic seminars, joint research and high-level paper publishing; to build an STI cooperation platform that integrates research cooperation, talent training, knowledge dissemination and application of research outcomes.

Duration: From June 1st, 2023 to May 31st, 2026.

Funding: Non-fixed grants for no more than five projects, subject to a ceiling of RMB1.3mn for each.

Additional information: In principle, no repeated support shall be provided for the application for the joint lab research project that has already been funded by the government; no repeated application by either the Principal Investigator (PI) or any participant of a project that has been supported under this theme is allowed.

Limitation: One application only by each applicant organization.

Theme 2: Construction of BRI Service Platforms for International Technology Transfer and Cross-border Incubation

Objective: To support the high-quality development of the BRI, boost the BRI into an initiative of innovation, build Shanghai into a globally influential center of STI, and secure high-level two-way international technology transfer and cross-border incubation.

Content: To build substantialized, market-based, and specialized service platforms for technology transfer or cross-border incubation through cooperation between local institutions engaged in relevant services and government agencies or professional service agencies from the countries of BRI, with a view to facilitating the transformation of technological achievements or the implementation of entrepreneurial projects by organizing relevant match events.

Duration: From June 1st, 2023 to May 31st, 2026.

Funding: Non-fixed grants for no more than three projects, subject to a ceiling of RMB800,000 for each.

Limitation: One application only by each applicant organization.

Additional information: No repeated support shall be provided to a project with a country of cooperation that has already a mature service channel or initiated projects funded by the government (as prompted in the application system); no repeated application by either the PI or any participant of a project that has already been supported under this theme is allowed.

II

Application Requirements

The following requirements shall be abided by apart from the above conditions:

1. An applicant organization shall be an incorporated or unincorporated body registered in Shanghai and have the capability of implementing a project.

2. The project that has been fiscally funded by the government shall not be applied.

3. All applicant organizations and project participants shall abide by the research ethics, observe the laws on the management of human genetic resources and the regulations on the biosafety management in pathogenic microbiology laboratories, and meet the management requirements of research integrity. The PI shall certify the authenticity of all materials submitted. The applicant organization shall be responsible for the eligibility of applicants, verify the authenticity and integrity of materials submitted, and shall not submit an application involving confidential information.

4. If the application for excluding specific experts from the review panel is submitted, an official letter indicating the list of excluded experts and the reason issued by the applicant organization shall be uploaded with the feasibility plan of the project.

5. To verify its established cooperation with a foreign partner, the applicant organization shall submit a photocopy of the valid cooperation agreement or text (a valid Chinese translation shall be attached to the original copy in a foreign language). In particular, such cooperation agreement or text shall contain: (a) detailed information such as both parties’ names, organizations, departments, posts (or titles) and contacts, or stated otherwise separately; (b) items such as the term of cooperation, the content of cooperation, each party’s input, division of roles, distribution of intellectual property and other benefits, and the date of signature; (c) the research content shall be consistent with the project applied; and (d) the seal of the applicant organization shall be affixed on the cooperation text and supporting documents.

6. Where the applicant organization is an enterprise, the stamped guarantees with the seal of the enterprise shall be provided: (a) the ratio of self-raised fund to applied fund is not lower than 2:1; and (b) there is no authorized use of patents (technologies) or technology transfer of cross-holding with the foreign partner concerned.

7. Documents and other written materials testifying the applicant organization’s compliance with the above requirements shall be uploaded in a scanned digital format to the application system as attachments.

8. For the countries of BRI referred in this Application Guide, the list of countries released in “Belt and Road Portal” (at https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/) shall prevail.

III

Application Method

1. The application shall be carried out online without any written material. Applicants shall get access to the application page via the “Information Management Platform for Fiscal Expenditure on Science and Technology in Shanghai” under “Government Services” on “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” (http://www.sh.gov.cn) or directly through https://czkj.sheic.org.cn (Notice: Only filling in Chinese is available in the project application system.)

[Initial filling] Log on “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” (an unregistered applicant organization shall first create an account on the registration page), open the application guide page, and click an appropriate subject to start project application;

[Continued filling] Log on “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” and proceed with project application.

Please refer to Online Help for instructions.

2. The online application starts from 9:00 on December 22nd, 2022, and ends at 16:30 on January 11th, 2023 (including online submission for review).

IV

Review Method

Communication review in round 1 and face-to-face review in round 2.

V

Service Hotlines

021-12345

8008205114 (Landline)

4008205114 (Mobile)

Science and Technology Commission of

 Shanghai Municipality

Dec.14th, 2022