South Carolina-Estonia Industry R&D Program Launches Initial Request for Project Proposals
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In a ceremony at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Jim Melville, President and CEO of the Global Alliance of South Carolina (GASC), joined Viljar Lubi, Estonia’s Deputy Secretary General for Economic Development to sign an agreement that formally launches the South Carolina-Estonia Industry R&D Program, and issues the first call for binational R&D project proposals. This program implements one of the key objectives in the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the State of South Carolina on Bilateral Cooperation in Industrial and Technological Research and Development, signed in April 2016.
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The signing of this agreement initiates the first Request for Proposals within the framework of the Industry Research and Development Program. The focus of this RFP will be on collaborations involving information and communication technologies, health technologies and services, and technologies that increase the effectiveness of resources.
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The RFP process will be executed in two steps. First, interested partners must complete and submit an application for bilateral funding to Enterprise Estonia (EE) and GASC not later than January 29, 2019. After an initial screening of the project concept EE and GASC will invite formal proposals from qualified and eligible applicant teams.
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To access the full text of the RFP, including funding availability, eligibility criteria and application instructions, please visit
www.globalallianceforsc.org.
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Jim Melville stated, “This program creates a wonderful opportunity for collaboration toward achieving business outcomes that simply would not be possible for parties operating alone.”
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“We’re excited to celebrate the launch of this new opportunity,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “As a state with a globally-connected economy, we understand the importance of working with industry leaders in other nations to promote a mutually-beneficial economic partnership. I look forward to seeing the innovative industry advancements that result from this program.”
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Background:
The Global Alliance for South Carolina (GASC) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, whose mission is to stimulate business, economic growth, and research partnerships involving companies and academic institutions in South Carolina, Israel, and Estonia as an independent way to generate economic development, jobs, and university joint programs. In fulfilling its mission, GASC collaborates with the following:
- In South Carolina: the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Advanced Technology International (ATI), SCRA’s “SC Launch” Program, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, the College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina, The Citadel, the University of South Carolina, and Clemson University
- In Israel: the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and various academic research institutions and start-up business incubators
- In Estonia: the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the University of Tartu, and Tallinn University of Technology
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For more information on the Global Alliance for South Carolina, and the SC-Estonia Industry R&D Program, please contact Russ Keller, GASC Executive Director, at [email protected]or visit www.globalallianceforsc.org
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About GASC
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The Global Alliance for South Carolina (GASC) was established in September 2016 as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Its mission is to stimulate business, economic growth, and research partnerships involving companies and academic institutions in South Carolina, Israel and Estonia as an independent way to generate economic development, jobs, and university joint programs. By leveraging existing international relationships, adding private sector resources, and enabling new processes and programs with counterpart entities in Israel and Estonia, GASC seeks to build a tailored support infrastructure that facilitates recruiting small, innovative “high tech” companies and firms to establish operations in South Carolina.
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