Seeking Proposals for Projects in the Development, Piloting and Demonstration stages to cope with the Coronavirus

Program Description

This CFP refers to projects in the development, piloting and demonstration stages (including semi-commercial installation, as well as large-stale deployment in health organizations) for research and development of technological ideas that may assist in dealing with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

There is no restriction on the project's field for this CFP and it may include, among others, one of the following:

• Streamlining and improvement of the diagnostic process, including: diagnostics, streamlining and improvement of testing and diagnostic process and solutions that will enable efficient and massed testing for the coronavirus to be carried out in Israel in the near future.
• Tools for contagion reduction and prevention.
• Expansion of remote healthcare services, including a significant expansion of the quantity and types of services that are provided digitally, or which can be provided without a need to physically visit the health organization. All this including, but not limited to, treatment, prevention, diagnostics, monitoring, process streamlining, interfaces and systems, for the individual and/or the general public.
• Development and re-purposing of antiviral products for treatment of the disease, or other products that may serve as a supporting therapy, or for diagnostics and prevention.
• Solutions for patients in home confinement or hospital quarantine.
• Digital solutions for controlling, monitoring, and forecasting the spread of the virus.
• Solutions for smart management of public assistance centers, and for the effective communication with the public in times of pandemic outbreak
• Solutions to expand the capacity of respiratory intensive care units and that assist in the monitoring and simultaneous treatment of multiple people hospitalized with acute respiratory disease.
• Solutions that assist with the physical activity and the well-being of senior citizens staying at home.
• Solutions that help support special needs population, due to their home stay outside their routine special-ed system.

All this in order to encourage:

• Development and implementation of innovative technologies in treating and coping with the coronavirus.
• Advancing the healthcare system and public health in Israel and abroad.
• The creation and growth of complete and sustainable companies by promoting innovative technological solutions.

Criteria

Submission Deadline:

• Applications may be submitted up to March 26th, 2020 at 14:00 (technical support will also be provided up to 14:00).
• Responses are expected within ten days of the deadline.
• An additional CFP will opened on March 26th, 2020, with its submission deadline being April 7th, 2020 up to 10:00 on that day.
  

Funding

• Financial support of 20% – 50% of approved R&D expenses.
• Exceptional financial support of 60% – 75% of approved R&D for a project with an outstanding potential to contribute to the advancement the healthcare system and the public health in Israel and abroad

*The scope of the total support will depend on the scope of total financial sources for this CFP.

Application Process

How to submit an application for the CFP?
The submission process and application forms are described in detail in the Innovation Support Track for Selected Fields – Digital Health - in Hebrew. The forms should be submitted through the personal area on the Innovation Authority's Hebrew website.

Note: In addition to the general forms, choose and complete the appropriate application form for the development stage (early / pilot) for responses to the coronavirus instead of the form used for routine submission of applications in Track 2.

**Due to short response terms the company should be available to meet with the evaluators two to three days following their request submission.

***Semi-commercial installation – installation and implementation of a product, including large-scale implementation at the Israeli health organizations (Support for required expanses of installation and implementation at the health organization is available, for example: integration with the health organization's information systems, training the health organization on the use of the product and additional costs required in order to implement the product).

****Home stay solutions that deal with evaluation and monitoring, require regulatory approval for use in Israel (AMR) and FDA/CE approval. A plan to relay gathered information to the medical team for its integration into the health organization's information systems.