Aim of This Guide |
The intention of this guide is to explain the steps necessary to prepare an IMS project. It includes a standardized form for a project proposal, the eligibility and endorsement criteria, and information on regional issues that the proponent should take into account
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What is IMS? |
IMS is an industry-led, international research and development (R&D) program established to develop the next generation of manufacturing and processing technologies With nearly 300 companies and 200 research institutions currently active in IMS research consortia, IMS is a proven program.
Companies and research institutions from Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and the United States of America participate. Other regions are encouraged to join.
All IMS regions have IMS Regional Secretariatsto facilitate the implementation of IMS in their region.
Your first step in joining IMS should be to contact your Regional Secretariat.
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The Regional Secretariat -
Your #1 Partner in the IMS Process |
Regional Secretariats typically can help:
- inform you about IMS, its objectives and operations;
- inform you about any ongoing projects;
- assist in identification of sources of R&D funding;
- look for potential partners, both in your region and internationally; and
- register you on a list of potential IMS participants.
You can request support from your Regional Secretariat for contacting potential partners on this list, particularly in regions other than your own. You can also request your Regional Secretariat to search for potential partners through contacting other Regional Secretariats to access firms not currently listed in the interested entities group.
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Who Can Propose an IMS Project? |
Any company or research institution operating in one of the IMS participant regions may propose an IMS project.
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What is the Process Leading to an Endorsed IMS R&D Project? |
The process has three basic components:
1. Outline proposal (optional),
2. Abstract proposal (mandatory), and
3. Full proposal (mandatory).
This staged approach helps proponents to assemble a consortium (outline phase) and to get early feedback from the Regions on the suitability of the proposed project (abstract phase), prior to submitting a full proposal. This process avoids the wasted time and costs of intensive project building without a sound, IMS-compatible foundation.
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Outline Proposal |
As described below, you may also submit at any time a preliminary draft (outline proposal) to your Regional Secretariat, which will forward it to the Inter-Regional Secretariat for international circulation for information, comments and facilitation of consortium formation as appropriate.
Any eligible company or research institution has the option of preparing an outline proposal as one means of building the international consortium. The outline has no prescribed format, although suggested formats are available from your Regional Secretariat. A document of no more than 2-3 pages outlining the research to be conducted and the characteristics of partners sought is recommended, along with the contact information of the proposals. The purpose of the outline is to announce that you have a clear idea for an IMS project and seeking partners for an international consortium to implement the project. The outline will be posted on the IMS home page.
There is no requirement to have three IMS regions included prior to circulating an outline proposal. Outline proposals are not subject to any formal assessment or review outside your region.
The outline stage is optional and consortia may choose to begin with the abstract instead.
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Abstract Proposal |
How to Write an Abstract |
The abstract should be about 2 pages long and contain the following information:
- Title;
- Objectives of the proposal and industrial relevance;
- Approach and overview of planned work;
- Cost estimates and proposed duration;
- Partners, identifying the international coordinating partner (ICP) and regional coordinating partners, and the other partners as far as possible including detailed contact information for each; and
- Value added by the international cooperation.
A recommended form is available at your regional secretariat for an abstract.
For precise details about abstract format, please contact your Regional Secretariat.
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How to Submit an Abstract |
The two-page abstract proposal can be submitted at any time to the ICP's Regional Secretariat . The list of IMS Regional Secretariats is at the end of this guide.
Abstract proposals should be public documents.
The ICP must be appointed by each consortium, prior to submitting an abstract proposal or a full proposal.
An abstract is not simply an announcement-seeking partners. By the time an abstract is submitted, a reasonably balanced consortium with partners from at least three IMS participant regions should have been assembled. Additionally, the project should have a rough work plan in place, sources of funding identified, and preliminary agreement to proceed reached among the partners.
A research institution can "lead" an IMS project through its formative phase, up to and including the abstract approval stage. Beyond this stage, industry, leadership is required.
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What Are the Assessment Criteria for the Approval of an Abstract? |
- Does the project fall within the scope and objectives of IMS?
- Does the consortium contain at least one partner from at least three participating IMS regions? and is the partnership is reasonably balanced, regionally and in type of partners?
- Did the consortium appoint an international coordinating partner? (The ICP must be an industrial company with the necessary resources to lead the project to its completion and must demonstrate the capacity for managing inter-regional projects);
- Are objectives both clear and realistic?; and
- Is there added value? (That is, why is international R&D collaboration required to achieve the objectives of the proposal? Is the consortium mutually beneficial to all participating regions?)
Advice will be given to the ICP of the project at the abstract stage, not later than seven weeks from the date of the abstract submission on whether to continue with the project to a full proposal or to revise and resubmit the abstract.
Once the abstract is endorsed, the proponents can proceed immediately to the preparation of a full proposal
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Full Proposal |
How to Write a Full Proposal |
The full proposal must be structured according to the standard format. A full proposal is about 20 pages in length, not including the consortium cooperation agreement (CCA).
- The full proposal must contain the following items:
- Project summary (synopsis of 1,000 words maximum);
- Background and state of the art;
- Project objectives, results and overview;
- Project work plan;
- Project administration;
- Technology transfer and dissemination;
- Exploitation plan;
- Consortium composition; and
- Supporting documentation including the CCA
The full proposal must include the formal commitment of each partner to the principles, the structure and the intellectual property rights (IPR) provisions of the IMS Program, including either signed CCA or signed letters of intent.
For precise details about full proposal format, please contact your Regional Secretariat.
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How to Submit a Full Proposal |
A full proposal can be submitted at any time by the international coordinating partner (ICP) to the IMS Inter-Regional Secretariat (IRS) through the Regional Secretariat. The IRS will transmit the project proposal to all Regional Secretariats.
The appointed ICP must be an industrial firm with the necessary resources to lead the project to its completion and a demonstrated capacity for managing complex industrial projects. ICP's responsibilities include:
- Coordinate consortium formation;
- Coordinate preparation of full proposal and cooperation agreements;
- Act as the primary contact for all communication between the consortium and the International Steering Committee (ISC) and Inter-Regional Secretariat (IRS);
- Facilitate successful execution of the project;
- Coordinate project reviews; and
- Prepare and disseminate non-confidential information.
The proposal should be marked "Confidential Full IMS Project Proposal" and include the reference number given to the project in the preceding project abstract approval stage.
All proposals (outline, abstract and full proposals) should be submitted, in an electronic format.
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What Are the Approval Criteria for a Project Proposal? |
1. Eligibility Criteria: |
- Balanced participation from at least three IMS Regions;
- International coordinating partner for the consortium from industry;
- Consortium cooperation agreement (CCA) signed by all partners or signed letters of intent indicating that all the partners will sign the CCA once full proposal is endorsed. Any partner has the right to sign the CCA but may make its decision to participate in the project conditional on receipt of R&D funding support from within its home region.
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2. Project Endorsement Criteria: |
To be endorsed, the project proposal must demonstrate:
- Necessity of inter-regional cooperation;
- Balanced contributions and benefits;
- Industrial relevance;
- Compliance with technical themes;
- Scientific and technical merits;
- Realistic R&D program;
- Adoption and commercial potential including analysis of cost/revenue;
- Dissemination of the results;
- Competence of partnership;
- Appropriate management structure; and
- CCA compliance with the IMS intellectual property rights (IPR) provisions.
The Inter-Regional Secretariat will inform the ICP of the results of the endorsement process, including comments from all the regions.
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My Project Has Been Endorsed - Now What Do I Do? |
When the project is endorsed, the ICP can finalize the detailed work-plan for the consortium and begin the project.
The endorsement of an IMS project does not imply that IMS regions will provide funding support for the project. Applications for regional funding assistance are the responsibility of regional project partners and the approval process for funding is independent from the IMS endorsement process. IMS endorsement does not necessarily commit any IMS region to funding assistance for any project partner.
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Feasibility Study (Optional) |
A feasibility study or a feasibility phase is recommended in the case of large projects (e.g. with a value of US$50 million and/or more than 30 partners from more than 4 regions), complex legal environments and for projects characterized by high technological and/or socio-economic risk.
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Timetable |
Outlines, abstracts and full proposals can be submitted at any time.
The decision process for an abstract is normally within 5-6 weeks from receipt of the submission by the Inter-Regional Secretariat Proposals are considered for endorsement as they are received.
The decision process for a full proposal normally takes 7-8 weeks. If this process, or any extension to modify the proposal in line with regional comments, does not result in endorsement, the consortium is still free to submit a revised proposal at any time.
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Frequently Asked Questions |
1. What is the average size and industry/academia mix for an IMS project?
Depending on the nature of the research, IMS projects have between 10 to 40 partners. There are usually 3 participating Regions. Typically, 60 percent of partners come from industry and 40 percent from university/research organizations.
2. What partner search systems are in place?
Regional secretariats may provide access to supplementary regional databases, e.g. ARCADE and CORDIS in Europe, Strategis in Canada, etc.
3. What help is available for drafting IMS intellectual property rights (IPR) provisions?
An IPR guide is available from your Regional Secretariat. Your Regional Secretariat can also refer you to a "Help desk" for specific advice as required. A "model" consortium cooperation agreement, including IPR provisions, is also available.
4. Are there special modalities for small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs)?
There are different SME definitions in the participating regions. Regions may provide special SME schemes such as access to funding support for R&D (e.g. IRAP in Canada).
5. Is the submission of an abstract mandatory? How much time should one allow between the submission of an abstract and a full proposal?
It is mandatory to submit an abstract. The abstract should be submitted after a viable consortium has been formed. Thus, it should not take long time for consortium to submit a full proposal once the abstract is endorsed.
6. What are the costs of an average sized IMS project?
IMS projects generally range from about US$1 million to US$50 million.
7. What is the duration of an average IMS project?
Three years is the current average; there is no set maximum.
8. Is an ongoing project obliged to let interested entities join their consortium?
New partner access requires the unanimous consent of all partners in the project.
9. What happens when one or several partners want to leave the consortium?
Each CCA contains clauses governing withdrawal from a project. In general, the content of the project must not be changed, and at least three regions must continue. Otherwise, the ISC must be informed.
10. What funding is available for assisting R&D expenditures for IMS projects?
Each region in the IMS Program has some from of financial assistance program available for industrial and/or university R&D support. In some cases, this support is specific to the IMS Program. In other cases, IMS consortium partners must apply for assistance through general programs, not specific to IMS. Your Regional Secretariat can advise you as to what funding assistance programs are available in your region.
The IMS Terms of Reference specifies that regions will fund their own participation. In other words, the funding for IMS project R&D being conducted in any IMS Region must stem from within the region itself.
Contacts and addresses of IMS secretariats can be found in the IMS Sites section
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Mark Carlisle
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Phone: (+1) 301 975 3982
Fax: (+1) 301 975 4694
Email: carlisle@nist.gov
Date created:
August 2, 2005
Last updated:
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