Engineering Research Centers

Summary: Call for Research Proposals to implement Shell Brasil-FAPESP Offshore Innovation Center (OIC)
Funding duration: maximum of five (5) years, according to Item 4 of this Call for Research Proposals
Instructions for submission: Proposals must be submitted only through FAPESP´s SAGe system. Research Proposals must contain only non-confidential information
Proposal’s submission: Deadline on March 29th, 2022
Contact at FAPESP: chamada-shell@fapesp.br

 

1 Introduction (back to index)

One of the challenges for advancing knowledge is the complexity of current scientific and technological problems. Tackling these problems often requires longer term and more substantial support than usually offered by FAPESP through its Regular Research Grant or Thematic Project. Longer time funding and, in many cases, interdisciplinary approaches permit the successful addressing of complex problems.

In many cases, the identification of the most potentially rewarding technology challenges can stem from an association with business or government entities, which are directly connected to market or societal needs. In this context, FAPESP has built on its successful Research, Innovation and Dissemitaion Centers (RIDC) program and has adapted it to facilitate partnership with committed co-funding industrial partners, who are motivated to deploy the research results.

Therefore, following the approach of its Research Partnership for Technological Innovation Program (“PITE”), FAPESP has created the Engineering Research Centers (ERC), which have as core mission establishing a world-class Research Center throughout its existence and, in addition, develop effective means of innovation, technology transfer, education and dissemination of knowledge.

The complexity of the execution of a Research Center as the ERC requires long-term funding and autonomous use of funds; it also requires a strong institutional connection to the co-funding partner and adequate means of rigorous follow-up and assessment of the Center’s performance. For this Offshore Innovation Center (OIC), FAPESP and Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda will work in partnership in launching this Call for Research Proposals and following the development of the ERC Projects.

Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda (hereinafter “Shell Brasil” or “Company”) is the largest investor in Research and Development (R&D) among international Oil and Gas (O&G) companies in Brazil. Its strategy seeks to reinforce its position as a leader in the energy industry by providing O&G and energy solutions, positively impacting the way that the offshore energy industry is built and operated, considering health, safety, and environmental aspects with great focus on sustainability, avoidance and reduction of emissions.

For the new upcoming scenario of energy, it is critical to understand and fill the technology gaps to address the challenges for offshore operations, being capable to transition to the expected reduction of carbon footprint energy production and to unlock the potential of an integrated energy system.

For that, OIC aims to:

• Support disruptive Themes for offshore technologies

• Fill offshore technology funnel, based on a proposed roadmap, composed by Projects with short, medium and long-term objectives and outcomes

• Fund short-cycle solutions/quick wins along the way

• Promote collaborative work between universities, startups and industry for innovation

• Incentivizing a learner and entrepreneur mindset

OIC will focus on research and technologies that have the potential to positively impact the way that the offshore energy industry is built and operated, considering health, safety, and environmental aspects with great focus on avoidance and reduction of emissions and sustainability. For that, research solutions must address the five (5) Technology Areas below:

• Novel processes

• Low carbon offshore power

• Health, safety and environment

• Novel materials and nanotechnology

• Computational sciences and digital

2 Definitions (back to index)

• ANP: Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.

• ANP Regulations: mean ANP Resolution nº 50, of November 25, 2015, and ANP Technical Regulation no. 3/2015, as amended from time to time, in addition to any other present or future regulations, rules, manuals, directions, guidance or authorisations enacted, granted or required to be complied with by ANP in connection with Company’s obligation to invest in research, development and innovation activities as per its respective concession agreements executed with ANP.

• Associate Researcher (AR): team researchers, designated by the PI, and approved by FAPESP and the Company, who are responsible for contributing on the Projects.

• RIDC: FAPESP’s Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (Centro de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão).

• Company: Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda

• Company Innovation Representative: Company’s representative to define and support innovation strategies, by connecting regularly with the Innovation Coordinator and seeking opportunities in the innovation ecosystem.

• Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): a researcher and Technology Area leader, approved by FAPESP and the Company. All Co-PIs must have an excellent research background, their participation must be clearly specified in the Project, and this participation must be essential to the development of the Project. The Co-PIs may be entitled to using FAPESP’s Fringe Benefits. The OIC may have two or more Co-PIs in addition to the PI, following the proposed research areas.

• Deputy Director: Company’s representative responsible to manage the OIC, to be part of the technical decisions. It is an advocate of the OIC and its technologies.

• Dissemination Coordinator: responsible to define and manage the knowledge dissemination and education strategy. The responsibilities are also related to the communication as output of OIC to the academic community, society and other stakeholders.

• Executive Manager: responsible to manage the administrative activities from the OIC, keep the communication flowing within the Themes and Project Leads, be responsible for FAPESP and ANP requirements, feed the PI with information, prepare reports and be connected to the day-to-day Center demands.

• FAPESP: the São Paulo Research Foundation (fapesp.br/en). FAPESP is a public foundation, funded by the taxpayer in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, with the mission to support research projects in higher education and research institutions, in all fields of knowledge.

• Host Institution: the institution hosting the Center and to which the PI is connected by formal employment. The Host Institution should provide institutional support to the storing and accessing material and equipment for the Project researchers as well as technical and administrative staff for a perfect Project development.

• Innovation Coordinator: responsible to define and manage innovation strategy, capable to negotiate intellectual property, technology transfer, as well as incentivize entrepreneurship, and a sort of related subjects to promote innovation.

• Joint Steering Committee (JSC): committee composed by both FAPESP and Company representatives, that join on a regular basis to provide overall direction to OIC.

• OIC or Center: Shell-FAPESP Offshore Innovation Center.

• Partner Institutions: institutions that host researchers allocated to Projects of the Center. It can be other companies, accredited institutions, universities or startups, engaged by the Host Institution for the execution of the Projects.

• PIPE: FAPESP’s Innovative Research in Small Business Program (Pesquisa Inovativa em Pequenas Empresas).

• PITE: FAPESP’s Research Partnership for Technological Innovation (Programa de Apoio à Pesquisa em Parceria para Inovação Tecnológica).

• Principal Investigator (PI): who will be the OIC Director, is the researcher responsible for preparing and submitting the Research Proposal and for the scientific and administrative coordination of the Project, if approved by FAPESP and the Company. The PI should have the explicit endorsement of the Host Institutions.

• Project: Research project with the aim of describing cause and effect relationships or evidencing new facts. In this Call for Research Proposals, every Project must be described as part of a Technology Area and its Theme.

• Project Management Office (PMO): a management structure responsible to conducting Project(s) administrative activities, including the compliance with FAPESP and ANP requirements, tracking of the Project(s) key performance indicators, preparation of reports, being connected to and facilitating the Project(s) day-to-day demands.

• Project Lead: Manager of a specific Project, or a set of Projects, and responsible to coordinate the Project(s) team(s)’ researchers (AIs). It can be one of the Co-PIs.

• Proposal or Research Proposal: Proposal to be submitted as the response to this Call for Research Proposals, containing the Research Plan with research goals and Projects, and the organizational plan.

• Research Center: as a part of FAPESP’s ERC Program, it is a complex and long-term program to develop a world-class Research Center.

• Research Plan: It should describe the scientific and technological challenges and the strategy to tackle them. The Research Plan should articulate the vision for the Center, being bigger than the sum up of the Projects, defining the approach for innovation and solutions.

• Technology Areas: One of five (5) areas of research under the OIC scope, as further described in Annex I. It comprises a combination of coordinated Projects with the aim of solving a bold scientific challenge. The five (5) initial areas for the OIC are: (i) Novel processes, (ii) Low carbon offshore power, (iii) Health, safety and environment, (iv) Novel materials and nanotechnology, and (v) Computational sciences and digital.

• Theme: Detailment of the Technology Areas, one of the pillars of the Proposal, based on the list of OIC topics of interest mentioned on Annex I of this Call for Research Proposals.

3 OIC Structure (back to index)

The OIC is expected to enable research for scientific and technologic advancement, contributing to the future of offshore energy production and operation, providing innovation in processes and materials, alternatives of low carbon emissions and digitalization. For that reason, the Center must be shaped to hold simultaneously multiple Projects, with multiple entities.

Being aware of the challenge, the OIC desired structure must have 1 (one) Host Institution, capable to link to one or more Partner Institutions. The Host and Partner Institutions will anchor one or more Technology Areas (Annex 1), based on their expertises. Alternatively, a Host Institution may accommodate up to five Technology Areas, as well as the Partner Institution might have more than one of them.

The Technology Areas must have one or more Projects, to be detailed in the Research Plan, with clear goals that supports the overall aim of OIC. The Projects can be developed solely by the Host and/or Partner Institution(s) or in collaboration with other entities, aiming the deployment and future commercialization of the results.

Participation of foreign universities in Projects should be proposed when such a collaboration can provide unique and leading capabilities that enhance the output of the Projects. International involvement could include, for example, periods spent by a São Paulo based PhD student or postdoctoral researcher at the university abroad or vice versa. This proposition will depend on Company’s approval, based on ANP R&D regulation and FAPESP.

All Proposals must follow this basic structure, describing the potential Partner Institutions and the aims and goals of each Technology Areas, that will be composed by Projects. Each Project must be described in the Proposal Research Plan, with clear deliverables, as further detailed on Item 4. The Proposal must also consider the management and committee structure, presented below.

3.1 Composition, Management and Committees Structure (back to index)

OIC management and advisory board must consider the following structure:

• Joint Steering Committee – JSC

• Scientific Committee

• International Advisory Board – IAB

• OIC Administrative Structure

• Executive Committee (EC)
• Principal Investigator (PI), the OIC Director
• Executive Manager
• Innovation Coordinator
• Dissemination Coordinator
• Project Management Office (PMO)
• Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PI)
• Project Leads
• Associate Researchers (AR)

JSC – A FAPESP-Company Joint Steering Committee (JSC) will be established to provide overall supervision to OIC. The JSC members are indicated by FAPESP and Company and will meet twice a year (every 6 months) to review the progress of OIC and the execution of the Research Plan. The JSC will ensure continued alignment of OIC with the science, technology, innovation, education and technology transfer requirements of both FAPESP and the Company.

The JSC will be presented with the results and impacts of the OIC, considering main indicators to be defined by OIC Director (PI) and approved by FAPESP and the Company, in the first 6 months.

Scientific Committee – Composed by Company’s representatives, technical advisors and scientists, the OIC Director (PI) and all the Co-PIs of the Technology Areas. This team will discuss and implement technical guidelines provided by the International Advisory Board (IAB), including a particular focus on identifying commercial development and demonstration opportunities for the research outputs.

IAB – OIC will establish an International Advisory Board (IAB) of renowned scientists in appropriate research fields to provide independent advice on the establishment and operation of the Center. IAB should include at least two foreign scientists who are active in the cutting edge of the knowledge in their areas. It is expected from the IAB to perform the main role of advising the OIC operations, guiding the team regarding new opportunities for research and new directions, aiming at increasing its international competitiveness. The Research Proposal must include the indication of some scientists who unequivocally demonstrates the possibility of integrating the board. Other international members can be added to the IAB upon Company’s suggestion. The IAB should meet at least once a year to assess the OIC development and produce a written annual evaluation report. Such report should be made available to FAPESP and Company, together with the OIC Annual Scientific Report, being delivered to FAPESP via the SAGe system.

OIC Administrative Structure –The OIC administrative structure is composed by different roles, as described in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 – OIC Administrative Structure

NOTE : Host and Partner Institution – can host one or more Technology Areas

1. Joint Steering Committee FAPESP + Shell	Comitê Gestor FAPESP + Shell
2. International Advisory Board	Conselho Consultivo Internacional
3. Executive Committee (EC)	Comitê Executivo (CE)
4. Scientific Committee	Comitê Científico
5. Innovation Representative, Company	Representante de Inovação, Empresa
6. OIC Director (PI), Host Institution	Diretor do OIC (PR), Instituição Sede
7. Deputy Director, Company	Diretor Adjunto, Empresa
8. Dissemination Coordinator	Coordenador de Difusão
9. Innovation Coordinator	Coordenador de Inovação
10. Executive Manager	Gerente Executivo
11. Co-PI Novel Process	Novos Processos, PP
12. Co-PI Health, Safety and Environment	Saúde, Segurança e Meio Ambiente, PP
13. Co-PI Low Carbon Offshore Power	Produção de Energia Offshore com Baixa Emissão de Gás Carbônico, PP
14. Co-PI Novel Materials and Nanotechnology	Materiais Inovadores e Nanotecnologia, PP
15. Co-PI Computational Sciences and Digital	Ciências Computacionais e Digitalização, PP
16. Project Management Office, PMO	Escritório de Gerenciamento de Projeto, EGP
17. Project Lead & Researchers	Líder de Projeto & Pesquisadores
18. Committees and Board	Comitês e Conselho
19. Center Administrative	Centro Administrativo
20. Company´s Role	Função da Shell
21. Technology Areas Co-PI	Áreas Tecnológicas, PP
22. Projects Structure	Estrutura dos Projetos

Executive Committee (EC)

In general terms, the OIC shall be directed by an Executive Committee (EC) composed of the OIC Director (PI), a Deputy Director (Company Representative), the Innovation and the Dissemination Coordinators and the Executive Manager. There may be other members if necessary. The EC should supervise all day-to-day operations at the Center and should be assisted by an appropriate support team connected to the Host Institution. This will include a particular focus on identifying commercial development and deployment opportunities for the research outputs.

OIC Director (Principal Investigator - PI)

OIC Director is also the Principal Investigator (PI), meaning the researcher responsible for preparing and submitting the Proposal and for the scientific and administrative coordination of the Center. The PI should have the explicit endorsement of the Host Institutions.

Executive Manager

Responsible to manage administrative activities from the Center, keep the communication within the Themes and Project Leads, be responsible for FAPESP and ANP requirements, prepare reports and be in charge of day-to-day demands. Executive Managers are professionals who do more than relieving the administrative burden on researchers. The Executive Manager should have a full grasp of the operational structure in order to identify opportunities, foresee difficulties and promote organization at all levels.

Deputy Director (Company Representative)

Company representative responsible to coordinate the OIC from Company-side and be part of the technical decisions.

Innovation Coordinator

Define and manage innovation strategy, capable to develop and manage the institutional and business relationships and interfaces to translate output from the Center into practical applications. Also, to negotiate intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and a sort of related subjects to promote innovation.

Dissemination Coordinator

Define and manage the knowledge dissemination and education strategy. The responsibilities are also related to the communication as output of OIC to the academic community, society and other stakeholders.

Company Innovation Representative

Company representative to define and support innovation strategies, by connecting on regular basis to the Innovation Coordinator and seeking opportunities in the innovation ecosystem, focusing on deployment, technology licensing, spin off companies from the Projects, partnership with companies with all sizes to promote innovation.

Co-Principal Investigators – Co-PIs

The Co-PIs are Technology Area leaders. The PI is necessarily one of the Project's Co-PIs. OIC may have two or more Co-PIs in addition to the PI. The main responsibility is to have the overview of the Projects in that specific area, aligned to OIC’s purpose and goals.

Project Management Office – PMO

A management structure responsible to conducting Project(s) administrative activities, including the compliance with FAPESP and ANP requirements, tracking of the Project(s) key performance indicators, preparation of reports, rendering of accounts and invoicing, being connected to and facilitating the Project(s) day-to-day demands.

Project Lead

Manager of a specific Project, or a set of Projects, and responsible to coordinate the Project(s)’ team researchers (AIs). It can be one of the Co-PIs.

3.2 Support to Host Institution and Partner Institution (back to index)

The OIC shall have a clearly defined science focus that articulates the research activities to be developed with clear deliverables. It must be understood by Host and Partner Institutions that OIC is not an institutional support program and, therefore, their research divisions, departments, units and institutions will not be supported as such.

3.3 Participation of the Company (back to index)

The participation of representatives from Company will be discussed with the PI and the Host Institution after the announcement of the selected Research Proposal(s). By that time, it is expected the Company to have defined the Deputy Director, who will support the PI, the Company Innovation Representative, and those members that will compose the JSC, the IAB and the Scientific Committee.

3.4 OIC Research, Innovation and Dissemination Outputs (back to index)

OIC structure must be prepared to perform world-class science and research on the cutting edge of either fundamental or applied knowledge, seeking economic and social impact through innovation and dissemination. The structure should be compatible to this challenge and be capable to promote innovation and transfer of knowledge to the Company and to the society, including corporate and/or non-governmental and/or public sectors. Some examples of valuable achievements towards this objective are:

• Deploying the technologies – taking to the market the solutions proposed, via product, process or service in partnership with other companies, suppliers, service providers and startups. These Projects may benefit from other FAPESP programs such as PITE (Partnership for Technological Innovation).

• Stimulating the creation of spin-off and partnering with startups / small businesses that incorporate results of research developed by OIC in their products or services. These small businesses may benefit from the Innovative Research in Small Business Program (PIPE) at FAPESP.

• Creating opportunities for research development during undergraduate and graduate levels.

• To transfer knowledge to society, including corporate, non-governmental and/or public sectors, e.g. by publishing results in the peer-reviewed literature, by carrying out projects in partnership with companies, governmental agencies or non-governmental organizations’ responsible for public policies, or through establishing small businesses using research developed by the OIC. These Projects may benefit from other FAPESP programs such as PPP (Research in Public Policies Program).

• All the activities and goals of the Research Centers stem from the performance of internationally competitive research, following the best global excellence benchmarks.

4 Support Offered by FAPESP and the Company (back to index)

OIC is viewed as a long-range initiative. Funding for OIC will be awarded initially for a maximum of five (5) years and may be renewed for up to ten (10) years subject to broad performance reviews submitted to both FAPESP and Company approval, being clear that each Project must have a maximum duration of five (5) years, in line with ANP Regulations. FAPESP and Company will not have any commitment in connection with this Call for Research Proposals to provide funds to the OIC beyond five (5) years, although they may choose to do so at their sole discretion.

The total economic and financial support provided by FAPESP and the Company to OIC will not be larger than BRL 17,50 million annually for any year, considering both Parties contribution; Research Overheads (“Reserva Técnica) are included in this total (see Annex III), as well as all costs calculated by the SAGe system and a provision for the potential of Research Internship Abroad (BEPE) .

OIC funding structure will be regulated by separate cooperation agreement(s) between FAPESP, Company, the Host Institution and, when applicable, other Partner Institutions, which will provide that: (i) the funds to be granted by FAPESP shall be disbursed directly to the PI and (ii) the funds to be granted by Company shall be disbursed directly to the Host Institution and/or to the Partner Institution.

The financial support from FAPESP and Company to each of the Technology Areas will be limited to the total amounts described in the table 1 below.

Financial Support in BRL (Brazilian Reais) (millions) (*)

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Total
Company Share (BRL mln)	10,50	10,50	10,50	10,50	10,50	52,50
FAPESP Share (BRL mln)	7,00	7,00	7,00	7,00	7,00	35,00

Table 1 - Financial Support

(*) In case of the starting date of the OIC does not match the full fiscal year, the value to be paid in that specific year will be proportional to the months of the execution of the activities.

The OIC will also be encouraged to secure additional funding, from public or private sources (in Brazil and internationally) to support the translation of output from the OIC into products, equipment, services which may be commercialized or developed to benefit consumers, the development of the industry in Brazil, or the achievement of Company´ business objectives. Planned external financing will add value to Research Proposals during their evaluation.

4.1 Items that may be funded by FAPESP (back to index)

Items that may be funded by FAPESP are:

• fellowships (Scientific Initiation, Technical Training, Masters, Doctorate, Doctorate (applicant without MSc degree), Post-Doctoral);

• Visiting Researcher Grants;

• organization of work meetings;

• research equipment;

• consumables;

• third-party services;

• per diem allowances for travel and transportation expenses;

• in addition, funding may cover costs related to research infrastructure to remodel or adapt already existing structures (considering no increase in built area), which are essential to the appropriate execution of the Research Project. Further information on fundable items is available at Annex III.

FAPESP is forbidden by law to support administrative activities. For this reason, support for all administrative activities as an institutional contribution will be essential to making the creation of a Center feasible.

Therefore, FAPESP funding must not be used for:

• administrative activities;

• additional salary payments of any nature;

• construction of new buildings or of annexes to existing buildings (beyond the existing footprint).

Complete information about not allowed itens are available at www.fapesp.br/normaspc.

4.2 Company Funding (back to index)

Items that may be funded by Company must follow what is defined in ANP Regulations available at https://www.gov.br/anp/pt-br/assuntos/pesquisa-desenvolvimento-e-inovacao/investimentos-em-pd-i/rt-03-2015.pdf and detailed on http://www.anp.gov.br/arquivos/pdi/investimentos-pdi/rtri/manual-orientativo.pdf .

Company funding must exclude any profit, overhead or mark-up component for the Host Institution and/or for other Partner Institutions.

4.3 Required Institutional Support (back to index)

Due to legal restrictions imposed to FAPESP and to Company funding, the Host Institution is required to provide, at its own expenses, support for all administrative activities (procurement, management, secretarial services, and others) and the payment of research support personnel.

Moreover, the Host Institution must ensure:

a. Personnel and services for administration and management, including at least: (i) dedicated staff member for Executive Manager position; (ii) dedicated staff members for the Dissemination and Innovation Coordinator positions; and (iii) dedicated staff members for the PMO; all of which must be funded by the Host Institution own resources.

b. Plan for admitting new researchers/professors: item not required but adds significant value to the Proposal.

c. Incubation and entrepreneur services, as well as intellectual property and technology innovation support.

d. Technical support and facilities for OIC, including the commitment from the Partner Institutions to support its activities.

e. Administrative support for procurement, scheduling, accounting, and all other administrative tasks needed for successful functioning of a Center of the intended size, all of which must be funded by the Host Institution own resources.

All Host and Partner Institution’s contributions must be described and quantified in physical data and financial and economic numbers: earmarking, salaries for researchers and support personnel, facilities (layout of the area to be occupied by OIC), equipment and infrastructure to which it will have access (e.g. communication, computer network, support workshops, administrative resources).

The level of the institutional support considered necessary will be an important factor in the assessment of the Proposals.

5 Proposal Presentation and Minimal Requirements (back to index)

The Proposal must be submitted by the PI, as detailed in Annex II. A PI may only submit one (1) Proposal. The Research Proposal must:

• Be presented in ENGLISH;

• Detail the names and experience of the PI, Co-PIs, Project Leads, ARs; Executive Manager;

• For the members of the Project teams, besides the FAPESP CV (“Súmula Curricular”), it is required their updated Lattes curriculum;

• The Proposal must be endorsed by appropriate Host Institution directors (for example, at a State University there should be an endorsement from the unit director, the Dean of Research, and the University President).

In addition, the Proposal must include additional documents, as indicated at the SAGe System (www.fapesp.br/sage), and include:

a. Host Institution: the Proposal should include a statement of commitment from the highest leadership of the Host Institution, including:

(i) Confirmation by the Host Institution that the activities described in the Proposal will be hosted in a higher education and research institution, or research institutions, which are public or non-for-profit private entities in the State of São Paulo and are committed to the long-term success of the proposed Center. When collaboration with other Partner Institutions is proposed, the formal relationship should be presented between the Host Institution and such Partner Institution(s).

(ii) A detailed description of the contribution from the Host Institution. The Proposal should include a statement signed by the highest leadership in the Host Institution describing the physical space, personnel assigned to the proper administration and management of the Center, technical support staff and infrastructural resources that will be allocated to the Center. The statement should describe the personnel that will be dedicated to the Center, with identification of individuals, if possible, or of the timeline for recruitment. Statements from a consortium of institutions willing to co-finance the hiring of dedicated personnel will add exceptional value to the Proposal.

(iii) The Partner Institutions must provide to the Host Institution a single document listing all institutional commitments signed by the highest-level administration of each Partner Institution, considering their commitment to provide physical space, personnel assigned to the administration and management of the Projects, technical support staff and infrastructural resources.

b. The PI must be a researcher with a solid background of internationally competitive scientific achievements in the Center area, should also have proven leadership and management abilities to develop large-scale projects. The PI and Co-PIs must stand out for their excellence. The composition of the team must reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the Research Project.

(i) The PI and Co-PIs must demonstrate a substantial time and dedication to the Center activities.

(ii) The PI and Co-PIs are expected to dedicate, at least, 20 hours per week to activities in the Center, provided that this does not breach any Laws, or any of the Host Institution or Partner Institution(s) internal regulations.

(iii) Other team members may define dedicated hours, considering the relevant regulations, which are justifiable and compatible with their duties on the Project.

Each Proposal must nominate the PI and the Co-PIs for the roles of the Center. Minimum requirements for the roles are listed in Annex II.

6 Proposal Review and Selection Criteria (back to index)

Proposals will undergo a competitive review process, considering the degree to which the Proposal complies with each one of the conditions listed in this Call for Research Proposals.

Proposals will be submitted to FAPESP and be distributed to reviewers appointed jointly by FAPESP and the Company, with expertise on the Center’s area.

Following receipt of all the reviews, the proponents will receive excerpts reproducing the feedback on their Proposals.

The review process may, at the discretion of the JSC, include interviews with the PI and other directors of the Host Institution, as well as visits to the Host Institution and to the Partner Institutions.

At the end of the review, FAPESP and the Company may recommend the merging of Proposals from different Host Institution and Partner Institution based on the criteria defined on item 6.1.

The set of Projects can also receive recommendations to be changed and adjusted based on the criteria and suitability to OIC.

6.1 Objects of Review (back to index)

The criteria used for ranking and selecting Proposals will be as follows:

a. SCIENTIFIC MERIT. Boldness of the Proposal benchmarked by analysis of the international state of the art for the area. The Projects should be strategic and present reachable and measurable objectives to be met during the existence of the Center. It is essential that realistic and detailed timelines be made for the first five (5) years of the OIC. The Research Plan must be clear on the potential for creating a Center that may become a world-class reference in the area in which it works. The description of the Projects, considering the Theme organization to reach the pursued innovation and end-to-end solution, will be decisive for the Proposal’s selection.

b. FOCUS. One common scientific/technological focus that articulates research activities to be developed is mandatory.

c. JUSTIFICATION. The Proposal must explain the need to create the OIC. The Center is not simply a mechanism for funding, but rather intends to contribute to building a world class Center capable of creating cutting edge science and technology, aiming to transform offshore production via innovation.

d. PI QUALIFICATIONS. The PI must be a researcher with a solid background of internationally competitive scientific achievements in the area in which the Center works, who should also have the ability to lead and to manage in order to develop large-scale Projects. More information and requirements in Annex II.

e. QUALIFICATION OF THE CO-PIs. Solid background. More information and requirements in Annex II.

f. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE INNOVATION AND THE DISSEMINATION COORDINATORS. Experience in research, development and deployment of Projects in the area of innovation, including, but not limited to, technology transfer, licensing, spin offs and startups support, engagement with suppliers and technology providers, as well as education strategy and dissemination of knowledge, including communication to the academic community, the society and other stakeholders.

g. ADEQUACY OF THE SCIENTIFIC TEAM. Qualification, size, recent academic background, balance between senior and junior team members, participation of emerging leaders, involvement of postdoctoral researchers with grants on recent research done by PI and Co-PIs. The team is expected to have a balanced composition of PI, Co-PIs, ARs, Visiting Researchers, Postdoctoral Researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and technical support personnel, supported by top quality administrative and management services.

h. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS. Quality and dimensions of established or under-negotiation collaborations with internationally recognized foreign divisions focused on the area or the Center.

i. INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENTS TO THE CREATION OF THE CENTER. The quality and quantity of the institutional contribution, including physical space to be used by the Center and administrative and management support, need to be compatible with the boldness of the Proposal objectives.

j. INNOVATION AND DISSEMINATION PROPOSAL. Mechanisms of innovation and dissemination of knowledge, to deploy and transfer technology to the industry, to public or third sectors must be explicit throughout the OIC Proposal. It should lead to a stronger bond between research institutions and the outside environment and contribute to bringing new challenges in research to institutions, guaranteeing that social benefits created by the research done are maximized, improving teaching and the perception of science by society. This Center aims to be a provider of end-to-end solutions, connecting different actors of the ecosystem to provide innovative approaches and applications of offshore technologies.

k. BUDGET ADEQUACY. Sources and uses; balance between costs and personnel and cost of equipment; adequacy to objectives; effective and appropriate use of existing multi-user infrastructure; access to other confirmed or prospective sources; institutional support.

l. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

m. COMPOSITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD (IAB).

7 Timeline (back to index)

Announcement of the Call for Research Proposals:

• December 15^th, 2021

Deadline for Proposal’s submission:

• March 29^th, 2022

Clarification Interviews:

• August 2022

Expected announcement of selected Proposal(s):

• November 2022

For further information:

• Email: chamada-shell@fapesp.br

8 Implementation of the Approved Proposal (back to index)

The cooperation between FAPESP, the Company, the Host Institution and, if applicable, the Partner Institution(s) will be regulated by separate agreements, which will define, as a minimum:

a) The schedule of disbursements and financial reports;

b) The definition and timing of expected results at each stage of the Project(s);

c) Clauses on intellectual property rights, commercial exploitation and confidentiality;

d) Term;

e) Legal venue;

f) Governance of the Center;

g) Ethics and compliance rights and obligations;

h) HSE requirements from Company;

i) Audit rights granted to FAPESP and to Company.

By deciding to participate in this Call for Research Proposals, each proponent acknowledges and irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that:

(a) Each proponent will be exclusively responsible for and will bear all costs and expenses incurred for the preparation and submission of its Proposal, including costs and expenses of attending meetings or worksite visits. FAPESP and Company will not, in any event, reimburse such costs and expenses to the proponents;

(b) FAPESP and Company have the right to modify or terminate this Call for Research Proposals at any time, at their own discretion, and will not be under the obligation to pay any compensation to the proponents as a result of any such modification or termination;

(c) FAPESP and Company make no representations, covenants, warranties or guarantees, expressed or implied, other than those expressly set forth herein. All warranties expressed or implied are specifically excluded, including those based on custom, usage or industry practices, and those concerning acceptance of the lowest price;

(d) FAPESP AND COMPANY MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, OR SUITABILITY FOR ANY PURPOSE OF ANY INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO THE PROPONENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS. FAPESP AND COMPANY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES, COSTS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES OR THIRD PARTY CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO THE USE OF THE INFORMATION BY PROPONENT, EVEN IF NEGLIGENT.

(e) FAPESP and Company, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to:

(i) accept a non-compliant Proposal notwithstanding any material or immaterial, defect, error, or deficiency in the Proposal;

(ii) not accept the lowest-cost compliant Proposal;

(iii) accept an alternative Proposal;

(iv) enter into discussions or negotiations in respect of the Center with one or more persons participating in the Call for Research Proposals process or third parties at any time;

(v) enter into one or more agreements for the performance of the Projects with one or more persons or any third parties, upon the same or different terms and conditions as set forth in this Call for Research Proposals;

(vi) request further information from or discuss with a proponent the terms of its Proposal for the purposes of clarification or appraisal of the Proposal; and

(vii) reject any or all Proposals, even where such Proposals are compliant with this Call for Research Proposals.

(f) FAPESP and Company rejection may be on their sole discretion without providing its reasons to the proponent, or may be on specific grounds, including, but not limited to:

(i) proponent has not complied with the requirements set forth in this Call for Research Proposals;

(ii) there is a material or immaterial defect or error in the Proposal;

(iii) the Proposal is conditional, incomplete, irregular, unrealistic or otherwise deficient;

(iv) proponent does not have the capability to fully perform the scope under the terms of the agreement(s);

(v) the Proposal may give rise to adverse cost consequences to FAPESP or to Company;

(vi) the Proposal is not received by FAPESP by the deadline for Proposal’s submission informed on Section 7 - Timeline.

(g) FAPESP and Company do not have the obligation to implement the Center or to execute the agreement(s) referred to in this Section 8 with the winning proponent, which, without limitation, will be subject to the following non-exhaustive conditions being met:

I. The selected Host Institution, as well as any proposed Partner Institution(s), being considered acceptable counterparties for FAPESP and Company, after successfully and timely passing the compliance integrity due diligence to be carried out by Company in accordance with its usual standards and procedures applicable to third-party contracting, with respective outcome deemed as satisfactory by FAPESP and Company. By submitting a Proposal pursuant to this Call for Research Proposals, the proponents agree to collaborate in furnishing copies of any requested legal and corporate documents (including from its direct and indirect shareholders and administrators), as well to participate in eventual interviews and provide any clarification that may be required in connection to the referred compliance due diligence;

II. FAPESP, Company and the winning proponent, as well as any Partners Institutions proposed by such proponent, successfully reaching an agreement on all terms and conditions of the agreement(s) referred to in this Section 8; and

III. FAPESP, Company and the winning proponent, as well as any Partner Institutions proposed by such proponent, having obtained all required internal and corporate approvals to execute the aforementioned agreement(s).

(h) Due to ANP Regulations’ requirements, the selected Proposal will have to be also presented using templates defined by ANP. The PI of each selected Proposal will be asked to migrate the Proposal and Project information (scope of work and expenses to be supported by Company) to those templates once the results of this Call for Research Proposals are made available.

 

 

 

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ANNEX I: Detailed Description of Technology Areas and Topics of Interest (back to index)

World’s future energy is transitioning to low emission energy sources, delivering more sustainable development, considering health, safety, environment, economic and social consequences. For offshore operations this is critical, meaning to reduce oil and gas operational emissions, to implement smarter and more automated operational excellence and business resilience, addressing HSE requirements, society expectations, and dual challenge of more and cleaner energy.

Company has the target of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. To achieve it, the offshore upstream area needs to:

• Improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from the operations and from energy used in the subsea and topsides operations (which will involve eliminating routine flaring by 2030 and reduce methane emissions further).

• Reduce the carbon intensity of the portfolio.

• Develop carbon capture and storage projects for own assets and help other Company business build lower carbon solutions for customers.

In the State of São Paulo, as in Brazil as a whole, most of the O&G production comes from deep-water offshore assets, and it is worldwide recognized as one of the references for ultra deep-water technologies. For the new upcoming scenario of energy, it is critical to understand and fill the gaps for technology to address the challenges for offshore operations, being capable to transition to expected smaller carbon footprint energy production. For that, OIC aims to:

• Support disruptive Themes for offshore technologies

• Fill the offshore technology funnel, meaning to have a roadmap with short, medium and long-term objectives

• Fund short-cycle solutions/quick wins along the way, validating the opportunities and adjusting the pathway

• Promote joint work between Universities, startups and industry for innovation

• Incentivizing a learner and entrepreneur mindset

OIC will focus on technologies that have the potential to disrupt and positively impact the way that the offshore energy industry is built and operated, considering health, safety and environmental aspects with great focus on the avoidance and reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and sustainability. For that, the proposed solutions must aim at the offshore production facilities topsides, subsea systems and equipment, as well as their support logistics mechanisms, including drones and offshore vessel operations, for example.

The five (5) main Technology Areas of research, one of the pillars of the Proposal, are described below.

Technology Areas

Five (5) Technology Areas, all related to sustainability, were mapped to support the business focus through tackling problems worth solving and realizing opportunities worth chasing on safe, reduced, efficient and smarter offshore operations.

Two (2) of the Technology Areas below, called “Indirect Solutions”, are broad enough to support the solutions of the problems worth solving. As shown below, the indirect solutions “Novel Materials and Nanotechnology” and “Computational Sciences and Digital” areas become enablers for the areas “Novel Processes”, “Low Carbon Offshore Power” and “HSE – Health, Safety and Environment”. Please refer to Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 - Solution Space - Technology Areas

The Proposals need to cover the end-to-end vision, from development to making a product/service becoming available in the market, with Proposals having a mandatory and clear link to one or more Technology Areas.

The following topics are summarized as a way of guiding and exemplifying further expectations towards the Proposals to be received, not to limit the Proposals. The summaries can support the definition of the Themes for each Technology Areas.

It is expected the Proposal to create a logical and interconnected plan for the Center, considering the objectives and goals for the OIC and for each of the individual Technology Areas. The Themes must have clear outcomes that, when combined, support the goals of the Center.

The Themes must be the basis for the Projects and must be detailed following the template provided in Annex II.

1.1. Novel Processes - Smart Offshore Operation

It is expected that the OIC will provide the offshore energy industry with exemplar solutions with potential to revolutionize offshore topside and subsea facilities design, development, and wider operations through improving or reinventing its current processes and ways of working.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring and carbon footprint reduction through improving energy efficiency, including carbon footprint tracking, online emissions monitoring (considering flaring, vent gas and fugitive emissions), carbon capture, abatement and utilization of hydrogen or low carbon intensity synthetic fuels.

Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and subsea systems partial or complete repurposing, considering performance and risk management including new facility concepts, risk management, risk-based inspection; criteria to establish obsolescence; efficiency; unmanning; decommissioning, abandonment and repurposing targets.

Steps to Unmanning Operations for Personal, Process Safety and GHG performance improvements, to be enabled by novel technologies and new ways of working, including developments to automate “high risk” offshore operation, removing people from the “line of fire” and ensure automated decisions taken to avoid harm to people and GHG emissions. Partially or fully unmanned operations will also support reduction of logistical support with direct connection to the avoidance of GHG emissions.

1.1.1. Topics of Interest (potential Themes, not an exhaustive list):

a) Remote operations and automation leading to new ways of working, enabling reduced offshore manning.

b) Novel ways of working enabled through real time monitoring and control and asset life cycle management, including provision of clear visibility to energy production, usage, storage efficiency and GHG emissions.

c) Nondestructive inspection/data gathering technologies to improve the availability and reliability of facilities, mostly focused on, but not restricted to, rotating machinery uptime and capabilities to monitor and track emissions (vent, flare and fugitives).

d) New ways to operate, move, lift or hoist equipment or personnel, inspect and maintain the facilities improving energy efficiency and storage, power generation, power management, elimination of routine flaring.

e) Novel processes that will allow repurposing of production facilities to carry out Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) or low carbon energy generation/handling greener fuels (Proposals shall not be related to subsurface technologies).

f) Novel subsea separation and processing technologies, allowing more efficient operations subsea without having to pump or compress fluids to the topsides.

1.2. Low Carbon Offshore Power

Reduce the overall life-cycle unit cost of deep-water developments and operations, while reducing GHG emissions of offshore productions.

Electrification offshore integrated energy system, creation of offshore power grids and infrastructure to electrify platforms (existing and future), using renewable energy sources (wind, solar, wave, tidal, fuel cells, etc.) and onshore to offshore power grid as well as improve efficiency of current power generation systems (currently gas generators).

1.2.1. Topics of Interest (potential Themes, not an exhaustive list):

a) Alternative development concepts, inclusive of innovative power generation, power management and distribution systems;

b) Electrification with linkage to facilities, improving efficiency of current generation systems;

c) Use of new low carbon energy sources and fuels to power both production facilities and logistics operations;

d) Carbon free Offshore Hub Power solutions to supply energy to offshore facilities, including energy from tide, wind, solar, wave, etc.

1.3. Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) in Operations

Personal safety in operations aims to achieve a global benchmark of zero accidents. This goal is challenging, and emerging technologies can help increase people's safety.

Both unmanned solutions and solutions that increase safety awareness are welcome.

It must be emphasized that technological solutions that are capable of predicting accidents, predicting actions by professionals based on emotional and wellbeing states and predicting accidents that involve collisions between people and equipment / energy discharges in the form of pressure, temperature or electricity, are some of the examples of existing needs to reduce the exposure of people in the operational environment.

1.3.1. Topics of Interest (potential Themes, not an exhaustive list):

a) Wireless and Wearable connectivity for monitoring Vital Signs (heart rate, pressure, oxygen, body positions, man down) and Microlocation (centimeter accuracy) of Operators in the Assets.

• Detect emotional state or chemical reactions of personnel to avoid accidents in operational areas, manage work permits, monitor location of personnel;

• Possibility of using tags on equipment and people to monitor and prevent interactions between people and equipment;

• Possibility of monitoring by cameras and application of video analytics.

b) Use of augmented reality.

• Assistance to prevent accidents with the combination of augmented reality, automation, machine learning or digital twins for the maintenance of equipment (e.g.: hand crushing, triggering equipment in the wrong way).

• Telemedicine procedures.

• Mentor assistance (field specialist) through communication between the base of onshore operations and the FPSO with the aid of augmented reality if the automated methods are not able to support the user's decision.

c) Line of fire to prevent accidents in real time or use of fuzzy logic in artificial intelligence to update bow ties, models, red zones (pre-existing or self-updated). Prevent accidents related but not limited to:

Collision of equipment with people;

• Lifting, hoisting;

• Movement of equipment and/or personnel;

• Suspended loads;

• Falling objects;

• Areas with high intensity of cargo handling;

• Equipment monitored under dangerous conditions;

• Others to identify.

1.4. Novel Materials and Nanotechnology

With the vision to improve weight, uptime and efficiency of offshore production systems (decrease of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) intensity due to less energy needed to produce and manage the production of hydrocarbons), there are numerous opportunities created by atomic-scale transitions in bonding, chemistry and coordination at oxide interfaces. New types of chemical, electronic and magnetic properties emerge at such interfaces, allowing novel and disruptive applications in a range of fields, such as microelectronics, optics, surface chemistry and catalysis.

Computational methods can be used to design new materials from the computer, synthesize them, test them, and then iterate on new materials. Beyond topsides and subsea systems and equipment, this has application to CO2 sequestration, recovery of hydrocarbons, and minimizing the environmental impact related to emissions.

Hydrophobic surfaces can improve corrosion protection, reduction of surface roughness to improve fluid flow through flowlines and pipework, technologies to improve efficiency of heaters and heat exchangers and pumping systems.

New materials and associated manufacturing methods can also have positive impact in improving weight, efficiency and uptime of rotating machinery, enable manufacturing of advanced sensors with a variety of applications offshore.

1.4.1. Topics of Interest (potential Themes, not an exhaustive list):

Besides the topics of interest above mentioned, other solution areas and applications are mentioned below:

a) Materials processing, machining, modelling, & topology e.g. of metal composite interface atomistic modelling using materials database, experimental and theorical studies

b) Functional nanomaterials and composites - Design and compatibilization of nano-structured materials and composites, graphite, graphene, etc. e.g. for nanofiltration of produced water or functional electronic components

c) Novel coatings, surface treatments & preparation and manufacturing methods e.g. for reduction of friction, extension of mean time between failures, topology optimization of parts, improvement in membranes

d) Composite Technologies – Materials to be used in topsides, subsea facilities and hubs of energy (please note that composite flowline and risers are not an area of interest)

e) Bioinspired materials to insulate/conduct electricity e.g. those that can enable design of new power systems and improvements to existing ones.

1.5. Computational Sciences and Digital Technologies

Digital is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and interact, and is disrupting every industrial sector. Target technologies include artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), wireless connectivity, and digital twin, but the focus of this effort will be on use cases and associated business outcomes vs. technologies per se.

Smart facilities are providing greater operational insight and decision support for the design of future facilities and for delivering a step-change in asset management. Robotics, automation, IoT, power management, edge analytics, and communications for topsides and subsea applications are some of the interconnected topics on the digital space to be considered.

All those are also targeting the enablement of further insights and actions to be taken remotely, allowing streamlined operations with less or no persons offshore, being connected to a larger research area of Normally Unmanned Facilities (NUF). It is noted that steps (even those intermediary) taken to allow the realization of NUFs have strong benefits both in health and safety and to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction.

The scope of this Technology Area can be divided in three sub-topics:

Software – Solutions that will allow the Company to contract Software as a Service (SaaS) to streamline its operations, using data, sensors and information already available. This may range from simple dashboards to complex software encompassing artificial intelligence.

Sensors – Development of new sensors that can be either retrofitted to existing facilities with minimal intervention required or incorporated to design of new offshore equipment or facilities. Better sensors and more data may support development of new software and complex systems. At this space, the Company would be able to procure these sensors directly and operate them in topsides, subsea or as wearables, or even on its logistics fleet.

Complex Systems – Solutions that involve software and hardware development, with interfaces to brownfield facilities or that may disrupt or revolutionize greenfield concepts. On this area, new or existing sensors may be required, or portable sensors may be integrated for specific applications, connected through hardware to software layers that may cover artificial intelligence, machine vision, augmented or virtual reality, etc.

1.5.1. Topics of Interest (potential Themes, not and exhaustive list):

Besides the topics of interest above mentioned a few further solution areas and applications are mentioned below.

a) Digital Subsea and Topsides including IoT, edge analytics, power management, power distribution, and communications to surface and cloud.

b) Visualization technologies including modeling, simulation, and visualization (AR/VR/XR) with emphasis on asset management and flow assurance use cases and ultimate reduction of offshore manning (reduction of persons on board).

c) Monitoring and Predicting through extended sensing and indirect inferences can be applied to areas directly and indirectly related with reducing GHG emissions, such as asset Integrity monitoring, enablement of predictive maintenance, flow assurance, and production optimization.

d) Nano/Micro-Sensors for condition monitoring - risers, umbilicals, flowlines, topsides pipework, tanks etc., methane detection and optical monitoring (endoscopy-inspired capsules for internal inspection, high-energy tomography 3D models, magnetic particulate tracers to analyze flow performance and leaks, H2S, CO2, heat, flame and fire sensors).

For more details on how to build the Proposal, please check the following Annex II – Proposal Format.

 

 

 

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ANNEX II: Proposal Format (back to index)

All Proposals will be internationally peer reviewed; hence, they must be presented in ENGLISH. The Proposal documents should be organized as described below.

During the review process, the reviewer may consult the Lattes CVs of the PI, Co-PIs and other members of the scientific team. Therefore, the Lattes CVs must be updated.

The Proposal must be submitted by the PI, with the endorsement of the appropriate institutional directors (for example, at a State University there should be an endorsement from the unit director, the dean of research, and the University President), and of the Co-PIs. The list of documents that must be submitted is available at the SAGe System, and include:

1) OIC – Summary of Proposal:

Identification on Cover Sheet

PI, name of the Center (OIC), name of Host Institution and other Partner Institutions, names and connections of Co-PIs proposed.

Abstract (30 lines)

The Proposal's abstract.

Summary of the Center Proposal (up to 2 pages)

a) Description of the Center and its specific features;

b) Focus of research activities and, if applicable, their multidisciplinary articulation with complimentary institutions;

c) Expected innovation activities;

d) Justification for creation of the Center;

e) A brief description of the Host Institution (and, if applicable, other Partner Insitution(s)) contribution to the Center.

Research Plan and description of its scientific relevance (up to 30 pages, including bibliographic references).

The Research Plan is the core of the Proposal. It should describe the scientific and technological challenges to be faced, the state of the art in the area, as well as the means, methods, techniques and materials necessary to face them. It should list activities proposed with the state of the art in the area. A bold and original Research Plan that is highly competitive both nationally and internationally is expected. How the chosen strategy will influence the Technology Areas of research in a significant manner should be shown.

The Research Plan should articulate the vision for the Center, outlining the scientific macro-challenges that will be faced and/or the sought-after scientific discoveries. The plan needs to specifically justify, in terms of complexity of problems and/or scale and potential of scientific relevance, the special support that is offered and the potential time span of ten (10) years.

The scientific objectives of the Center and the research activities should be described in a sufficiently detailed manner to allow for scientific assessment of their merit as well as of the need for a Center to carry them out.

Each Technology Area must be detailed in Themes and, for them, clear goals and Projects must be defined. The Research Plan should also show how the integration between education and innovation will contribute to advancing research.

The description of each Project to be carried out in the Center should include:

• Title

• Technology Area and Theme

• Project Lead

• Proposed Partner Institution(s)

• Problem worth solving & opportunity value

• Objective - Description of the Project

• Goals - Deliverables of the Project

• Method and activities

• Current and Target TRL – Technology Readiness Level (per API 17N)

• Additional information

• Budget estimative and expected timeline

2) Justification for the Center (up to 3 pages): the existence of the Center must be justified based on the nature, importance and feasibility of the activities to be developed. It should be based on these reasons:

a) Complexity of the problems to be addressed;

b) Scale and duration of the research activities to be carried out;

c) Multidisciplinary character of the planned research;

d) Need for continuous interaction between team members.

3) Action plan for innovation (up to 3 pages, including bibliographical references): The activities of the Center must include innovation and entrepreneurship. Research activities at OIC should have great potential for exchange with other research and knowledge transfer institutions to the productive and government sectors. The plan for innovation should describe how the Center will address and develop these activities. The plan must be described, and the viability must be shown via indicators (Projects done in partnership, creating and incubation of companies, continuing education programs, and other activities). It also must contemplate and engage undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels. The Project team must include an Innovation Coordinator hired by the Host Institution and responsible to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

4) Action plan for dissemination (up to 3 pages, including bibliographical references): The activities of the Center must include a strategy of societal engagement for better understanding of making science, technology and innovation. Prior experience of proponents with this type of activity should be briefly described, emphasizing documented results. The Proposals are expected to contribute to education and dissemination of knowledge to engage college, undergraduate and graduate levels. The Project team must include a Dissemination Coordinator hired by the Host Institution and responsible to support these activities.

5) Management Plan and Organizational Structure for Center operations, including:

a) Governance, Management Plan and Structure (up to 3 pages): The Center must have an organizational structure and governance that is adequate to the complexity and diversity of its objectives. The organizational chart must include the Executive Manager and the Coordinators responsible for innovation and dissemination, in addition to other coordinators that the proponents consider necessary. The governance should also show how the OIC will be located within the Host Institution organization, and how research programs will be integrated to other institutions. The governance should detail the management model for activities and mechanisms of collaboration. In terms of team meetings, at least one annual meeting should be included, in which the results and/or Projects and/or plans for the coming period will be presented and discussed, held in addition to regular team meetings. The governance shall also include information on how the OIC will manage Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) risks, and it should contain a management of change (MoC) strategy statement.

b) Executive Committee (EC) (1 page): This should be composed of at least the PI responsible for the Proposal (OIC Director), the Deputy Director, the Executive Manager and the Innovation and Dissemination Coordinators. There may be other members if necessary. The EC should supervise all day-to-day operations of the Center as a whole and should be assisted by an appropriate support team connected to the Host Institution. The EC is expected to have a particular focus on identifying commercial development and deployment opportunities for the research outputs.

c) Proposal for composition of the International Advisory Board (IAB) (up to 2 pages): Suggested names, their justification, and modus operandi of the IAB. FAPESP expects the IAB to perform the main role of supervising the functioning of the Center and guiding the team regarding opportunities and research, new directions to take, and increased international competitiveness of the science created by the Center. Members should be both researchers who are very highly regarded for their international excellence and people to whom the OIC Director (PI) and Coordinators have easy access.

d) Proposed initiatives aimed at attracting Young Researchers: The Center is expected to capitalize on FAPESP´s Young-Researchers Award Program. This section should describe the actions that are planned with a view to recruiting young researchers with substantial international experience; minimum two-year postdoctoral work at top level foreign research institutions; and outstanding scientific achievements.

6) Team: it must be presented at the SAGe System and must be completed with all the team members, including researchers (including postdoctorate fellows), technicians, administrative support personnel, and students. The Center is expected to have a team with a balanced distribution between Co-PIs, ARs, Visiting Researchers, Postdoctoral Researchers, students, and the corresponding technical and administrative support. In addition to the OIC Director (PI) and Co-PIs, the Proposal must include:

a) The Innovation and Dissemination Coordinators responsible for innovation and effective technology transfer, as well as education and dissemination of knowledge activities;

b) The team of researchers responsible for executing the Projects to be developed, including the proposed Project Leads;

c) For each member of the scientific team (PI, Co-PIs, Dissemination Coordinator, Innovation Coordinator, Project Leads and ARs) the Proposal must include their Curricular Summary (model available at SAGe).

7) Description of the infrastructure available for the Project.

8) Details on other current and expected support (up to 2 pages): list of other support already contracted or other expected support.

9) Details of institutional support and its costs (up to 5 pages): description of the institutional support offered by the Host Institution, including detailed information on the costs of each item of support.

10) Estimate of Total Budget for the Center: this should include all sources of funds the Center will have access to. The funds should be listed in terms of general items (Scientific Personnel, Technical Personnel, Administrative Personnel, Students, Permanent Equipment and Material, Consumables, Third-Party Services).

11) Budget Request for FAPESP and the Company: it must be filled in the SAGe “R$” form for FAPESP. For the Company, it must be filled in the document “Orçamento da Empresa”. Both budget requests should include justification (based on the objectives stated in the Research Plan) for all the items, detailing the relationship of the need with the Proposal item. The budget requests for FAPESP and the Company should be prepared for the first five (5) years of the OIC’s operation, with justifiable yearly estimates.

12) Requirements for the PI and the Co-PIs:

a) A PhD degree or equivalent qualification;

b) Employment in a research institution in the State of São Paulo;

c) Proven and substantial scientific or technological production and leadership in large and ambitious research Projects;

d) A track record of successful implementation of research output and technology developments, while highly valued, is not essential.

e) Proven experience and competence in one or more of the areas in which the Research Center is to be involved, demonstrated by:

e.1) Evidence of high quality, regular and high impact scientific and technological output;

e.2) Students and researchers concluded supervisions at graduate levels (MsC, PhD) as well as postdoctoctoral supervisions;

e.3) Experience in the execution of funded research Projects through scientific exchange and in collaboration with researchers from institutions in Brazil and/or in other countries;

f) The ability to form research groups and generate results recognized by the scientific community.

The PI and Co-PIs must demonstrate a substantial time and dedication to the Research Division’ activities as well as the other requirements described under item 5 (b) of this Call for Research Proposals.

 

 

 

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ANNEX III: Items Funded by FAPESP and by the Company (back to index)

The Project budget presented to FAPESP and Company must be detailed, and each item must be specifically justified in terms of objectives of the proposed plans.

FAPESP funding (please read Financial Report complete information at www.fapesp.br/5835).

Some items that may not be funded by FAPESP are: salaries of any nature, third-party services of a non-technical and sporadic nature, civil construction, acquisition of publications, travel (except for field research and to present work at scientific conferences), administrative services and materials. Complete information is available at www.fapesp.br/normaspc.

Items allowable for funding include the following.

I. Project costs

a) Permanent material acquired in Brazil or imported;

b) Consumables acquired in Brazil or imported;

c) Third-Party Services hired in Brazil or abroad;

d) Transportation and Per Diem Expenses for activities connected directly with carrying out the proposed research, including for visits from Visiting Researchers;

e) Fellowships: Fellowships - Associated Submission (BCO) under the following modalities and pursuant to FAPESP standards may be requested: Post-Doctoral (PD), Doctorate (DR), Doctorate (applicant without MSc degree) (“Doutorado Direto” - DD), Masters (MS), Scientific Initiation (IC), and Technical Training (TT);

e.1) The advisor/supervisor of each fellowship candidate must be the PI or one of the Co-PIs.

e.2) For each requested fellowship, a plan of activities must be presented with the initial Proposal containing up to two (2) pages, including the fellowship Project title, summary and plan description.

e.3) The plan for each fellowship needs to be consistent with the Proposal and should be referenced within the Proposal in a manner that makes it possible to see the connection with and the importance to the Project proposed.

e.4) The name of the fellowship candidates should not be indicated on the Proposal. If the fellowship is approved, the researcher responsible for the grant must hold a selective and publicly announced process to the select fellowship candidates based on academic merit.

e.5) Rules for awarding Fellowships - Associated Submission (BCO) are available at https://fapesp.br/bolsas.

e.5.i) Scientific Initiation Scholarship candidates should have already concluded a sufficient number of relevant classes in order to carry out the research Project and to obtain maximum academic benefit.

e.5.ii) Candidates for Doctorate, Direct Doctorate, and Master levels scholarships should have been accepted into the Project Host Institution’s graduate program or Co-PIs Institution.

e.5.iii) In the case of Post-Doctoral Fellowship given as a budget item of the Project, the selective process must necessarily be international and must be documented and approved by FAPESP at the time that each fellowship is awarded.

e.5.iv) If documents proving a public and international selective process are not presented the fellowship will not be granted by FAPESP.

e.6) Scientific Initiation, Master, Doctorate and Postdoctoral fellowships may also be requested separately, as complementary requests, in accordance with what is set forth in the below item d. ‘Complementary Requests’, connected to ERC Projects in specific Proposals, according to the traditional procedures for the FAPESP Fellowship Programs.

II. Research Overhead

a) For the ERC Program, the Research Overhead is composed of two parts:

a.1) Fringe Benefits;

a.2) Direct Research Infrastructure Costs;

b) Detailed rules for use of the Research Overhead are available at https://fapesp.br/rt .

c) In adition to the Research Overhead, the Research Overhead - Institutional Research Infrastructure will be granted. Detailed information is available at www.fapesp.br/rti.

III. Research Infrastructure

a) In the initial request or at the time when reports are presented, the PI may request funds to remodel or adapt existing structures (considering no increase in built area), aimed to guarantee the essential infrastructure to the appropriate execution of the Project.

b) New construction or the increase in built area are prohibited.

c) This request should be justified in detail and be associated with relevant funding contributed by the Host Institution.

IV. Complementary Requests

The items needed to develop the Project are expected to be accounted for in the Proposal; however, exceptionally, FAPESP may receive additional requests associated with the Proposal.

Complementary Requests are those requests associated with current ERC Project objectives whose consideration or treatment has undergone some modification as a result of this condition. Processes that are under consideration as complementary requests to the Center Project are called “Linked Process.” The concept applies to requests for Visiting Researcher Award, Publications Award, and requests for Schollarships/Fellowships and Research Fellowship Abroad (RFA).

Information about complementary requests are available, in Portuguese, at www.fapesp.br/1413.

V. Use of Company’s funding

In addition to items listed above, Company' funds can be used to pay the hiring, for the period of the Project, of researchers and technical support needed for research work associated with the Project; and to supplement wages of faculty or researchers employed by the Host and/or Partner(s) Institutions involved in the Project. The funds contributed by the Company will be disbursed to the Host Institution and/or to the Partner(s) Insitution(s).

The work plan and the reports must follow ANP Regulations.

The application of Company funding will be limited to expenditures allowed by ANP Regulations.

A summarized table of items supported by FAPESP and Company can be found below:

(*) Limited to Company’s reference values, and to ANP regulations allowance

VI. Specific Instructions for SAGe System (Guidelines for SAGe submission)

1. PI must be registered in the SAGe system:

(I) Researchers who do not have a SAGe registration should initially do so by accessing the SAGe page at www.fapesp.br/sage, clicking on “Sem cadastro?” and fill in the requested data. It is not enough to just register as a user, it is necessary to complete the cadastral data.

(II) Researchers from the State of São Paulo, already registered, must log in to SAGe with the usual identification and password to access the system homepage.

2. On the home page, select from the menu options "Acesso rápido – Atividades do Pesquisador", the link “Nova Proposta Inicial”.

3. In the Current Calls section, select and click the link for this Call for Research Proposals.

4. The system will display the menu "Incluir proposta" on the following page to confirm the selected Call for Research Proposals.

5. Click the “Incluir” button to start preparing your Proposal.

6. Include the requested data in all the tabs, including the list of documents to be attached.

7. Attention to the obligation to fill all items marked with "*". You must submit the Project at the end of the form. Saved Project does not mean submitted Project.

8. If you have any doubts, you can use the Manuals link on the SAGe home page and, in the Manuals page, search for explanations in the “Manuais de Apoio aos Pesquisadores”.

9. IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended to periodically check the pending Proposals using the "Validar" option. This can be done repeatedly as the Proposal is built, allowing the necessary arrangements for submission to be made in time. When selecting the option "Validar", the SAGe system will present the impediments pending to submit the Proposal considering the items that were already inserted. In case of doubts about the use of SAGe system, in addition to the Manuals, FAPESP also provides assistance at the Information Sector (11 3838-4000).

Attention:

For Proposal submissions, it is mandatory to attach a scanned copy of the identification document to the SAGe register. (Access menu "Meus dados> Alteração de Cadastro" and attach the requested document in the "Documento de Identificação" in the section “Identificação”). This obligation applies to all beneficiaries and PI’s of fellowships and grants.

 

 

 

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ANNEX IV: Compliance with Laws, Ethics and Business Principles (back to index)

IV.1. No Breach of Applicable Laws: FAPESP and Company agree and declare, and all proponents in this Call for Research Proposals upon submitting a Proposal are deemed to agree and declare that, regarding the activities contemplated herein, neither the Parties themselves nor any of their associated companies or shareholders, or their respective administrators, officers, attorneys-in-fact, representatives or employees will:

IV.1.a) Offer, promise to do or give, do or give any advantage, payment or gift or transfer any valuable item, directly or indirectly, to any person, public official of any government or governmental body or any political party, employee or candidate of any political party with the purpose of influencing acts or omissions of such person, public official, political party or candidate;

IV.1.b) Favor any person with the intention of inducing him/her to violate the duties inherent to a position or the duty to act in good faith and impartially; or

IV.1.c) Practice any other act that may lead to restricting competition or the breach of any applicable laws related to bribery, corruption or similar activities, including, but not limited to:

IV.1.c.1) The laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil;

IV.1.c.2) The laws to which the Parties and its controllers are subject to and the laws of any other country in which the Parties are registered or maintain their business;

IV.1.c.3) The principles described in the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, signed in Paris, on December 17, 1997, and which entered into force on February 15, 1999, and the Comments of the Convention;

IV.1.c.4) The United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or the principles of the referred act; and

IV.1.c.5) The 2010 United Kingdom Bribery Act or the principles of the referred act.

IV.2 Business Activities: The Parties also agree and undertake to, on their own behalf and on behalf of any affiliate or shareholder and their respective officers, representatives and employees, not to pay or promise to pay any fees or commissions or grant any discounts to any Company employee, administrator, officer, attorney-in-fact, subcontractor or representative or any of its associated companies or shareholders, or give or cause to give to any of them gifts or entertainment of significant cost or value in relation to this Agreement or with the purpose of influencing or inducing any acts or omissions related to the Parties’ business activities in accordance with this Call for Research Proposals.

IV.3 Compliance Clauses: The selected proponents in this Call for Research Proposals upon submitting a Proposal are deemed to acknowledge and agree that the agreement referred to in Section 8 will contain the highest standards of business ethics and compliance clauses, with detailed rights and obligations attributable to its signatories, which content is not limited to the principles and obligations outlined in this Annex IV.