There is an ever growing need to support scientific and technological initiatives to boost economic growth. It is through effective and efficient use of new and existing technologies that countries can achieve sustainable development. The goal of Window C of the Uganda Millennium Science Initiative Project Component 1 is to enable firms in Uganda to increase their productivity and profitability so that they can contribute more to the national economy. Window C provides funds to support private sector cooperation by which firms and research institutes/universities are given opportunity/platform to define collaborative agendas for solving problems of direct interest to industry, and then pursue solutions collaboratively. Grants will also be made available to support structural agreements between firms and one or more universities to increase the level of practical training for undergraduate students in science and engineering. The Window C manual is intended to provide detailed information and the mechanism by which firms and universities/research institutions can develop linkages and work together to identify solutions to technology-related problems affecting firms. We encourage the private sector to make the best use of the Manual and take advantage of the opportunities available to increase firm productivity and growth.
Dr Peter Ndemere Prof. Charles Kwesiga
Executive Secretary, Executive Director,
Uganda National Council for Uganda Industrial Research
Science and Technology Institute
Section 1: Background
The Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) and Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) will closely collaborate in the implementation of the Private Sector Cooperation herein referred to as, “Window C” which has modes 1 and 2. Given its mandate, UIRI will play a crucial role in raising awareness through promotional campaigns among firms, to give them greater access to technology and skills and link academia and industry.
Window C proposals are received at the UNCST throughout the year and considered by the Uganda Millennium Science Initiative (MSI) Sub-Committee on a quarterly basis. The proposals are also sent to the Executive Director of UIRI to provide his comments on each proposal. The UIRI Executive Director's comments are received at the UNCST and sent to the Sub Committee. UNCST provides administrative support to the Sub Committee, including reporting back to proponents the outcome of the review of their proposals by the Sub Committee, as well as the Sub Committee's suggestions to improve the proposals. UNCST is responsible for the grants administration and procurements, except when it is satisfied that the partners in the platforms can do it themselves. This pertains both to Mode 1 and Mode 2 Technology Platforms and the Technology Internships.
UIRI is to play an active role in promoting and facilitating the Technology Platforms. However, the UIRI itself cannot be among the formal applicants for Window C funding. Its expertise must be made available to all Platforms for preparing proposals, for providing 'headquarter' facilities if necessary, and as needed during the implementation phase. With respect to the latter, only costs incurred by UIRI in the implementation of R&D activities of Mode 2 Platforms, and identified beforehand in the proposal, will be eligible costs.
Section 2:
The Uganda Millennium Science Initiative Project
Uganda seeks accelerated economic growth and improved social well-being. Its national development strategy centers on transforming the economy, and becoming a middle-income country as quickly as possible through application of science and technology.
Scientific and technological capacity, embodied in knowledge and well-trained human resources, can help transform economies; it can enhance productivity and make social sectors more effective. There is some positive evidence, which suggests that economic transformation is beginning in Uganda. The formal sector of the economy is expanding rapidly, and real investment is rising sharply. However, the scientific and technological capacity needed for Uganda to reach its full economic potential is not yet available. Continued economic progress will require more and better use of knowledge and more and better qualified human resources for science and technology (S&T). Therefore, the Uganda Millennium Science Initiative (MSI) Project is one of government's strategies to develop the country's scientific and technological base upon which economic and social transformation would stand.
The Uganda MSI Project consists of two project components; Component 1 and Component 2 each with various subcomponents and activities. Component 1 is composed of 3 windows; Window A, Window B and Window C and Component 2 is composed of Institutional Strengthening, Policy Studies and an Outreach program. Window C, which is the subject of this manual, supports private sector cooperation. It supports: (i) grants for “Technology Platforms” through which firms and researchers define collaborative agendas for solving problems of direct interest to industry, and then pursue solutions collaboratively; and (ii) formal firm-based internships for students in science, engineering, and business administration, allowing interns the opportunity to gain exposure to the “real life problems” facing the private sector.
Section 3:
Goal of Window C - Private Sector Cooperation
The main goal of activities under Window C is to give firms greater access to new or existing technologies not previously used in Uganda, and link academia and research institutions with industry. These linkages are expected, to promote growth of firms and to accelerate the country’s transition to a more science-and-technology driven economy. Technology Platforms Technology Platforms are forums that seek: (i) to define a set of technological problems facing firms to which research or consultation could provide solutions; (ii) to identify and evaluate technologies that exist and are used outside of Uganda and could profitably be transferred for use domestically, and (iii) to work together, in a possibly different configuration, to carry out collaboratively the research and development issues identified. A Platform usually consists of multiple firms, or in exceptional cases of one firm, and one or more university/research institutions. In Mode 1, funds will finance both the cooperative evaluation of technologies and the definition of shared R&D problems confronting the partners in the Platform. In Mode 2, Mode I grantees will be eligible to apply for funding to carry out the R&D agenda developed in Mode I as a collaboration between firms and university/research institute partners. Examples of the kind of targeted, specific, technology-related challenges firms and firm-led teams could identify and evaluate in Mode I platforms and further investigate in Mode 2 platforms might include: - A floriculture firm working with agricultural scientists and other researchers to evaluate the potential for new plant varieties to be profitably grown and exported from Uganda;
- A food processing firm seeking to know if new process control or refrigeration technologies could be profitably employed in their production lines;
- A services firm considering investments in information technology seeking to understand the options available outside of Uganda;
- A medical testing laboratory seeking to know if they might profitably expand the number and ranges of testing services offered by investing in new equipment;
- Under what conditions could aquaculture be commercially viable and environmentally sustainable in Uganda?
- What are the commercial possibilities for processing of starch from plantains?
- Can the quality of construction materials used in Uganda be improved and costs lowered?
- Can transportation firms improve their productivity and profitability by investing in computer-based management of their vehicles and routes?
- How could Ugandan agricultural products be certified as organic and would doing so raise their market value?
Nature of Grant for Technology Platforms (Mode 1) and Eligibility requirements
In Mode 1, a total of ten (10) grants of up to US $50,000 each, will be made available to have firms and university/research institutions define together technological problems facing firms, to conduct searches for and evaluate available technologies and to propose, if appropriate, further research and development work. Each grant will be for a period of up to two (2) years. In exceptional cases a Platform may consist of one firm and one university/research institute partner. With an emphasis on technology scanning, the monies elicited by eligible, winning Platforms through Mode 1 can be used to: (1) crystallize understanding of the specific technology-related challenge facing the firms, (2) conduct a local, national, and international search for and technical evaluation of available technologies to respond to this challenge, (3) conduct an initial business-planning exercise to get a reasonable idea of the cost-effectiveness and market potential of transferring/adapting/importing/applying any identified technological solution, and (4) prepare an R&D proposal to develop/adapt/modify the identified technological solution in partnership with other firms, university research staff or research institute affiliates.
Mode 1 seeks to respond quickly to the needs of industry to understand what types of technology can reasonably be expected to lead to increased profitability and growth for a given firm. As such, each proposal must evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the technology under consideration as a potential tool for increased productivity, revenue and profitability, and result in specific recommendations for the adoption or adaptation of available technologies, and for any R&D necessary in that case, or against such adoption.
To achieve this end, a project would consider a range of issues that bear on the profitable use of new technologies including, but not limited to, its ability to reduce costs, increase outputs, improve quality, meet currently unmet market demands, and/or create profitable new products. Each project must combine the technical assessment of identified technologies' capabilities with an initial financial assessment of cost-impact, and an initial market assessment of increased business opportunities. Therefore, it is expected that teams would contain specialists in particular technologies, along with specialists in finance and marketing.
Teams of researchers at universities or research institutes (students and/or staff), along with scientists, engineers, or managers from firms and companies will develop proposals jointly. To be eligible, all proposals must have the substantial involvement of at least one active firm (a “going concern”) whose technical or management staff dedicate significant time to the proposal. All proposals must be submitted using the standard Grant Application Form (Appendix I).
Nature of Grant for Technology Platforms (Mode 2) and Eligibility requirements
The aim of Mode 2 under the Technology Platform activities is to construct solutions to those technological challenges identified in Mode 1 by having strengthened partnerships between firms, scientists and engineers from universities and/or research institutes, carrying out R&D and possibly engineering activities. At the conclusion of Mode 2, concrete innovative products, technological modifications, and augmentation of services or production processes should be ready for acceptance by firms thereby commencing a new business development trajectory.
Only those teams that successfully elicited Mode 1 funding are eligible to participate in Mode 2. Eligible teams will likely include the same team membership of firms, university and research staff partners participating in Mode 1. Proposals may be augmented by the addition of groups of companies and private-sector associations, or universities and research institutes backed by such private-sector organizations. Proposals that do not include both significant participation of private sector partners and clear demonstration of the importance to firms of the problems identified for technological amelioration will not be funded.
Four (4) grants of up to US$ 150,000 each, will be made available to fund a range of activities including: (1) the clarification and further definition of the firm's problems and focused, short-term analyses and feasibility studies that shed light on the potential solutions to the problems, (2) research and other activities such as technological development and adaptation, and (3) analysis needed to confirm the cost-effectiveness of these solutions, bring them into practice, or advance knowledge about them so as to make their use by industry more feasible. Each grant will be for a period of up to two (2) years.
Most of those firm-based problems identified for both Mode 1 and Mode 2 support would address specific obstacles to discrete business challenges facing firms. However, some eligible teams might focus on issues of concern to firms across an industry or even from several industries, such as embedded software technologies, energy efficiency technologies, mechanical engineering technologies, packaging technologies, or food processing technologies.
All proposals must be submitted using the standard Grant Application Form (Appendix II).
Technology Internships
A second set of Window C activities is also oriented around bridging the academia-private sector divide in Uganda. Through a Technology Internship program, grants will be made available to support structural agreements between companies and one or more universities to increase the level of practical training for undergraduate students in science and technology, their work orientation, the private-sector relevance of the curriculum, and the links between university staff and participating firms. Diploma-granting vocational and technical training institutes will also be considered for inclusion in the internship agreements.
Nature of Grant for Technology Internships and Eligibility requirements
Internship program proposals may be designed by staff of companies, university faculties, or by groups of students. The agreements which will be part of the proposals will describe the mutual obligations to which the partners will comply. These will include at least the number of training places the company will make available, the level and content of the training to be provided the duration of which can vary from 3 months to 9 months, the assistance (e.g. 1 day per week) to be received from company and teaching-institute staff, feed-back mechanisms, and the links to be built between companies and teaching-institute staff. Following their training period, participating Interns will be required to submit proposals to improve a particular aspect of the companies' operations. These proposals must have a firm supervisor and may have a university supervisor as well.
It is expected that companies will invest some money of their own to finance the Technology Internship program, but this will be complimented by fixed levels of support for the training positions they make available and for the assistance of company staff, e.g. as a guide, on the basis of 20% of staff time (The UNCST will determine the upper limit).
The Internship Program will include an annual conference with the faculty from relevant disciplines from which Technology Interns are drawn, the participating (receiving) firms, and the Interns themselves. This annual conference will provide a forum to discuss such issues as: (1) preparedness of Interns to contribute to firm-level demands, (2) perceived relevance and adequacy of Interns' training and study at their universities to needs of firms, and (3) ideas for strengthening and broadening the Technology Intern program. Upon successful completion students will receive a bonus of US $250.
The success of the Internship program will be assessed basing on firms' commitments to offering Interns jobs following their experience with the program.
Ten (10) grants of up to US $ 50,000 each will be available to support Internship Programs. Each grant will be for a period of three (3) years.
Advantages of Technology Internships to the firms and universities
The firms will have an opportunity to: - Establish a pool of potential professional employees;
- Develop an efficient training program for company interns;
- Send goodwill ambassadors back to universities and colleges to spread the word to other students about the company;
- Provide direct feedback to increase the relevance of the curriculum of higher education institutions;
- Benefit from contacts to staff of higher education institutions;
- Receive the intellectual input of students toward the solution of business problems
The University will have an opportunity to:
- Receive students' and industry feedback to improve their curriculum;
- Increase rapport with the business community and enhance the prospects for product development partnership with the private sector;
- Increase community support for University programs;
- Produce students with relevant skills to address business challenges of firms;
Responsibilities of Interns, Supervisors and the firm
a. The Interns are expected to:
- Complete the tasks and activities assigned to them during the internship;
- Comply with rules and regulations of the firm regarding work and confidential information;
- Prepare and submit internship reports as shall be required (See Appendix III);
b. The Intern's Faculty Supervisor - iThe faculty supervisor shall review the Intern's work at the firm and assess the Interns performance with respect to, inter alia, initiative and creativity, learning opportunities, responsible behaviour and technical skills acquired.
- The faculty supervisor shall maintain regular contact with the firm and firm supervisor to assess the Intern's performance; and accordingly award grades in accordance with criteria developed by the Intern's institution.
c. The Firm - The Firm shall appoint a firm's supervisor for the Intern;
- The Firm shall provide a variety of educational opportunities to the Intern based on the concrete business needs of the Firm; and ensuring that the program is sufficiently flexible to permit the intern to meet his/her academic obligations;
- The Firm shall assess the Intern's performance and complete an evaluation form jointly developed by the university faculty and the firm;
Section 4:
Selection Process and Criteria for Technology Platform and Internship Grants Proposals
Funding in Window C shall be accessed through a peer-reviewed, competitive grant process, although one that is modified to take into account the special characteristics of the Technology Platforms and the Internship Programs. A Subcommittee of the MSI Technical Committee will review and select proposals and activities to be funded under Window C. The Subcommittee consists of three membersat least one of whom is Ugandan and one non-Ugandan. The Sub-committee members have substantial experience with academic-industry linkages, commercialization of research, and other relevant expertise. All proposals for Window C shall be sent to the UNCST Secretariat for forwarding to the Window C Subcommittee. The UNCST shall send copies of all proposals it has received to UIRI to comment on each. The UNCST shall receive comments from UIRI on the proposals and send these comments to the Window C Subcommittee. In addition, the Window C Subcommittee may if deemed necessary, identify peer reviewers for any given proposal. The Subcommittee will deliberate on the proposals and the peer reviews and UIRI opinions and decide which proposals to be funded. The Subcommittee may return a proposal to the proponents with suggested improvements or conditions that, if met, would make it eligible for funding. In general, successful proposals for Window C will be selected using the following criteria: - Relevance: Proposals must address the firm's technological challenges, and should potentially lead to increased productivity, revenue and profitability of the firm.
- Scientific and technological quality: This criteria aims at assessing the clarity with which the technological question has been stated in the proposal, and the activities proposed to answer the question.
- Technical feasibility: This would mainly consider an assessment of the extent to which the proposed activities will be achieved in light of the resources available and the human capacity of the teams involved.
- Cooperation and linkages: This will involve an assessment of how the partners have (i.e. The firm and university/research institution) organized themselves to cooperate.
Section 5:
Work Plans, Budgets, Procurement and Financial Management
The Window C grantees shall undertake financial management and procurement responsibilities in accordance with financial management principles and procurement guidelines and procedures as set out in MSI Project Implementation Plan. All Proposals should contain detailed budgets, and these will be reviewed as part of the selection of grant recipients. Once winning grant recipients are selected, the budgets contained in their Proposals will form the basis of the grant contract with the grantee (their institution) and of all future grant administration planning. The budgets from the Proposals will be incorporated into the grant contracts as these are drawn up. Once contracts are signed, grant recipients assisted by the financial management and procurement administration of their institutions will begin producing specific Annual Work Plans (AWP) based on the general budget. Annual Work Plans will have four components: - Progress and achievements during the last 12 months period
- Physical Goals for the next 12 month period
- Projected Expenditures by month over the next 12 months
- Procurement Plan stating the procurement methods to be used to acquire all works, goods, and services including consulting services over the next 12 months.
The UNCST Secretariat will provide guidance to grantees and grant recipients with respect to these requirements. Annual Work Plans must be approved by the UNCST before grant disbursements can begin.
The Procurement Plan of the AWP will provide details on the major and minor equipment to be acquired, and the operating costs to be incurred. Purchases, payments, financial management and accounting will be done in accordance with the procedures outlined in the MSI PIP, plus any additional or updated procedures issued by the UNCST Secretariat.
Procurement administration will be carried out within the general framework of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPDA), 2003 and its attendant Regulations and Guidelines. These recognize and give precedence to international agreements, including the Project and Financing Agreements for the MSI Project. In particular, all procurement of goods and works financed by the World Bank funds, will be carried out in accordance with the Bank's Guidelines for Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits dated May 2004 (the Guidelines) and the Bank's Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers dated May 2004.
Appendix 1:
Application Form for Technology Platform Mode 1
- Project title: State the title of the project. On the same page (first page) , Provide for all the Company Proponents (in exceptional cases only one) and University/R&D Institute Proponents (at least one is mandatory) corporate names and contact details. Identify who will be the main proponent to which correspondence will be sent. List for each partner which individuals will be involved, as well as their position in the organization.
- Statement of the Problem or challenge: Describe briefly the problem or challenge the firm(s) is/are facing;
- Technology identification: Indicate which sorts of technologies are likely to be identified and evaluated;
- Relevant experience: Describe briefly for the various companies and universities/research institutes their relevant experience in relation to the proposed project;
- Key Activities and Methodology: Describe how the partners propose to go about the identification and evaluation of the technologies including an outline of market potential, cost of obtaining or adapting the technologies, and potential difficulties related to using the technologies in Uganda.
- Organization: Describe how the partners will work together to carry out the key activities.
- Budget (maximum US$ 50,000): List the key cost items, as well as contributions from the partners.
Note:
The proposals must not exceed 25 pages including CVs and references, and should be written in font size 12 Times New Roman, single-spaced, margins (Top/bottom 1 inch, left/right 1.25 inches). The full proposal must be submitted electronically either as MS Word or PDF format. In addition to the electronic copy, the proponent shall provide five (5) hard copies of the proposal.
Appendix 2:
Application form for Technology Platform Mode 2
- Project title: State the title of the project. On the same page (first page) Provide for all the Company Proponents (in exceptional cases only one) and University/R&D Institute Proponents (at least one is mandatory) corporate names and contact details. Identify who will be the main proponent to which correspondence will be sent. Indicate which were involved in the underlying Mode 1 Technology Platform. Identify who will be the main proponent to which correspondence will be sent. List for each partner which individuals will be involved, as well as their position in the organization.
- Statement of the problem/challenge and technologies selected: Describe the subject of the project by briefly referring to the Mode 1 Technology Platform that was the basis of the current proposal.
- R&D and engineering activities: Describe in detail the Research, Development (including cost-effectiveness analysis) and possibly engineering activities to be carried out, again referring to the conclusions of the underlying Mode 1 Technology Platform.
- Relevant experience: Describe briefly for the various companies and universities/research institutes and their relevant experience in relation to the proposed project;
- Key activities and Methodology: Describe how the partners propose to address the R&D and engineering activities.
- Organization: Describe the work packages for each of the partners, and how they will work together.
- Budget (maximum US$ 150,000): List the key cost items, as well as contributions from the partners.
Note:
The proposals must not exceed 25 pages including CVs and references, and should be written in font size 12 Times New Roman, single-spaced, margins (Top/bottom 1 inch, left/right 1.25 inches). The full proposal must be submitted electronically either as MS Word or PDF format. In addition to the electronic copy, the proponent shall provide five (5) hard copies of the proposal.
Appendix 3:
Application form for Internship Program
- Internship Program Title: (Indicate the practical training for undergraduate students in science and technology in relation to their curriculum).
- Internship Program Description: Describe the content of the internship program to be provided. Also indicate the duration of the program (the program should be between 3 to 9 months).
- Additional Information: Please indicate the number of students your firm will accommodate per year in the program. Indicate the number of days per week that each student will spend working at the firm and also the support the student will receive from the university and company staff.
- Budget (maximum US$ 50,000): Please attach a summarized annual budget for the first three years of the Internship program.
- Cooperation and linkages: This should involve an assessment of how the partners (i.e. the firm and university) organize themselves to cooperate.
Note:
The proposals must not exceed 25 pages including CVs and references, and should be written in font size 12 Times New Roman, single-spaced, margins (Top/bottom 1 inch, left/right 1.25 inches). The full proposal must be submitted electronically either as MS Word or PDF format. In addition to the electronic copy, also provide five (5) hard copies of the proposal.
Appendix 4:
Guidelines for the Student's Final Report
An internship experience is a valuable portion of a student's educational program in preparation for a professional career. For a faculty to evaluate students' progress and the outcome of their internship program, a report is needed from them describing what they have gained from the internship experience. The preparation of this report will also help them evaluate their professional development leading to the student's career goals. The faculty supervisor must receive the report prior to the end of the semester. Upon faculty supervisor approval, a copy of the final report is to be sent to UNCST Secretariat.
Final Report
A detailed report is required after the Internship program. It should reflect an evaluation of the complete internship program, and should at least include: - A title, name of Intern, participating firms/institutions and supervisors
- Executive Summary
- Introduction (includes a description of the organizational structure and function of the cooperating agency or firm sponsoring the internship as well as a description of Intern's responsibilities and assignments within in the organization.
- Statement of technological challenge
- Statement of achievements (includes a discussion of how planned activities were implemented and the outcome of each
- Challenges faced during the internship
- Recommendations
Appendix 5:
Eligible costs for Technology Platforms, Modes 1 and 2
The following cost categories are eligible provided that the listed items are acquired in accordance with the procurement rules and guidelines for the Uganda MSI Project; the per diems and travel must conform to UNCST's policies on rates and conditions: - 20% of the labor costs (including social benefits and a maximum overhead of 5%) of personnel from partners engaged in identification or evaluation studies or R&D (mode 2 only) or engineering (mode 2 only). Students who are invited to participate are entitled to an allowance of US$ 15 per day spent.
- The full costs of external studies, information services and consultants.
- The full costs of marketing reports and market intelligence.
- The full costs involved in organizing workshops, not including personnel costs of participants to the workshops.
- Per diems and domestic travel costs for workshops
- Foreign travel and subsistence costs on the basis of economy class and per diem rates as valid for comparable UNCST staff, to a maximum of $ 15,000.
- Dissemination activities, including the training of company personnel, not including their salaries.
- Building or upgrading or adapting demonstration and/or prototyping facilities (mode 2 only).
- Costs of materials and supplies or consumables (Mode 2 only)
- Costs of equipment at research institutes or universities if the use for the project is in a reasonable proportion to the cost of the equipment and if the research institute or university concerned demonstrates the availability of staff for operations and maintenance (Mode 2 only).
- The total grant amount will not exceed US$ 50,000 (Mode 1) or US$ 150,000 (Mode 2).
Appendix 6:
Eligible costs for Technology Internships
Companies are entitled to a bonus of US$ 500 per internship program, plus a compensation for the salary costs of company supervising staff up to a maximum of 20 % of annual salary costs of staff concerned. Each firm can have a maximum of four staff each supervising five interns for the period of the internship program.
Upon completion of an internship with the acceptance of a proposal by the trainee to improve a particular aspect of the company's operations, the student will receive a bonus of US$ 250.
The limited costs of acquisition of equipment by the faculty involved in an internship programme. The amount of the latter costs is to the discretion of the Uganda MSI Technical Committee on the advice of the Window C Subcommittee, who will assess the costs in relation to the number of students benefiting from improved and more relevant training, and the level of improvement.
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