First Call for Project Proposals

KAPPA Programme: Travel expenses for participants from the Donor States

Published on 2019-11-11

Technology Agency of the Czech republic (TA CR) will cover the travel expenses to KAPPA Conference and Matchmaking for participants from the Donor States up to 520 EUR per participant. Accommodation and fly tickets are provided by the participants themselves.

The expected maximum number of participants from the Donor States: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein is 22. Priority is given to those registered first. TA CR will confirm the participation of the event to each excepted participant from the Donor States and will undertake to pay cashless bank compensation to the bank account up to the limit of 13 500 CZK (approx 520 EUR)per participant after signing the contract and submitting relevant documents. Accommodation up to 2 400 CZK (approx 92 EUR) per night and return Economy fly ticket up to 6 300 CZK (approx 240 EUR). Travel expenses will only be granted to the participants from the Donor States, not to the domestic participants.

After the seminar, the participant from the Donor States submits documents for the following reimbursement:

  • fly ticket invoice, account statement and two boarding passes,
  • accommodation invoice and receipt or statement of account.

The participants travel expenses cannot be refunded without the required invoices and documents.

Recommended accommodation:


KAPPA Programme will be launched soon

Published on 2019-10-17

The first competition in the KAPPA Programme will be announced on 20 November 2019. The competition period will be 99 days and will close
on 27th February 2020.

The KAPPA Programme is financed by EEA and Norway Grants and administered by Technology Agency of the Czech republic. It is focused on applied research and international cooperation between Czechia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. In total, almost 32.5 million EUR will be distributed

The KAPPA Programme is designed to support projects in all topics of research, development and innovation. A part of the funding (about 5,2 million EUR) will be allocated to the projects with focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS). Eligible applicants are research organizations and enterprises. The expected average aid intensity for the Programme is 80 %. The minimum financial support per project is 500,000 EUR, the maximum is 1,500,000 EUR (for CCS projects 2,500,000 EUR). Eligible costs are up to April 30, 2024. The reporting of indirect costs is possible only
on the basis of a flat rate rate of 25 %.

If you’re interested in the KAPPA Programme, don’t miss the Opening conference and Matchmaking KAPPA. It is a two day event in Prague
on 25-26th November 2019. You would get the detail information about the KAPPA Programme financed by the EEA and Norway Grants and you would have the opportunity to find project partners.

Find out more or Register HERE


The KAPPA PROGRAMME: Basic parameters of The First Call for proposals

Published on 2019-07-24

The Board of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR) approved the basic parameters of the first call for proposals of the KAPPA Programme financed by EEA and Norway Grants. The parameters are based on the approved Programme Agreement. The call for proposals will be announced in the fourth quarter of 2019. The exact announcement date will be published after the September meeting of the KAPPA Programme Committee in Oslo. In total, almost 32.5 million EUR will be distributed in the KAPPA Programme.

The Programme Agreement fulfills the role of an international programme and defines the basic parameters of the entire KAPPA Programme as well as the parameters of the first call for proposals listed below.

Eligible applicants are research organizations and enterprises. An entity that does not meet the definition of a research organization under the EU Commission Regulation acts as an enterprise in the project. The Project promoter (the main applicant) must be from Czechia and have at least one project partner from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Research organizations from the third countries, i.e. from other states except the Czechia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, can be project partners and are entitled to a limited amount of financial support, which will be specified in the Call documentation. An enterprise under the age of 18 months (from the date of registration to the submission of a project proposal) shall submit a financial plan due to a non-existent accounting history.

The KAPPA Programme is not thematically limited and project proposals are expected from different areas. A part of the funding (about 5,2 million EUR) will be allocated to the projects with focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS). The average aid intensity for the Programme is 80%. Each applicant shall comply with the maximum aid intensity according to the type of applicant and the nature of the activities in accordance with the EU Commission Regulation. The exact conditions for the amount of aid intensity for a project and for additional funding from other sources will be set out in the Call documentation. The minimum financial support per project is 500,000 EUR, the maximum is 1,500,000 EUR (for CCS projects 2,500,000 EUR). Eligible costs are up to April 30, 2024. The reporting of indirect costs is possible only on the basis of a flat rate rate of 25%.

Project proposals will be evaluated by three foreign experts outside the Czechia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, by panel(s), Programme Committee and the TA CR Board.. The outcome of the evaluation will be two rating lists. One for CCS projects and one for other projects of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The exact date of the call for proposal will also be determined with regard to the other calls under the EEA and Norway Grants in the Research programmes. In Poland, the call for basic research will be closed in September, but at the same time a call for applied research will be launched. In Romania, the call for Research programme closes at the end of October. The Portuguese Ocean Research programme will open a call in November. Therefore, we recommend to search for potential project partners who can be very busy in the second half of the year. The information in the Partner Search section at kappa.tacr.cz/en can help you with that.


International cooperation with Iceland

Published on 2019-07-12

Representatives of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR) attended a study visit to Iceland to get to know the activities of the Icelandic Center of Research Agency (RANNÍS) and the Innovation Center Island Agency (Innovation Center) in Reykjavik. At the meeting, the new KAPPA Programme was introduced as well as the possibilities of cooperation at the international level. 

The aim of these meetings was to become more familiar with the activities of the agencies, the processes of programmes implementation and sharing good experiences. Another important aim was financing opportunities at the international level particularly in the KAPPA Programme financed from the EEA and Norway Grants. One of the topics of discussion were the foreign partners´search options. 

The study visit was followed by a visit to two Research Centers which are successful in solving many research projects. Due to the small community, Iceland has a very strong social cohesion and there is a very close relationship between organisations not only in the field of support of applied research and innovation. Iceland and all of the visited workplaces are on the top level and the gained valuable experience was a great benefit for TA CR. 

A great interest was expressed in projects with Czech participants several times. In particular, power engineers, geneticists, IT specialists, as well as biologists, geologists, sociologists and others.

Foto: Chairman of the TA CR Petr Konvalinka and General Director of the RANNÍS Hallgrímur Jónasson.

Programme KAPPA: Moving the call announcement and the first programme committee meeting

Published on 2019-03-28

This week, the first Programme Committee meeting of the KAPPA Programme financed by EEA and Norway Grants took the place. Moving the call announcement originally planned in April 2019 was one of the most important outputs of the opening meeting. The reason for this change is to align the call with the Financial Mechanism Office in Brussels, with the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, with the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and also with other calls of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR). The call announcement is scheduled for autumn this year.

Acquaint all actors among themselves, with the issues of the EEA and Norway Grants and with the KAPPA Programme were the main contents of the introductory meeting. The Programme Committee consists of five representatives from the Czech Republic and Norway. Their crucial role is in the preparation and evaluation of the Programme in particular. The Programme Committee e.g. finalizes the call conditions, supports the setting up the evaluation process or the evaluation criteria. The main call conditions and the Programme schedule were discussed. Aside from it, the Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the Programme Committee were discussed and the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Programme Committee were elected. There was also an exchange of experience from the previous programming period.

Besides the members of the Programme Committee, the meeting was also attended by representatives of the TA CR and RCN, followed by representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic as the National Focal Point of the EEA and Norway Grants and a representative of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Prague.

KAPPA Programme Committee members (from the left):
Nils Anders Røkke, SINTEF, Trondheim
Naďa Koníčková, Technology centre CAS
Miroslav Janeček, TA CR co-founder, retired
Marit Westergaard, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø
Ondřej Krejcar, University of Hradec Králové


New programme for international cooperation in applied research

Published on 2019-03-14

The brand new KAPPA Programme focused on applied research and international cooperation is financed by EEA and Norway Grants. It concentrates on collaboration with partners from Czech republic, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Almost 33 million EUR will be distributed between 2020 and 2024.

Projects are expected to last three to four years and have a maximum budget 5 million EUR. The maximum aid intensity per project is 80% of the total eligible costs. About 40 projects are estimated to be eligible for support. The programme is not thematically limited, and project proposals are expected from different areas. A part of the funding (about 5,2 million EUR) will be allocated to the projects with focus on carbon capture and storage. The preferred cooperation model is the participation of an enterprise in cooperation with a research organisation

Find more information about the KAPPA Programme in this video.


TA CR is expanding the possibilities of international cooperation with Norway

Published on 2019-03-07

Last week, a study visit in Norway was held by representatives of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR). They became acquainted with the work of the Research Council of Norway (RCN) in Oslo and presented a new KAPPA programme and possibilities for cooperation with the Czech Republic at the CLIMIT Summit.

The purpose of the meeting at RCN was to familiarize both agencies with a more detailed presentation of their activities and sharing good experiences. There has been a discussion on international cooperation and about the programmes implemented by both agencies. TA CR has mentioned the new Innovation strategy and the new role of the TA CR as the implementer of the resort programmes. There was also a discussion on the RCN strategy, namely the Open Science strategy. After the meeting, there was a study visit to research institutes which are successful in solving a number of research projects.

In Norway, close cooperation between the business sector, offices and research institutions is well established. There is also a high level of education, social trust and equality between women and men. Therefore, cooperation with Norwegian entities is a great opportunity for the Czech Republic to gain valuable experience and international contacts, which can then be used, for example, for further cooperation under the KAPPA programme financed by the EEA and Norway Funds or for the preparation of joint projects in other international programmes.
Meanwhile, the CLIMIT Summit conference was held in the surroundings of the Holmenkollen Ski Jump. The conference brought more than 270 high-level speakers and experts from all over the world for exchanging ideas and building knowledge within the important climate mitigation tool: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The planned call within the KAPPA programme financed by EEA and Norway Grants was presented during the second day of the conference. A part of the budget allocation is dedicated just to CCS activities. You can find the presentation HERE.


The KAPPA Programme will provide up to 800 million CZK for international cooperation between enterprises and research organizations

Published on 2018-11-13

The call preparation of the new KAPPA Programme financed by the EEA and Norway Grants is currently in progress at the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. The Programme is focused on international cooperation in the area of applied research with partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The first call will be announced soon and will be preceded by a series of seminars for applicants. Emphasis will be put on the search of project partners. For more information please visit the kappa.tacr.cz website, which will be continuously updated.

The KAPPA Programme is implemented within the framework of the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms for the 2014-2021 period of the Research Programme. Take a look at the infographics that visually present KAPPA Programme.