Project Monitoring and Site Assessment

The MRIC will be responsible to monitor the proposed activities of the initiative on a milestone basis as specified in the application. Any decision on major issues related to the initiative will be addressed by the PSC.

Further disbursements will be made on a milestone basis, upon receipt of a satisfactory technical progress report for each of the specified milestones together with a certified statement of accounts and invoices, showing how the funds have been utilized.

A comprehensive interim report must be submitted at the end of each milestone.

The interim report should include:

• the objectives

• work completed

• outstanding work

• problems encountered by project      leader and the collaborators

• way forward/conclusion

A site visit may be organised at the end of each milestone period to the company/enterprise/institution whereby the Project Leader will be required to present the activities undertaken during the milestone.

Project Completion and Follow-up

One soft copy of a comprehensive Final Report must be submitted to MRIC within 30 days after the end of the funding period. The Final Report must carry the following acknowledgement on the cover page: "The material is based upon work supported by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council under award number ……………..  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MRIC."

The Final Report shall include:

1. a verbatim statement of the initiative objectives;

2. a summary description of the investigations and development      carried out;

3. the research and development findings or results; and

4. the potential commercial application(s) of the innovation      arising from the research and development efforts.

The Final Report delivered under the grant may be made available to the public by the MRIC, except for that portion of the report containing technical data and/or commercially sensitive which has been properly identified and marked. Such data must be clearly labelled as proprietary and marked with a legend similar to the following:
"The following is proprietary information, which (name of grantee) requests not to be released to persons outside the MRIC, except for purposes of evaluation, for a period of four years from the expiration of Grant No……….."

An acknowledgement of the support and disclaimer must also appear in publications of any materials, whether copyrighted or not.

Participation in Survey

The grantee shall participate in outcomes/impact surveys conducted by the MRIC. Surveys will be conducted 12 months after the completion of the project, or at any frequency that the MRIC chooses. All surveys will comply to the Data Protection Act 2017. The grantee may designate a team member, or any relevant responsible party at their discretion, to participate in surveys conducted by the MRIC. Upon non-participation in such surveys, a penalty of 5% will be applied to the overall score received for any eventual funding application made by the grantee of any collaborating entity (institution/company/organisation) of the grantee.

Follow up services

The Follow up and Facilitation Unit will have the following responsibility as a means to create the right ecosystem for perennity of the project:

• identification and protection of Intellectual Property Rights      through the Technology Transfer Office

• further development of project through other support mechanism

• matchmaking with other stakeholders

• Follow-up in terms of more funding, networking or aid to commercialisation

• Refer projects to other organisations or ministries

• Ensure perennity of projects

• Aid finance section in recovery of unspent funds

• Ensure project dissemination

Note: Unless otherwise agreed, the ownership of intellectual property and responsibility for its application shall vest in the person generating that intellectual property (Refer to the required document. Ask Karuna).

Unless otherwise agreed, where a person uses the resources of the Council to create a product, process or service, the intellectual property rights of that product, process or service shall vest in that person.

Eligibility

The main applicant must be one of the following:

i. A Company (including MSMEs, large enterprises) should be registered with the Registrar of Companies in the Republic of Mauritius for at least one year.

ii. An Organisation/Association including Non-Governmental Organisations should be registered with the Registrar of Associations in the Republic of Mauritius for at least one year.

iii. An Academic Institution (recognised/ accredited tertiary education institutions or Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions) registered with the Higher Education Commission for at least one year.

iv. A Public/Private Research Institution in the Republic of Mauritius in existence for at least one year.

v. Government Institution or Parastatal Bodies

Eligibility of the Project Leader

The Project Leader must be employed by the enterprise, company or institution submitting the project proposal. For administrative purposes, all correspondence will be addressed to the Project Leader. If the Project Leader is not a citizen of Mauritius, the Project Leader is required to provide the Council with copies of the passport, Residence/Occupation Permit and/or work permit covering the duration of the project period and ensure that at least one team member is of Mauritian nationality. The individual who is proposed as the Project Leader at the time of the submission of the proposal is expected to be the Project Leader at the time of the inception of the grant. A change in Project Leader prior to an award could affect whether an award will be made. The Project Leader shall be nominated by the institution submitting the proposal.

Other eligibility criteria

• No awards will be made to applicants who      are already recipient of full project funding from other agencies for the      same activities of a same or similar project.

• An institution is not allowed to submit      more than two (2) applications at the same time for funding      considerations, under a Research and Innovation Grant Scheme or a specific      Call for Proposals.

Dispute Settlement

Any dispute or difference arising out of the interpretation or implementation of the project shall be settled amicably or through recourse to arbitration. The partners shall mutually agree on the appointment of an arbitrator.

Accuracy of Information - The proposing organisation and the Co-Project Leaders are responsible for the accuracy and validity of all the administrative, fiscal, and scientific information in the proposal. Deliberate withholding, falsification, or misrepresentation of information could result in administrative action such as declination of a proposal or the suspension and/or termination of an award as well as possible criminal penalties.

Audits - Projects are subject to regular technical and financial audits by MRIC or independent assessors to be appointed by MRIC. Unsatisfactory reports may lead to termination of the award and reimbursement of funds.