Guidelines & Forms

Deadlines for submission of the Executive Summaries and the Proposals for BIRD Projects are published on our website 3-4 months prior to these dates. Submission of all the documents is done exclusively by uploading them to BIRD’s upload site. Following the deadline, the upload site is closed for further submissions.
An applicant must meet and consult with BIRD prior to submission of any application.

The Executive Summary is a concise document on which we base a “GO-NO GO” recommendation. Therefore, it is highly recommended to speak with a member of the BIRD staff before submitting an Executive Summary. An initial discussion may be held with our staff in Israel or in the U.S.

Decisions are made twice a year at BIRD’s Board of Governors meetings, in June and December.

There are no “in between” Board meetings.

“BIRD Energy” is a program established by the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures and by the U.S. Department of Energy to fund joint Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects. Calls for proposals and deadlines are posted on our website.

BIRD may fund projects in either program.

The decision as to which program you should apply depends on the nature/content of the project.
All applicants should meet and consult with BIRD before submission of any application.

BIRD provides conditional grants of up to $1 million via direct cost sharing of up to 50 percent of project costs.

Ownership of the companies can be private or public.
The project partners should not be related companies.

The two companies need to show their ability to bring the product to market, and therefore one partner should demonstrate proven marketing and sales ability.

For example, the project partners could include one larger company and one smaller company.
Preferred size of the partners, in $ terms, is estimated on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the size and nature of the relevant market, competition in the industry, and significant market-presence of at least one of the two partners.

A Mini-Project is a BIRD project whose budget is limited to $400,000.

Therefore, the grant is a maximum of $200,000, or 50% of actual project costs, whichever is less.

Submission of an Executive Summary and a Project Proposal is required just as with a full-scale project.

A Mini-Project is usually evaluated in an accelerated process and hence it may be decided upon more quickly than a full scale project. A Mini Project is not a feasibility study prior to a full scale project. It has to end with a marketable product.

We need as much information as you can give. A company profile should include the following; people (founders, investors), funding raised, the innovation, status of development, patent situation, product road map, commercialization plans and activities, and website.

Other important information required: Does a partnership currently exist or is one being sought, information about the partner (similar information required about both companies), project idea, road map for development and commercialization, status of negotiations with partner and readiness to participate in a BIRD project.

Submission of a “mock-up” Executive Summary of a BIRD project may be very helpful (template for the Executive Summary can be downloaded from the BIRD website).

Each proposal is reviewed and evaluated by experts in Israel and in the USA.
The OCS provides BIRD with professional evaluation services in Israel. This is done by experts from the OCS office that will review a proposal and meet with the Israeli partnering company.

In the USA, these services are provided by experts from the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).

The Chief Scientist and the Director of the TIP (Technology Innovation Program) at NIST, are co-Chairmen of BIRD’s Board of Governors.

A project cannot receive both BIRD funding and an OCS grant.
Applying to BIRD and the OCS at the same time is not recommended.

No.

BIRD can use its network and contacts within the Israeli and the US markets to help companies identify potential partners for their R&D project.
Information provided by a company, including a list of potential companies and a value proposition can help us to accelerate the process and improve the results.

BIRD may support any non-defense related industrial R&D activitythat is of mutual benefit to Israel and the United States.

Homeland Security (HLS) activities like border defense, air traffic security, and first responder activities are eligible for BIRD funding.

BIRD will accept such involvement; however, BIRD does not request that a proposal be prepared by persons providing such professional services.
BIRD does not recommend any specific advisor or service.
An advisor may be present along with the company at meetings with BIRD, but cannot come instead of the company and cannot represent the company at BIRD.

Once a project is approved by BIRD’s Board of Governors and the BIRD agreement (CPFA) is signed, BIRD will transfer the first payment to the companies.

Subsequent payments are due every 6 months subject to the submission and approval of the periodical reports as required in the CPFA.

All funding provided by BIRD to a project is subject to repayments. For exact details please refer to Section “B”. (Project Financing) of the CPFA.

The “Pharma Model” is an alternative BIRD contract applicable to Biotech or Pharma projects. The main difference between the Pharma Contract and the regular BIRD Contract relates to the repayment mechanism. A pharma project may include the funding of clinical trials.

Please review the detailed material found on our website www.birdf.com and/or contact BIRD at oshrat@birdf.com