Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Ireland aims to drive collaborative projects with public sector bodies to find solutions to specific public sector challenges and needs.

The SBIR process facilitates competitions which enable public sector bodies to connect with innovation-led businesses to work on innovative ideas which tackle challenges facing the public sector leading to better public services and improved effectiveness and value for money in areas including:

• Life Sciences and Health
• ICT and the Digital Economy
• Smart Cities
• Regional

Over the period 2017/18, a fund of €1m is available from Enterprise Ireland on a competitive basis to support Irish public sector organisations in scoping and running their own Irish SBIR challenges. The programme comprises of:

• A competitive fund to support Irish public sector departments in the scoping, framing and delivering competitions under the SBIR Ireland Programme
• Additional measures to promote SBIR take up through awareness raising, support measures, workshops and training

Interested public sector organistaions are asked to complete an Expression of Interest form, the purpose of which is to assist inthe identification of potential Irish SBIR challenges, so that Enterprise Ireland’s SBIR team can assist Irish Public sector departments in the framing and roll out of these challenges.

Find out more here: http://www.sbirireland.ie/How-to-Apply/

Note that the SBIR Ireland Call 1 closes at noon on 4th November 2016.