OTTAWA, Ontario, October 14, 2009 - As part of this bilateral R&D program, ISTPCanada and FAPESP will invite joint proposals in critical sectors such as information and communications technologies (ICT), life sciences and energy. These initiatives will help Canadian and Brazilian companies to leverage scientific expertise in the partner country, identify business development opportunities and access new market channels. More broadly, they will help Canada and Brazil to exploit global S&T partnerships to stimulate innovation, foreign investment and trade in a post-recession economy. In Canada, this three-pronged CFP approach represents a first critical step towards the implementation of a Canada-Brazil Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation agreement signed by the honorable Stockwell Day, Canada’s Minister of International Trade and Minister of the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Sergio Rezende, Brazil’s Minister of Science and Technology in November 2008. It also builds on Canada’s important commercial and political relations with Brazil, the 10 In Brazil, this Call creates new opportunities for international collaboration that will increase the R&D capabilities of emerging knowledge-based businesses and university-industry research teams in São Paulo. These cooperative initiatives will further boost São Paulo’s contribution to the national economy, which accounts for 35 percent of Brazil’s GNP. Innovators in this state also generate 52 percent of Brazil’s scientific publications. "These future projects will provide an important boost to our science and technology relations with Brazil, one of the fastest growing and most diversified economies in the world," said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. "They will also help jumpstart the development of new technologies that promise to deliver economic and social benefits to citizens in both countries." "Given the increasingly multidisciplinary R&D landscape, and mounting challenges to secure investment capital, the right expertise and effective entryways into emerging markets, the need for global technology partnerships has never been greater" said Dr. Henri Rothschild, President and CEO, ISTPCanada. "This CFP will enable small to medium-sized and established companies to leverage their complementary R&D strengths, pool innovation resources and ultimately accelerate the commercialization of new products and services." "FAPESP develops international S&T partnerships that accelerate the development of knowledge-based industry in São Paulo, enabling them to take advantage of an increasingly global economy", said Celso Lafer, President of FAPESP. "The partnership with ISTPCanada expands research and funding opportunities available to research institutions and companies, and promotes science and technology in key sectors of the Brazil economy, including energy, agriculture, biotechnology and information technologies." Complete applications required by November 13, 2009. For additional information about the Calls for Proposals, please visit: http://www.istpcanada.ca/international_programs/Brazil/ActiveCFPs/
and http://www.fapesp.br/materia/5379
About International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada (ISTPCanada)
ISTPCanada develops and implements R&D collaboration programs under Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation agreements between Canada and its key trading partners, including India, China, Brazil and Israel. Mandated by the Government of Canada through the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, ISTPCanada facilitates the development of new R&D partnerships between Canadian companies, research organizations and their counterparts in other countries; invests in cooperative research projects with high commercial potential; and stimulates early-stage partnership development activity. In doing so, ISTPCanada develops new models of bilateral and multilateral collaboration that enhance Canada’s competitiveness through the increased use of international research-based alliances, and helps to strengthen Canada’s overall S&T, economic, trade and political relations with other nations. For additional information, please visit: www.istpcanada.ca.
About FAPESP
FAPESP is a public foundation, funded by the taxpayer in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, with the mission to support research projects in higher education and research institutions, in all fields of knowledge. São Paulo has a population of forty million and generates 35% of Brazil’s GNP. The stability of the funding and the autonomy of the foundation allow for an efficient management of the resources that has had a sizable impact: while São Paulo has 22% of the Brazilian population and 30% of the scientists with a doctorate in the country, the state responds for 52% of the country’s scientific articles published in international journals. FAPESP expects to invest approximately US$ 420 million in research projects in 2009. FAPESP supports more than ten thousand fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students and a sizable portfolio of exploratory academic research, mostly fundamental in nature. The foundation also supports application oriented research, in many cases performed in Small Businesses or jointly by academia and industry. For additional information, please visit:
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