Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
In this section you may find information on National Schemes published by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (formerly know as the Research Promotion Foundation – RPF).
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The aim of this call is to develop innovative solutions that utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address specific challenges faced by public authorities.
Through the program, participants have the opportunity to receive financial support for the development and testing of a prototype in a real environment, with the aim of subsequently developing it into a marketable product, service, or solution. Participants will retain full Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) generated from the process, along with full ownership of the resulting innovation for future commercial use.
Detailed Call Description
Phase A: Prototype Development
Duration: Up to 9 months
Funding: As stated in the Annex describing each Challenge The purpose of Phase A is to create a functional prototype that demonstrates its technical and commercial viability. The prototype may be based on open data, synthetic data, or virtual data, which will be used to simulate real-world scenarios as described in the challenge.
Phase B: Pilot Installation and Further Development
Duration: Up to 27 months
Funding: As specified in the Annex describing each Challenge.
Phase B involves installing and testing the prototype in a real environment, as well as developing it into a fully functional product, service, or solution. This phase constitutes an iterative development process and requires cooperation with the competent public authority for each Challenge, as well as access to proprietary or sensitive data of the competent public authority. Where required, lawful access, security, and anonymization of data must be ensured in accordance with applicable law and regulatory framework.
Proposals must address one of the Challenges presented in the Annexes to this Call and demonstrate clear innovation that provides a sustainable competitive advantage in addressing the Challenge. This call is an opportunity to develop solutions that meet real public sector needs while also having the potential to penetrate the domestic or international market.
To support the successful implementation of the projects, the relevant public authorities facing these challenges have committed to assigning dedicated personnel who will offer substantial support, allocate sufficient time, and make timely decisions to ensure effective progress and completion. Further details are included in the description of each challenge.
Challenge by Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth
Using Artificial Intelligence Tools to Forecast Labour Market Needs and Trends for better alignment between the Educational System and the Labour Market
The challenge set by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (MESY) is to create a smart and dynamic mechanism for analysing and forecasting the demand of skills, qualifications and occupations using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. The ultimate goal is to support evidence-based decision-making and educational policy-making with the aim at the systematic alignment of the education system with the labour market.
The purpose of the proposed solution is the rapid and automated processing of large volume of data from multiple sources – both within and outside the Ministry – such as administrative data, national and European surveys, job advertisements, online data and other sources – with the aim of generating reliable information and forecasts on labour market needs in terms of skills, qualifications and occupations. Specifically, the solution offered is expected to enable:
- Provision of real-time information on labour market need in terms of skills, qualifications and occupations (real-time labour market intelligence)
- Measurement and monitoring of skills mismatch indicators.
- Forecasting future demand for skills, qualifications and occupations
- Career Pathway Modelling
Deadline Challenge Meteorology 1: 17 October 2025, time 13:00
Deadline Challenge Meteorology 2: 17 October 2025, time 13:00
Deadline Challenge by Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth 3: 31 October 2025, time 13:00
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
15% can be added to the Basic Intensity in the event that the project covers one of the following special provisions (besides Feasibility Studies), if one of the following conditions is met:
- The Project involves effective collaboration between enterprises of which at least one is an SME, or
- between one enterprise and one or more research and knowledge-dissemination organisations, where the latter bear at least 10 % of the eligible costs and have the right to publish their own research results, or
- The Project results are widely disseminated through open source software.
The maximum permissible aid intensity for start-ups is equal to the maximum aid intensity applicable to small enterprises.
The maximum aid intensity for innovation activities is 50% for small and medium-sized enterprises. For large enterprises, innovation activities will be financed on the basis of the de minimis aid regulation.
Enterprises and other private law entities may alternatively use de minimis aid, and the aid intensity may reach up to 100% of the eligible project costs. However, it may not exceed the amount specified in Regulation (EU) 1407/2013 on de minimis aid (which has been replaced by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023)
Challenge Meteorology 1: €1.000.000
Challenge Meteorology 2: €500.000
Challenge by Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth 3: €500.000
Thematic Categories
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Other Thematic Category
- Public Administration
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Central Government
- Educational Institutions
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
- Training Centres
Eligibility For Participation Notes
ELIGIBLE COSTS
Personnel Costs, Costs for Instruments and Equipment, Costs for External Services, Consumables, Other Specific Costs, Overheads.
Please note that dissemination activities are eligible only for entities classified under Category A (“Research Organisations”) and Category C.2 (“Other Public and Broader Public Sector
Organisations”).
Cost for External Services must not exceed 40% of the total project budget for each Phase in accordance with the Project Contract.
In cases of Cost for Instruments and Equipment, three (3) offers from three (3) independent suppliers must be submitted in Annex II.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research & Innovation Foundation
Τelephone: 22 20 50 00
Email: support@research.org.cy