Photo Credit: William Murphy via Flickr
Innovation

Israel’s Finance Ministry’s Government Companies Authority and the Israel Innovation Authority this week launched a $3 million industrial pilot program to support tech companies that test and implement innovative technologies within government companies.

The goal of the program is to develop and test technologies and innovative solutions through pilots in relevant government companies, or alternatively, to utilize data or information held by government companies. The pilot program is intended for Israeli technology companies (non-governmental) which will conduct their projects within the government companies. The companies will receive financial support of 20%-50% of their approved R&D expenditure – which can reach up to as much as 60% if projects have the potential to significantly streamline the activities of a given governmental company.

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Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) said: “The program offers one more incentive for government companies to enter the digital age. Together with existing innovation frameworks, this will enable governmental companies to improve performance and offer greater access and better service to the public.”

The CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, Aharon Aharon, said: “Technology companies will be given access to large-scale pilots and government companies will be given an opportunity to upgrade their systems and, as a result, their entire performance through access to some of the most advanced technology in the world.

“We are opening the door for technology companies to conduct experiments they could not otherwise undertake and are creating future opportunities for implementing new forms of innovative regulation for the entire Israeli economy.”

The pilot program will enable companies to make significant advances in product commercialization and to promote market penetration via implementation at the test site. It also offers partial financing to offset the risks involved in R&D, without a stake in future profits or successes. Companies will return their grants to the Israel Innovation Authority via royalties from sales, but only if an initiative has been commercialized.

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