The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 20th that a total of 206 project teams applied for the inaugural Ecosystem-Innovation Deep Tech Challenge Project (DCP), recording a competition rate of 41 to 1.
The ecosystem-innovation DCP is a program to discover and support large-scale research and development (R&D) projects that can drive changes in the industrial ecosystem. Centered on small and venture businesses, corporations, universities, and research institutes form consortia to participate, and the program provides up to 20 billion won in R&D funding over four years on the condition of at least 3 billion won in upfront investment from private investors.
A total of 1,183 corporations and research institutes took part in this call. By strategic technology field, pharmaceuticals and bio had the most with 52, followed by manufacturing, robotics, and defense with 51, and artificial intelligence (AI) and digital with 37.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to strengthen the fairness and expertise of the review by introducing an "open evaluation" method in the selection process for this program.
First, the expert evaluation panel will be expanded from the existing five to seven members to 12, and will include not only technology experts but also corporate management and investment experts. In addition, a separate civilian jury of about 100 private-sector experts—including employees of technology-innovative small businesses, investors, and humanities and social sciences experts—will be formed to participate in the evaluation process.
The evaluation method will also change from a presentation-centered review to a discussion-centered review. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) decided to introduce an "in-depth discussion evaluation" that conducts sufficient questions and discussions on key issues instead of listening to presentations within a limited time.
The selection procedure will first shortlist about eight project teams through a first-round document review and a second-round in-person review, then support a four-month preliminary research phase, and afterward select about five projects within the year through a final competition.
In the preliminary research phase, support will be provided for establishing detailed research and development plans, verifying the performance of core technologies, and building cooperation systems. For projects finally selected, up to four years of research and development funding totaling 20 billion won will be invested, including the preliminary research period.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to reframe tasks that fall short of ecosystem-innovation requirements but have strong technological and commercial potential as "technology-challenge DCP" and provide support opportunities.
Han Seong-sook, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "The ecosystem-innovation DCP is a program to discover projects that will drive structural changes across industries beyond individual support for corporations," adding, "We will select national flagship projects that the public can identify with."