The South Carolina Research Authority and the Israeli Industry Center for R&D jointly released the initial request for proposals for new or improved products and processes that could be commercialized in global markets.
Proposals must include one South Carolina-based company and one Israeli R&D company.
This is the first RFP resulting from an agreement between the government of the State of South Carolina and the government of the State of Israel, which was signed last month by Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt and Opher Aviran, consul general of Israel to the southeast United States.
South Carolina is the first state to sign such an agreement with Israel. Initiatives to use South Carolina as an important point of entry in U.S. markets have picked up pace in the past year and a half. South Carolina, in turn, benefits Israel’s highly developed research and development business culture.
“We look forward to helping our South Carolina companies grow through this exciting initiative,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney in a statement. “This collaboration will further innovative research and collaboration and will ultimately advance South Carolina’s knowledge economy. We are delighted to be a key player in the process, and we look forward to many positive partnerships and successes.”
Suggested fields for exploration include biomedical sciences, advanced materials, sustainable energy and agriculture systems, defense and health information. Questions relating to this RFP can be directed to Russ Keller. SCRA focuses on applied R&D and early-stage capital investment.
