The Culture-Inria convention is a funding mechanism for research and development (R&D) in digital sciences applied to culture, proposed to the institutional ecosystem of the Ministry of Culture.
Presentation of the device
What is the Culture-Inria convention?
The Ministry of Culture has entered into a partnership with theInstitut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique (Inria), in order to stimulate R&D between cultural institutions and the world of research in digital sciences.
With a staff of some 2,000 researchers divided into 170 teams, Inria is the only public institution entirely devoted to digital sciences, covering the whole field: algorithms, artificial intelligence, human-machine interaction, semantic web, etc.
This partnership takes the form of a framework agreement which makes it possible to accelerate and simplify the setting up of R&D projects between the Ministry and its network of institutions under supervision on the one hand, and the Research Institute on the other.
Objectives of the approach
The main objectives of this cooperation are:
- form an interface between the world of cultural actors and that of researchers in the digital sciences and thus foster interdisciplinarity
- help cultural actors to take ownership of the culture of innovation and facilitate the removal of technological barriers in all areas of digital technology
- promote the technology transfer of Inria’s research teams to cultural actors and pool national R&D efforts, know-how and resources
The approach
He is possible to submit an R&D project throughout the year. The schedule is established on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the project.
As examples, here are some technological areas addressed in the framework of this device: Semantic Web (ontologies, alignment and reconciliation of data...), 3D (digitization, modeling...), Virtual/augmented/mixed reality, machine learning and deep learning, etc.
Am I concerned by this approach?
- Public institutions/ State services
- Research organisations
The Culture-Inria convention concerns:
- Services of the Ministry of Culture: central administration, DRAC and services with national competence (SCN)
- public institutions (PE) under trusteeship
- the following organizations:
- ARTE
- National Circus Arts Centre
- IRCAM
- France Médias Monde
- France Télévisions
- Radio France
- Palais de Tokyo Simplified Joint Stock Company
- Simplified Corporation Pass Culture
Projects must be research or innovation, including:
- to remove a technological barrier identified in the field of cultural and linguistic applications
- and/or test new concepts or uses that have both an impact in the cultural sector and an interest in digital sciences
They must also be of one or more of the following types:
- Production of a state of the art
- Technology transfer (from an Inria research team to a cultural actor)
- Specific computer development (prototype interface, creation of algorithms, etc.)
- Exploitation and dissemination of research results
For the sake of progressivity, a project may be the subject of a preliminary phase, then a further phaseEach phase is subsidized.
Proceeding
Two project formats are proposed, depending on their complexity. The grant amount is as follows:
Preliminary or short project, a priori feasible in 6 months (example: state of the art)
- The fixed work unit is €18,000, to be paid to Inria.
- The subsidy by the Ministry of Culture may not exceed €14,400, or at least €3,600 for the cultural structure supporting the project.
In-depth or long project, a priori feasible in 12 months (example: prototype development)
- The fixed work unit is €77,000, to be paid to Inria.
- The subsidy by the Ministry of Culture may not exceed €61,600, or at least €15,400 at the expense of the cultural structure supporting the project.
The grant does not directly finance the cultural structure supporting the project, but covers a significant part (up to 80%) of the lump sum amount awarded to the Inria team for the project.
The descriptive sheet of the project, developed by the applicant cultural structure (see "How to file a file?" below), is examined by a group of experts from the Ministry of Culture and Inria.
This stage of preselection ensures that the project is eligible and pre-assessed according to the following criteria:
- interest in uses, trades and cultural heritage
- interest in advancing digital science and technology
- reusability of project results by actors other than project sponsors
- pooling of resources between project promoters
- interdisciplinarity of the project
- consideration of transfer, hosting, maintenance and sustainability constraints
- anticipation of the phase of deployment of innovations within cultural institutions
The Culture-Inria system is an open window: applications are submitted throughout the year.
A notification that the application has been processed shall be sent no later than the week following the submission of the project description sheet.
The first step in the process is the submission of the project description sheet.
- To download the form of the descriptive sheet, click on the button "Access the form (descriptive sheet)".
- Fill out the form and send it by email to: mcc-inria@culture.gouv.fr.
If the project is pre-selected, the Inria team concerned, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, contacts the applicant cultural structure.
A second stage is then opened for the elaboration of a research convention. The drafting of the convention is based on close collaboration between the three parties: cultural actor, Inria team and Ministry of Culture. It makes it possible to refine and consolidate, by mutual agreement, the description of the project, the contribution of the teams concerned, the methodology and the provisional timetable. The duration of this stage depends on both the complexity of the project and the availability of the parties.
NB: In the Culture-Inria framework agreement, the implementation of a project is not a service, but a scientific collaboration, formalized by a research agreement. One of the essential conditions for setting up a convention is that an Inria team be interested in the proposed research topic.
A question?
If you have any questions about the Culture-Inria Convention, please contact:
Digital Service
Digital Department for Cultural Policy Transformation and Data Administration
mcc-inria@culture.gouv.fr