# Budget Justification - ZIM (Central Innovation Programme for SMEs)

**Program**: ZIM (Central Innovation Programme for SMEs)  
**Grant Requested**: €465,000 (60% of €775,000 total project)  
**Maximum with Berlin Bonus**: €542,500 (70% rate)  
**Duration**: 6 months (Months 1-6)  
**Project**: City Resource Graph - Industrial Symbiosis Platform (MVP+ Phase)  
**Date**: November 2025

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## Executive Summary

This budget request for €465,000 covers a 6-month R&D project focused on technical innovation and MVP+ development of the City Resource Graph platform. The grant represents 60% of a €775,000 total project, with €310,000 own contribution (40%). Berlin location eligibility provides potential for +10% bonus (up to 70% = €542,500 grant).

The project demonstrates **high technical risk and innovation** through graph-based resource matching algorithms, spatial-temporal optimization, and automated data ingestion - core R&D components eligible under ZIM.

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## Budget Overview

| Category | Amount (EUR) | Percentage | Justification |
|----------|--------------|------------|---------------|
| **Personnel** | €276,000 | 59.35% | Core R&D team of 11 specialists for 6 months |
| **Infrastructure** | €32,000 | 6.88% | Cloud infrastructure, tools, equipment |
| **Subcontracting** | €45,000 | 9.68% | Legal, accounting, consulting services |
| **Travel** | €25,000 | 5.38% | Partner meetings, customer visits, conferences |
| **Marketing** | €66,000 | 14.19% | Marketing campaigns, sales materials |
| **Other** | €21,000 | 4.52% | Communication, software licenses, co-working |
| **TOTAL PROJECT** | **€465,000** | **100.00%** | **6-month MVP+ R&D project** |

**Grant Request**: €465,000 (60% of €775,000 project)  
**Own Contribution**: €310,000 (40%)

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## Detailed Justification by Category

### 1. Personnel Costs (€276,000 - 59.35%)

**Team Composition**: 11 team members (Year 1 base team) for 6 months

#### Engineering Team (€230,000)
- **Backend Engineers (3)**: €150,000
  - **R&D Component**: Graph-based matching algorithms, Cypher query optimization
  - **Innovation**: Novel graph database approach to resource matching
  - **High Technical Risk**: Algorithm development for multi-resource optimization
  
- **Frontend Engineers (2)**: €100,000
  - **R&D Component**: Map visualization algorithms, real-time data processing
  - **Innovation**: Spatial-temporal visualization of resource flows
  
- **DevOps Engineer (1)**: €50,000
  - **R&D Component**: Event-driven architecture, scalable infrastructure
  - **Innovation**: Microservices orchestration for graph database operations
  
- **Data Engineer (1)**: €50,000
  - **R&D Component**: ETL pipelines, knowledge graph integration
  - **Innovation**: Automated data ingestion from multiple sources (ERP, SCADA, IoT)

#### Leadership & Business Team (€130,000)
- **CTO/Founder (1)**: €60,000
  - Technical leadership, architecture design
  - **Proven Track Record**: EXIST Business Start-up Grant recipient
  
- **BD/Sales Manager (1)**: €50,000
  - Market validation, customer acquisition
  - Essential for commercialization post-R&D

#### Domain Experts (€90,000)
- **Domain Expert - Circular Economy (1)**: €45,000
  - Industrial symbiosis facilitation, regulatory compliance
  - Essential for R&D validation and business alignment
  
- **Domain Expert - Industrial Symbiosis (1)**: €45,000
  - Industrial symbiosis expertise, market validation
  - Critical for domain knowledge in R&D phase

**Personnel R&D Justification**: The team combines technical expertise in exact technologies (Go, Neo4j, PostGIS) with domain knowledge. Personnel costs focus on R&D activities: algorithm development, graph database optimization, automated data ingestion - all demonstrating **high technical risk and innovation** required for ZIM eligibility.

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### 2. Infrastructure & Equipment (€32,000 - 6.88%)

#### Cloud Infrastructure (€10,000)
- **Months 1-3**: €5,000
- **Months 4-6**: €5,000
- AWS/GCP infrastructure for MVP+ development and testing
- Managed Neo4j and PostgreSQL/PostGIS for R&D

**Justification**: Infrastructure supports R&D activities including algorithm testing, graph database experimentation, and scalability validation.

#### Development Tools (€1,500)
- GitHub, IDEs, CI/CD tools
- Essential for R&D team collaboration

#### Monitoring & Security (€1,250)
- Basic monitoring and security tools
- Essential for R&D infrastructure security

#### Third-party Services (€875)
- Stripe (payment processing), Mapbox (map visualization)
- Essential for MVP+ features testing

#### Hardware/Equipment (€5,000)
- Laptops, development equipment (Phase 1)
- Essential for team setup

**Infrastructure Justification**: Infrastructure costs support R&D activities including algorithm development, testing, and validation - essential for technical innovation work.

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### 3. Subcontracting (€45,000 - 9.68%)

#### Legal Services (€25,000)
- Company registration, IP protection
- **Critical for IP Strategy**: Patent filing for graph-based matching algorithms
- Essential for protecting R&D innovations

#### Accounting/Finance (€6,000)
- Financial management, ZIM grant reporting
- Essential for grant compliance

#### Consulting (€14,000)
- Design, technical consulting if needed
- Optional support for R&D activities

**Subcontracting Justification**: Professional services support R&D activities, particularly IP protection for technical innovations developed during the project.

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### 4. Travel & Conferences (€25,000 - 5.38%)

#### Business Travel (€20,000)
- Partner meetings (utilities, municipalities)
- Customer visits and validation
- Essential for market validation during R&D phase

#### Conferences & Events (€5,000)
- Industry conferences (circular economy, industrial symbiosis)
- R&D knowledge sharing and networking

**Travel Justification**: Travel supports market validation and partner engagement during R&D phase - essential for commercialization strategy.

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### 5. Marketing & Sales (€66,000 - 14.19%)

#### Marketing Campaigns (€40,000)
- LinkedIn ads, content marketing
- Essential for customer acquisition and market awareness

#### Sales Materials (€8,000)
- Presentations, case studies, pitch materials
- Essential for sales and partnership development

#### Website & Branding (€18,000)
- Website development, branding materials
- Essential for professional presence

**Marketing Justification**: Marketing and sales activities support commercialization post-R&D, demonstrating clear path to market.

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### 6. Other Costs (€21,000 - 4.52%)

#### Communication & Software Licenses (€3,000)
- Phone, internet, software licenses

#### Office Costs (€6,000)
- Co-working space (if needed)

#### Other Costs (€12,000)
- Miscellaneous R&D expenses

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## R&D Component and Innovation

### High Technical Risk Components

1. **Graph-Based Matching Algorithms**
   - Novel approach to resource matching using Neo4j graph database
   - Algorithm development for multi-resource optimization
   - **Technical Risk**: Unproven approach, requires significant R&D

2. **Spatial-Temporal Optimization**
   - Integration of PostGIS spatial queries with graph matching
   - Real-time optimization of resource flows
   - **Technical Risk**: Complex spatial-temporal algorithms

3. **Automated Data Ingestion**
   - Event-driven architecture for multiple data sources
   - ERP/SCADA/IoT integrations
   - **Technical Risk**: Data quality validation and real-time processing

### Innovation Demonstration

- **Technical Innovation**: Graph-based resource matching is novel approach
- **Market Innovation**: Industrial symbiosis platform is emerging market
- **Process Innovation**: Automated matching reduces facilitator overhead

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## Alignment with ZIM Requirements

### High Technical Risk and Innovation ✅
- Graph-based matching algorithms (novel approach)
- Spatial-temporal optimization (complex algorithms)
- Automated data ingestion (technical complexity)

### R&D Component ✅
- Clear R&D focus: algorithm development, graph database optimization
- Not just commercial activity: significant technical innovation
- Prototype development: MVP+ with R&D components

### Berlin Location ✅
- **Permanent Establishment**: Berlin, Germany (✅ Eligible)
- **Eastern Region Bonus**: +10% possible (up to 70% = €542,500 grant)
- **Berlin Address**: Documented

### SME Classification ✅
- Company size: <250 employees, <€50M turnover (SME)
- Independence: Not controlled by non-SMEs
- Innovation focus: Breakthrough technology

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## Budget Calculation

### Total Project Cost: €775,000
- **Calculated**: €465,000 (grant portion) × 1.67 = €775,000 total project
- **Grant Rate**: 60% of total project
- **Own Contribution**: 40% (€310,000)

### Berlin Bonus Calculation
- **Standard Rate**: 60% = €465,000 grant
- **With Berlin Bonus**: 70% = €542,500 grant (+€77,500)
- **Own Contribution with Bonus**: 30% = €232,500

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## Grant Request Summary

- **Grant Requested**: €465,000 (60% of €775,000 project)
- **Maximum with Berlin Bonus**: €542,500 (70% rate)
- **Own Contribution**: €310,000 (40%)
- **Duration**: 6 months (Months 1-6)
- **R&D Focus**: Technical innovation in graph-based matching algorithms
- **Deliverables**: MVP+ platform with multi-resource support, automated data ingestion

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*This budget demonstrates high technical risk and innovation required for ZIM eligibility, with clear R&D component and commercialization path.*