JERUSALEM, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a new pilot program this week aimed at promoting technological innovation by testing and implementing innovative technologies in government-owned companies, sources from the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) said Wednesday.
The program, jointly launched by Israel's Government Companies Authority in the Ministry of Finance and the IIA, has obtained an investment of 10 million new shekels (2.8 million U.S. dollars) from Israeli government.
The goal of the program is to develop and test technologies and innovative solutions in relevant government companies, or alternatively, to utilize data or information held by government companies, according to the sources.
"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," said Moshe Kahlon, Israeli Minister of Finance.
The pilot program is intended for Israeli technology companies (non-governmental) to conduct their projects within the government-run companies. The companies will receive financial support of 20-50 percent of their approved R&D expenditure, which can even reach 60 percent if projects have the potential to significantly streamline the activities of a given governmental company.
"Support for the establishment of pilot programs and their implementation in government companies will help develop new and growing innovative systems in areas... where access necessitates cooperation between private tech companies and government infrastructure," said Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen.
He added that "this comes alongside a government decision to inject innovation into governmental companies and invest in new technologies in their core area, and to remove barriers faced by governmental companies when adopting these technologies."
"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," said CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, Aharon Aharon.
"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," he added.
