Research community
Professional familiarity, exposure to infrastructure and relationships between institutions can give rise to new questions and directions.
Operating model
How FourWard forms a joint research group
FourWard operates a structured professional process that begins with a defined challenge or need. It first examines the purpose of the initiative, the professional context, the research question and implementation conditions. The company then draws on an ongoing mapping of researchers, areas of expertise, laboratories and infrastructure across the four institutions, and forms the professional composition best suited to the research group. The process makes it possible to involve companies, public bodies and other partners at an early stage and build a shared foundation for the research direction, work plan and path forward.
A structured professional process
From a defined challenge to the most suitable research group
The process is built around a challenge that calls for complementary capabilities across the four institutions. FourWard defines the challenge with the relevant parties, examines the research question and implementation conditions, and draws on an ongoing mapping of expertise, researchers, laboratories and infrastructure. Together with the research and commercialisation teams in each institution, it forms the most suitable research group. Where needed, the process also involves companies, public bodies and funding sources from the planning stage.
Where challenges come from
Three sources, one operating path
Strategic partnerships
Ongoing dialogue with companies, representative bodies and partners helps identify needs shared by an industry, sector or professional community.
Initiatives from the district and industry
Direct enquiries, central themes and initiatives from anchor institutions and district partners can become an Alliance challenge.
Open call
Submit a research idea Submit by October 15, 2026 Research ideas and industry challenges in Bio-Convergence
Researchers from the four institutions are invited to propose applied research ideas. Industry representatives are invited to submit professional challenges that require researchers and capabilities from multiple fields.
Choose a challenge and path forward
Assess the challenge’s broad value and its fit for cross-institutional research and a potential funding route.
Invite relevant capabilities
Invite researchers and laboratories to present a research direction, expertise, infrastructure or capability that can contribute to a response.
Alliance meeting
A facilitated working session to present capabilities, consider possible connections and form directions around the challenge.
Form a research group
Assemble a cross-institutional team according to the challenge and the complementary capabilities the task requires.
Proposal and research
Advance the proposal through the suitable funding route and continue to research delivery once funding is secured.
The first field of activity
Bio-Convergence
Bio-Convergence brings together life sciences and medicine with engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, materials and other technologies. This combination makes it possible to address questions that cannot be solved within a single discipline and to develop new directions in health, agriculture, energy and materials.
The field is particularly suited to FourWard: institutions with different strengths in medicine, life sciences, engineering and computing working through a single shared point of access.
From national policy to action in the district
The work connects national policy with the district’s strategic focus
National framework
Government Decision 173
In its decision of 24 February 2023, the Government approved the TELEM framework for accelerating Bio-Convergence. It includes research and development infrastructure developed with industry, applied research combining natural sciences and engineering, and multidisciplinary human capital.
Read the government decisionThe district’s focus
A core field in the strategic plan
The strategic plan for the Jerusalem Innovation District identifies Biomedical-Convergence as the district’s first core field. The designation appears on page 17, according to the page number printed in the document.
Strategic Plan for the Jerusalem Innovation District, May 2024, p. 17Implementation by FourWard
Connecting capabilities into research groups
FourWard connects the national direction with the district’s strategic plan and has selected Bio-Convergence as the first field around which it will form joint research groups. These groups will bring together researchers and capabilities from several institutions around defined challenges within the field.