On May 23rd, two calls under the SMART path were announced. The total budget of both competitions exceeds PLN three billion. These funds will be allocated to: implementation of R&D works, implementation of innovations, development of research infrastructure, improvement of employee competencies, investments in digitization and greening of the enterprise, as well as internationalization.
These calls are held under the European Funds for a Modern Economy Program (FENG); the previous recruitment for the Smart path took place in 2023.
Applications for both competitions will be accepted from June 27th to October 24th. Support for entities from the SME sector will be provided by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). Large companies will receive support under the competition of the National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR).
Support for SMEs
The amount allocated for the competition announced by PARP is as much as PLN two billion, one hundred and twelve million. The competition will be intended for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
The competition will be modular, i.e. enterprises will have the opportunity to obtain support in several areas under one application. It is planned to implement seven modules, of which the project will have to include at least one of the two obligatory modules: R&D Module or Innovation Implementation Module.
Applicants will also be able to decide whether they want to include tasks from other modules in their application (detailed discussion of modules later in the publication).
Support will be provided in the form of grants. The level of funding depends on the type of expense, the size of the enterprise and the location of the project. The expected level of funding ranges from 15% to 80% of eligible costs. The minimum value of eligible costs is also set at PLN 3 million.
The maximum amount of aid that can be granted is PLN fifty million.
Support for large enterprises
The competition for large enterprises will be conducted by the National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR).
Eight hundred and ninety million Polish zlotys were allocated for the implementation of the competition. Support will be provided only to large enterprises.
However, applicants (except for small mid-cap companies) must plan to work with SMEs on the project to receive support.
Unlike the competition for SMEs, here the only obligatory module is the R&D module. The applicant may include activities under the remaining six modules in the project.
The minimum value of eligible costs (for the R&D module) is PLN three million. The maximum amount of support is PLN seventy million. The amount of support obtained depends on the type of public aid granted under the modules.
Detailed information about individual modules is presented in the table below:
|
Module name |
Thematic scope |
|
R&D module |
The purpose of the module is to support research and development work leading to the development of a product or process innovation, at least on a national scale. Support may be granted either for the comprehensive process of conducting research work or for selected parts of it. |
|
Innovation implementation module |
The purpose of implementing the module is to implement the results of research and development work (both resulting from the implementation of the R&D module and others already available to the applicant). The results of R&D work must lead to the creation of product or process innovation, at least at the national level. |
|
R&D infrastructure module |
The module enables co-financing the creation of a research and development center in the territory of the Republic of Poland. The research and development centre must enable the implementation of the research agenda specified in the application, leading to the creation of a product or process innovation. |
|
Digitization module |
The module will support the digital transformation of the enterprise. Implementation of the module must lead to the implementation of a product or process innovation, at least at the enterprise level. |
|
Enterprise greening module |
The module will support the green transformation of enterprises (such as waste management, energy efficiency, emission reduction, etc.) |
|
Competence module |
Completing the module will increase the competences of the company's employees and management staff. |
|
Internationalization module |
The module will support activities related to the foreign promotion of products and obtaining foreign protection of industrial property rights. |
PwC's comment
Research and development projects are extremely important for the competitiveness of enterprises. Constantly changing consumer expectations, pressure from competition, but also, for example, regulatory changes make it necessary to constantly improve products.
Support within the Smart path, thanks to the modular concept, has a unique character. It allows you to solve many challenges faced by entrepreneurs in one application. The possibility of including solutions in the field of digital and green transformation also responds to the real needs of companies.
This is the next recruitment under this action, we already have experience in preparing applications in previous rounds, which allows us to prepare the highest quality applications.
If you have any questions regarding these recruitments or other forms of support, please contact the PwC State Aid Team. We will be happy to advise you on this matter.
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