Approved by Council Resolution No. 574 of 22 June 2023, the new measure aimed at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the Ligurian region.

The call for proposals, which implements Action 1.1.1 ‘Support for the development of innovation projects in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ of the 2021–2027 ERDF Operational Programme, has as its main objective to support innovation projects for the benefit of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the technological sectors of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) as referred to in Regional Council Decision No. 1321 of 22 December 2022, aimed at strengthening businesses’ capacity for innovation as well as their organisational and strategic capabilities.

The areas identified by S3 are:

1. Marine technologies
2. Health and life sciences
3. Safety and quality of life in the local area

The scheme consists of a grant towards non-repayable grant to the extent of 50% of eligible expenditure, up to a maximum of 150,000 euros.

Projects with a minimum eligible cost of at least 30,000 euros are eligible.

Are allowed, amongst others, the costs of: obtaining, validating and defending patents; the provision of highly qualified staff by a research organisation or the dissemination of knowledge by a large enterprise in the field of research, development and innovation; consultancy and innovation support services linked to technology transfer processes or to the results of industrial research and experimental development; staff on fixed-term or permanent contracts employed in innovation activities and possessing the appropriate qualifications (researchers, technicians and support staff); instruments and equipment, to the extent and for the period that they are used for the project; contract research, expertise and patents, acquired or licensed from external sources on normal market terms; additional overheads and other operating costs, including the costs of materials, supplies and similar products within the scope of the project.

Projects must be completed and reported on within 9 months of the date of receipt of the decision granting the subsidy and, in any event, by 31 July 2024.

The call for applications is with effect from 1 January 2023 to enable initiatives that have already begun – provided they have not yet been completed – to access the subsidy, provided that the invoiced expenses relate to a period after the Unique Project Code (C.U.P.) was issued.

The online procedure will be available in offline mode from 14 July 2023 to 24 July 2023.

Projects may be submitted from 25 July 2023 to 31 July 2023.

The application must be completed exclusively via the “Online calls for applications” system of Filse SpA.

For further information, please visit the official website by the Liguria Region.

To download the text of the call for applications directly, click here.