£2.5bn R&D funding pot targets Yorkshire SMEs
YORKSHIRE SMEs are being urged to apply to access a new European Union funding pot worth £2.5bn.
The money – which became available yesterday – is to be used to aid product development.Individual businesses can apply for up to £2.5m of funding to aid research and development projects.
Support organisation Pera Technology, which is a new product development contractor based in Leicestershire, has held a series of briefing meetings in Brussels and suggests this is an unprecedented level of funding for a project of this kind.
The dedicated SME Instrument is part of the research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 – the EU’s biggest ever research and innovation framework programme with a seven year budget worth nearly €80bn.
As opposed to previous budgets, Horizon 2020 does not require SME businesses to join larger consortiums, the application process has been made more simple and the European Commission will be obliged to provide a response to funding applications within six months of submission.
Paul Tranter, chief executive of Pera Technology, said: “Never before has this level of funding been made available to small and medium sized business for new product development purposes.
“One of the key differences between Horizon 2020, its predecessors and other public funding options is its commercial awareness. SMEs receive all of the money to spend as they see fit with a further 15 days of free coaching paid for directly by the European Commission.
“Only products that demonstrate a clear commercial demand will receive funding, meaning it’s those products closer to market that are likely to be most successful. However, for company’s earlier on in the development process there is additional funding available for initial research purposes.”
