The objective of the action “Production of new/improved products, services, and processes in line with the S3 and its regional-level specialization, through strengthening enterprises and their collaboration with research entities” is to support the research development of products and/or services by businesses in the Region of Western Greece in the following ways: i) by creating collaborative schemes between companies and suitable research organizations as part of medium-term R&D consortiums; or ii) through businesses implementing these activities either via contracting with research organizations or their own R&D departments, in the priority areas of Western Greece’s RIS3 as determined through the entrepreneurial discovery process.

The objective of the action “Production of new/improved products, services, and processes in line with the S3 and its regional-level specialization, through strengthening enterprises and their collaboration with research entities” is to support the research development of products and/or services by businesses in the Region of Western Greece in the following ways: i) by creating collaborative schemes between companies and suitable research organizations as part of medium-term R&D consortiums; or ii) through businesses implementing these activities either via contracting with research organizations or their own R&D departments, in the priority areas of Western Greece’s RIS3 as determined through the entrepreneurial discovery process.

Eligible Beneficiaries

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Large enterprises only in collaborative projects that necessarily include at least one SME.
• Research organizations, entities (e.g., universities or research institutes, technology transfer organizations, innovation intermediaries, research collaborators with physical and/or virtual presence), regardless of legal status (public or private) or funding sources, whose primary purpose is independent basic research, industrial research, or experimental development, or widespread dissemination of the results of those activities through teaching, publishing, or knowledge transfer.
• Other entities that qualify as research organizations (subject to conditions).

Eligible Expenditures

Research project costs may include:

Personnel Costs:

permanent or fixed-term staff, or contract workers whose work is clearly defined in relation to the project (researchers, technicians, and other support staff to the extent they are engaged in the project).

Other Costs

calculated with a single flat rate of 40% applied to eligible direct personnel expenses. These expenses relate to research activities and include:

• 1. Depreciation costs for instruments and equipment, in proportion to how long they are used for the project;
  2. Depreciation costs for buildings and land, in proportion to how long they are used for the project;
  3. Contract research, knowledge, and patents acquired or licensed from external sources under fair market conditions;
  4. Additional overhead and operating expenses directly resulting from the project.

Budget Limits

Under this action, research projects may receive funding for budgets ranging from €75,000 to €350,000. Budget limits differ depending on the beneficiary category:

• The budget allocated to research organizations cannot exceed 40% of the total proposed budget.
• The budget allocated to enterprises must be at least 60% of the total proposed budget. In collaborative projects involving multiple enterprises, each must hold at least 15% of the total budget.

Key Participation Criteria

Businesses submitting proposals must:

• Not be classified as “undertakings in difficulty” under Article 2, Paragraph 18 of Regulation (EU) 651/2014.
• Have at least one fully closed (annual) financial year.
• Request a total budget that does not exceed 100% of their highest turnover in one of the three financial years preceding the application year.
  1. Not have incurred any final, binding penalties under Article 39, Para. 1 of Law 4488/2017, specifically for: i) severe or highly severe labor law infractions (three fines/three inspections), or ii) undeclared labor (two fines/two inspections).
• Be registered in the Beneficial Owners Registry (Article 20 of Law 4557/2018) prior to submitting the application.
• Produce research outcomes up to at most TRL 7, starting from at least TRL 4.

Evaluation Method

Funding applications undergo a comparative evaluation process.