Advanced innovators are enterprises that have been operating for at least 1 year on the date of submission of the project implementation plan and have had revenues of at least EUR 75 000 and have spent at least EUR 10 000 on R&D in the last 3 financial years. Mature innovators are, respectively, enterprises that have been operating for more than 3 years, have had revenues of at least EUR 300 000 and have spent at least EUR 30 000 on R&D activities.
“These calls aim at encouraging entrepreneurs operating outside the Capital Region and having experience in R&D projects to continue the work they have started, so that the development of innovations is not slowed down by the excessive costs of implementing complex projects. We believe that by developing new high value-added products, properly protecting their intellectual property and carrying out pilot production and market readiness, Lithuanian enterprises will enhance their competitiveness not only in local but also in international value chains,” says Gintarė Kuncaitytė, Head of the Investment Management Department of the Innovation Agency.
The new “InoMaturity” and “InoProgress” calls fund R&D activities, patenting and making products developed during the projects ready for the market.
“Enterprises should consider which call is suitable for their project implementation plan, as they will only be able to submit one plan, and we will evaluate applications based on the applicants’ compliance with the criteria of the selected call. Simply put, those new to R&D should choose the “InoProgress” call, while those with long experience should choose “InoMaturity”. For entrepreneurs more advanced in R&D activities, we have also planned to allocate more funding, taking into account the fact that experience leads to more ambitious, bolder and bigger projects that require greater investment,” says Inga Lukošiūnaitė, Head of the Science and Innovation Projects Division.
The maximum amount of funding available for a project under the EUR 20 million “InoProgress” call is EUR 1.2 million and the minimum is EUR 60 000. In addition, up to EUR 30 000 can be allocated for patenting and up to EUR 80 000 for making the product developed ready for the market.
The EUR 15 million “InoMaturity” call allocates EUR 60 000 to EUR 2 million for project implementation, up to EUR 30 000 for patenting and up to EUR 80 000 for making the product developed ready for the market. In both calls, the activities of patenting and making the product ready for the market are financed on the basis of de minimis aid, which can cover up to 85 per cent of costs.
“The call will allow applicants carrying out R&D projects to finance the cost of materials, depreciation of fixed assets, wages, business trips, rental of equipment and premises. They will also be able to finance the costs for patent agents or taxes incurred during patenting activities, and, when making the developed product ready for the market, they will be able to finance the costs of testing and standardisation of the developed product, preparation of user manuals, design of production capacity and similar activities,” enumerates Ms Lukošiūnaitė.
Alongside the project implementation plan, applicants must submit an R&D business plan and start the implementation of the project activities within 1 month and complete them no later than within 24 months from the date of signature of the contract.
Both calls foresee the possibility to implement project activities with partners. Three types of partners are possible: research and study institutions, SMEs in the case of a large enterprise and SMEs or large enterprises in the case of a SME. SMEs and large enterprises applying together must be independent companies.
The “InoProgress” and “InoMaturity” calls are two more measures of the planned EUR 1 billion plan to boost the Lithuanian economy.
The measure is managed by the Innovation Agency. The deadline for submitting project implementation plans for funding is 13 November 2023 at 5:00 p.m.
Full details on the “InoMaturity” and “InoProgress” measures are available on the website of the Innovation Agency.
