Research Funding for SMEs

The European Commission has just published a package of grant funding calls for proposals to develop new products, processes and technologies. The available budget for 2012 is € 239.2 million and applications for projects that will benefit from this fund need to be lodged with the EC before 6th December 2011 for evaluation and awards in early 2012. In this 2012 programme, it is proposed to use € 145 million for the call Research for the Benefit of SMEs and € 49.7 million for the call Research for the Benefit of SME Associations. A further €25million is available to fund demonstration projects.

Pera is currently identifying companies eligible to benefit from this funding. Pera is uniquely qualified to secure EC funding on the SME’s behalf and in the past year alone has helped 150 firms secure public grants of between €1 to 2 million each, many of them in the field of materials and coatings. In this area alone, Pera is acknowledged as Europe’s leading partner for SMEs to access grant funding for innovation. The SMEs retain complete control of the developed Intellectual Property (IP) and the grant is given without requiring the client SME to give up equity, take on loans for repayment or losing control of the valuable IP which is created through the research and development paid for by the grant. When it comes to providing the innovation, the funding and the technical and the commercial expertise, along with project management, contract negotiation and EC compliance control, there is simply no-one better equipped to deliver a step change in your company’s performance than Pera.

For further free information on the EC funding available please contact Isla Sutherland at Pera