Abstract:

The IDEA project (InterDisciplinary Education Agenda, an essential driver for innovation) emerges, handling the Knowledge Triangle: Education-Research-Innovation and promoting the development of industry-academia partnerships. The aim of this paper is to describe one of the aspects tackled in the project, the opportunities in public Funding in R&D projects for the companies. The proposed regulatory framework for Horizon 2020 allows far reaching types of engagement between the Union and the private sector, including Joint Technology Initiatives. These must address the objectives of Horizon 2020, including the integration of research and innovation activities.

Is Horizon 2020 for you? You should consider paying attention to Horizon 2020 if: you are involved in RDI projects and look for ways to finance them (from 50% to 100%), you want to develop your know-how and network with key players in the EU, you are thinking in the long term, you find competition stimulating.

Two strategies:
1) If the objective is to increase your market share,
2) If the objective is to gain new knowledge / skills / technologies

Strategy 1:
Coordination:
a) Project calibration: Estimated budget - internal resources (available to be mobilised); Completion time. Application for public financing or cash flow.
b) Self-assessment of you internal capacity : Experience of previous R&D project(s); Internal R&D staff; Prior experience in applying for funding. Search European or national funding

Strategy 2:
Partner:
a)Development of internal “European engineering” skills: Training on the nature and operation of programmes, study of the thematic Work Programmes: materials, ICT, environment, transport, identify subjects that are close to the business activity, study of the potential contribution of the company to the subject.
b) Search for potential coordinators for the identified topics: dissemination of partner search (e.g. via EEN or NCP networks), discussion with local research organisations, participation in information days held by the EC and / or brokerage events organised by networks (NCP, EEN, …)

Some research findings: The following determinants are found to have significant influence on the firms’ receipt of public R&D funds. The probability of receiving public funds decreases with the firms’ size. It is likely that firms reporting lack of appropriate sources of finance as a hampering factor for innovation activities, more often receive subsidies than other firms. Membership of a group of firms has a negative influence on public R&D support. Since debt is a positive function of profitability, this estimate indicates that successful firms with access to both internal and external financial resources have a greater probability of receiving public financial support. Possession of patents, as a proxy for recurrent R&D activities, and a firms current R&D-stock, have a positive impact on the receipt of R&D support at the 10% level of significance.

This research has been carried out under the project of innovation and educational improvement (PIME/2013/A/016/B) 'RECICRE - Rubrics for the Assessment of Innovation, Creativity and Enterprising Competence’ funded by the Universitat Politècnica de València and the School of Computer Science and IDEA Tempus.

Keywords:

Public Funding, R&D Projects, Innovation.