On May 8, 2018, more than 80 people gathered at the event “Do you know how to finance your project? Keys to the success of your innovative project. #FinancInnBiz”. The meeting, organized by InNorMadrid and the Madrid Science Park Foundation, presented the new public funding opportunities for RDi through various national and regional instruments aimed at entities interested in innovation.
The inauguration was attended by Mariano Fernández, Financial and Organizational Director of the PCM Foundation, Luis Suárez de Lezo, General Secretary of InNorMadrid, José Manuel González, Vice-Rector of Research at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), and Alejandro Arranz, General Director of Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Community of Madrid. The latter highlighted his Directorate’s current commitment to promote technological innovation in the Community of Madrid and the instruments they are working on that will connect with national and European plans and which they will soon make public.
The General Secretary of InNorMadrid, Luis Suárez de Lezo, emphasized the importance of fostering knowledge transfer between academia and industry and the fundamental role played by entities such as InNorMadrid, whose objective is to promote innovation between the UAM-CSIC International Campus of Excellence and the companies in Northern Madrid, through its most important business associations (ASEYACOVI, ACENOMA, AETC, and AICA).
The managing director of InNorMadrid, Isabel García, explained how InNorMadrid works to detect areas of interest in technology transfer between research groups and companies, and the innovation areas of the companies it helps to structure solid projects that generate immediate effects on their bottom line. InNorMadrid works, together with entities such as FUAM and PCM Foundation, to make science, technology, and innovation a key element of competitiveness in Northern Madrid.
The Conference featured three key interventions to learn about the programs and lines of CDTI and the Directorate of Research and Innovation of the Community of Madrid in terms of innovation funding:
- Cecilia Hernández, Head of Department (Health, Bioeconomy, Climate and Natural Resources) of CDTI presented the updates of the CDTI national programs 2017-20. For example, Cooperation Projects are extended up to 4 years; non-reimbursable tranches are added to the direct innovation line and aid is opened to companies to bid for technology centers.
- Vicente Parras, Deputy Director General of Technological Innovation of the DG Research and Innovation (Ministry of Education and Research of the Community of Madrid) explained the funding lines for business innovation projects, such as the “Innovation Voucher for SMEs”, currently also open to high-intensity innovative companies, the support for collaborative projects, and the implementation of innovation nodes and transfer nodes.
- Francisco Fernández, from InNorMadrid’s projects department, highlighted other programs to promote collaborative projects between universities and companies, what key factors to consider for successful applications, and reminded of other aid lines, such as those corresponding to indirect funding of RDI (tax incentives for RDI, among others). InNorMadrid, in addition to informing about the different instruments, accompanies companies to benefit from these fiscal opportunities.
*View the presentations here.
After the presentations and a QA session, the Conference concluded with networking among the attendees who shared ideas for future projects and inquiries about current lines.
