Public funding for innovation and investment is plentiful, and it's not always easy to choose the right agencies to finance your projects (see the article " Grants and subsidies: how to identify the right scheme to finance your innovation and investment projects? "to find out more).
However, it's not enough just to identify a counter - that would be almost too simple indeed, project eligibility must be carefully studied. If every specification is different, some general points emergeHowever, there may be exceptions...
So how do you make sure your project is eligible for the identified window? Here's 5 key criteria to consider when deciding whether your project is eligible for the call for projects in question. Follow the guide!
1) Make sure that the nature of the work corresponds to the requirements of the specifications
The nature of the work proposed as part of the project must meet the expectations set out in the specificationswhich is itself subject to the regulations in force. The general rule is that aid to companies should be prohibited or severely restricted; fortunately, aid schemes governed by the European Union have been set up to support companies' innovation and investment projects. These include the most commonly implemented concern innovation, support for SMEs or the ecological transition. For example, expenses eligible for innovation aid must meet the precise definitions of industrial research or experimental development, and relate to personnel costs, investments or depreciation, subcontracting, etc. in varying proportions depending on the call for projects...
2) Control the timing of your work: expenses must not be incurred before the date on which the application is submitted.
The timing of the work is also crucial! Regulations require that the aid must be incentive-based. The first way to verify this is to ensure that no action is taken that would render the start of the project irreversible. This means, for example, that expenses are not incurred before the date the application is submitted.
3) Know your company's financial health
The company's financial health is also an essential prerequisite. From equity and cash flow criteria are generally applied to ensure that the company itself is eligible for the assistance sought. In general, the company must demonstrate that it is able to finance its share of the remaining expenses. This is often referred to as co-financing.
4) Check all the eligibility criteria in the specifications: budget, duration of work, whether or not the project is collaborative, etc.
In addition to the criteria set out above, there are conditions concerning the project budget (maximum and minimum), the duration of work, the collaborative nature (number and type of partners) or not, the earnings maturity expected at the end of the project (often referred to as TRL), the nature and significance of expected impactsand of course the meeting deadlines and some file form submitted.
To make your work easier, we offer you test your eligibility for free calls for projects i-Nov, i-Lab, i-Demo 3France 2030 regionalized (Innovation projects, i-Demo regionalized).
5) Make sure your project has no negative impact on the environment
A condition of environmental impact is now systematically required: the DNSH, or Do Not do Significant Harmrequires that candidate projects have no negative impact on the environment.
In this way, the Careful reading of the specifications for each funding scheme is always essential. to validate eligibility. Specific eligibility criteria may be formulated depending on the call for projects and funding windows.
Article written by
Olivier FALLOU
Expert in public finance
G.A.C. Group is constantly reinforcing its expertise in aid mechanisms and its relations with financial backers, to help you qualify your project and your company for direct aid, in addition to any tax and financial incentives (tax credits CIR, CII, CICO, IP Box, local taxation, CEE...), with a view to building a genuine financing strategy to meet your objectives.
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