Voucher for innovation consulting through innovation manager. Second window, year 2023

The Voucher supports the technological and digital transformation processes of SMEs through the specialized advice of a qualified Innovation Manager

Terms

Submission of Applications The procedures and timeframes for applying for access to benefits and for requesting the issuance of vouchers were established through a directorial decree dated October 16, 2023.

Applications must be completed between 12:00 noon on October 26, 2023 and 12:00 noon on November 23, 2023.

Enterprises and business networks that have submitted an application will also be able to file for access to the benefits from November 29, 2023.

Purpose

Support for technological and digital transformation processes of SMEs and business networks carried out by Innovation Managers

Type of Facilitation

The facility consists of a contribution in the form of a voucher grantable under de minimis under Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013. The maximum grant that can be awarded is differentiated according to the type of beneficiary:

Micro and small: contribution equal to 50% of costs incurred up to a maximum of 40 thousand euros
Medium-sized enterprises: contribution equal to 30% of costs incurred up to a maximum of 25 thousand euros
Enterprise networks: contribution equal to 50% of costs incurred up to a maximum of 80 thousand euros

Neikos has on its team 5 Innovation Managers accredited to the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and has already implemented several projects funded under the first window (2019).

What is the Voucher

The Innovation Consulting Voucher is an action to support the technological and digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and business networks throughout the country. This initiative, in line with the national “Enterprise 4.0” Plan, consists of the introduction of specialized managerial figures, the innovation managers who will be responsible for implementing the enabling technologies envisioned in the Plan.

These figures will also be responsible for modernizing the business organization, facilitating access to financial markets and capital. The financial amount allocated for this initiative is 75 million euros.

To whom it is addressed

Eligible for benefits under the Innovation Consulting Voucher are companies operating throughout the country that are found to meet the following requirements on the date of application as well as at the time the grant is awarded:

• Qualify as a micro, small or medium enterprise under current regulations;
• not be among the enterprises active in the sectors excluded by Article 1 of EU Regulation No. 1407/2013 of the Commission of December 18, 2013 “De Minimis;
• Have registered office and/or active local unit in the national territory and be registered in the Business Register of the territorially competent Chamber of Commerce;
• not be the recipient of disqualification sanctions under Article 9, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree June 8, 2001, no. 231 and be in good standing with the payment of social security contributions;
• not to be subject to bankruptcy proceedings and not to be in a state of bankruptcy, liquidation, including voluntary liquidation, receivership, arrangement with creditors, or any other equivalent situation under current regulations;
• not having received and subsequently not repaid or deposited in a blocked account aid on which a recovery order is pending, following a previous decision of the European Commission declaring the aid illegal and incompatible with the common market.

Enterprise networks composed of no fewer than three SMEs meeting the described requirements are also eligible for the Voucher, provided that the network contract configures an effective and stable collaboration and is characterized by the elements set out in Article 2(2) of the May 7, 2019 Decree.

Eligible expenses

Expenditures incurred on specialized consulting services rendered by a qualified innovation manager, independent and placed temporarily, under a consulting contract of not less than nine months, in the organizational structure of the enterprise or network.

A qualified and independent innovation manager is defined as a manager on the special list established by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy or indicated, subject to equal personal and professional requirements, by a company registered in the same list and which is independent of the company or network benefiting from the specialized advice.

The consultancy must be aimed at addressing and supporting the processes of innovation, technological and digital transformation of enterprises and networks through the application of one or more of the enabling technologies included in the National Enterprise 4.0 Plan identified from the following:

• Big data and data analytics;
• cloud, fog and quantum computing;
• cyber security;
• Integration of Next Production Revolution (NPR) technologies into business processes, including and with particular regard to production of a traditional nature;
• simulation and cyber-physical systems;
• rapid prototyping;
• visualization systems, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR);
• Human-machine interface;
• Digital integration and development of business processes;
• digital marketing programs, such as transformative and enabling processes for the innovation of all processes of brand and distinctive mark enhancement (so-called “branding”) and business development to markets;
• open innovation programs.

Managerial assignments can also direct and support processes to modernize management and organizational structures, including access to financial and capital markets, through:

• The application of new organizational methods in business practices, business management strategies, and workplace organization, provided they involve a significant process of organizational innovation in the enterprise;
• the initiation of paths aimed at listing on regulated or unregulated markets, participation in the Elite Program, the opening of venture capital to independent investors specializing in private equity or venture capital, and the use of new alternative and digital finance tools such as, but not limited to, equity crowdfunding, invoice financing, and the issuance of minibonds.

Specifications about the content and purpose of the consulting services, as well as their duration and remuneration, must result from a consulting contract signed by the parties after the date of submission of the application for the grant.

Neikos Digital Agency, with operational offices in both Benevento, Campania, and Senigallia, in the province of Ancona, is proud to provide companies with the support of five MIMIT-accredited Innovation Managers. These experts are able to guide companies through the complex stages of innovation projects, enabling them to access advantageous vouchers and funding dedicated to technological transformation.