The new PIAs, Single Notice for SMEs and Startups, are coming soon. Initial endowment of 55 million euros
Date:
21/12/2023
With a budget of 55 million euros, the new PIAs (Integrated Facilitation Programs) start. They have been active since this afternoon with the publication in the official bulletin of the Puglia Region.
The Notice, supported by the regional program FESR-FSE + 2021-2027, is full of innovations compared to previous editions. In fact, it is a single measure (instead of the two in the previous edition) valid for both medium and small businesses, but this time also open to startups and small innovative businesses. But the most important news certainly concerns the prominent role of research which is a mandatory condition for accessing the notice. In fact, the Integrated Facilitation Program must be made up mainly of Industrial Research and Experimental Development projects which can be integrated with innovation projects, productive investments, training projects, interventions aimed at the digital transition, investments in favor of environmental protection and the acquisition of specialist consultancy. , internationalization programs and participation in trade fairs.
The importance attributed to training is another of the distinctive elements of this edition of the notice, but there is more. In fact, it is possible to hire technical-managerial figures within the company, receiving two years of contributions for this very purpose.
“With this edition of the Pia – explains the Councilor for Development of the Puglia Region Alessandro Delli Noci – we wanted to look far ahead by financing medium and long-term projects in an increasingly articulated and complex market. To achieve this objective, attention to industrial research and experimental development becomes fundamental, becoming the pillar on which everything else is based. Thus we support the competitiveness of current and new production specializations by consolidating technological development with interventions that support process and product innovation and investments in research and development. But there is also another element: with this notice we encourage collaboration between medium-sized and small businesses and innovative startups. Our goal is to create an ecosystem capable of addressing the new challenges of the digital and energy transition. This is also why we encourage training projects but also the return of brains to Puglia, through a targeted contribution to the hiring of qualified profiles and experts in the transition. In this edition of the notice there is great attention to employment aspects, with the facilitation of salary expenses and the obligation to increase employment levels with particular attention to female employment. For all this we have allocated initial resources of 55 million euros supported by the Pr Puglia Fesr-Fse + 2021-2027. The hope is to be able to further implement this allocation also with FSC funds ”.
The benefit provided for in the PIA is the non-repayable contribution. Productive investment programs must have a total amount of eligible expenses and costs of up to 50 million euros for medium-sized enterprises; up to 40 million euros for small businesses and 20 million euros for innovative businesses and innovative startups .
The costs for Industrial Research and Experimental Development could reach up to 30 million euros for the Integrated Facilitation Programme, up to 3 million euros for the innovation of SMEs and up to 5 million for the innovation of processes and organization. 2 million could also be spent on training and 10 million on environmental protection.
In the previous edition, the Pias exceeded, between medium and small businesses, total investments of 1.8 billion euros, of which over 427 million for research, development and innovation. The 344 subsidized initiatives generated new employment for over 2,900 work units.
How the new Pias work
The Integrated Assistance Programs (IAP), unlike what happened in previous programs, become a single notice aimed at both medium and small businesses which can present, individually or with other SMEs , startups and innovative businesses, investment programs for activities of industrial research, experimental development, technological and industrial innovation, digitalisation and energy and environmental transition, development and qualification of skills as well as acquisition of specialist consultancy, internationalization programs and participation in trade fairs. Commercial initiatives that include innovation projects in their investment program are also permitted in this programming.
The measure, active from 21 December 2023, is structural and multi-year, therefore it does not expire but will be open as long as there are resources available.
Applications must be submitted electronically only through the online procedure "Integrated Facilitation Programs", by registering and completing the information provided on the PugliaSemplice platform , available at the link https://pugliasemplice.sistema.puglia.it/ .