Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme | 6
» Where the infrastructure has a residual value and is to continue in use for economic activity, it may be sold at market rate, as an undertaking to a public authority, or other entity, carrying out an economic activity. Proceeds of the sale must be returned to Enterprise Ireland. » If the infrastructure has a residual value, the infrastructure may be transferred to a public authority where the facility is to be used for a non-economic activity at the end of the useful lifetime (min.15 years) of the infrastructure. Stream Two will support significant Innovation Clusters/Consortia with grants of €50k up to €2m per project. The applicant must be a Not-for-Profit DAC or a Not-for-Profit CLG. Up to 50% grant aid will be available for eligible programme support costs and relevant salary costs over the 3-year funding period. Stream Three will support Services to SMEs to drive Innovative Solutions , with grants of €200k up to €1m per eligible project. This Stream will support the eligible Not-for-Profit DACs or Not-for-Profit CLGs. This funding will support programmatic costs over a minimum two-year / maximum three-year period under De Minimis Pass Through. The support will offer funding for delivery of a wide range of services to businesses, particularly to SMEs, to help them drive innovative solutions and enhance their competitiveness. The services provided must be valued at market rates and the amount of support must be recorded against the De Minimis aid balance of the supported company. The grant rate will be up to 100% of eligible programme costs, capped at a maximum of 80% of the programmes market value. The support is designed to be strategic in supporting the transformation of Regional SMEs operating in an ecosystem that requires support. The services to be provided by Not-for-Profit DAC’s / Not-for-Profit CLG’s will be made accessible to eligible Regional SMEs by way of De Minimis Pass Through aid, meaning these SMEs will be able to benefit from these services at reduced rates, while other businesses who do not have a De Minimis balance will have to pay the higher market rates. The amount of that reduction will be recorded as De Minimis aid for the applicant SME. Stream Four will support the investigation of new projects through Feasibility Study Funding for early-stage project concepts (with grants from €25k up to €50k) or through Priming Funding to support detailed preparation of more advanced projects (with grants from €50k up to €200k). Up to 80% grant will be offered towards eligible costs under this stream. Projects shall be administered in accordance with the EU Commission State Aid De Minimis Regulation 1407/2013. 2.1 Profile of Applicants ώ Eligible applicants for Streams One, Two, Three and Four must be registered as a Not-for- Profit (DAC) or a Not-for-Profit Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) under the Companies Act 2014 prior to submission of their applications. ώ Applicants for Stream Four (Feasibility) must either be a Not-for-Profit DAC or Not-for-Profit CLG as defined above, or be a public body, such as Local Authority, Institute of Technology/ HEI (for Priming Grant), that is involved in a collaborative proposal with enterprise and other local and regional stakeholders. Please note where a project is led by a public body, the submitted project must be additional to the public body’s existing work programme.
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