Enterprises Capacity Building in New Product Development Programme (Cyprus)

According to the most recent data of the Statistical Service, there are more than 1.500 enterprises in Cyprus which employ 30 or more employees. The RIF, through the present Call, aims to encourage enterprises of this size with no prior experience in research and innovation, to engage in relevant activities for the development of new products and services. More specifically, the Enterprises Capacity Building in New Product Development Programme supports beneficiaries to employ certified professionals in New Product Development, which will work full time in the enterprise in order to support it to develop new products and services.

These professionals can be new employees, who will be hired specifically for this purpose, or existing members of staff of the enterprise and should be trained and obtain a certification in New Product Development. The RIF will provide free-of-charge training to the involved staff to be included in the project team.

RIF funding is expected to cover part of the personnel cost of these professionals who will implement research and innovation projects aimed at the development of new products and services.

Objective

• Enterprises Capacity Building in New Product Development Programme aims to support companies with 30 or more employees, to employ specialised staff in New Product Development and to engage in research and development activities aiming at the development of new products and services.

Funding Information

• Total Budget: € 930.000
• Maximum Funding per Project: € 30.000
• The maximum aid intensity is 40% for Small Enterprises, 35% for Medium Enterprises, and 25% for Large Enterprises.
• Duration: Up to 12 Months

Eligible Funding

• Personnel costs, Overheads (20%)
• All beneficiaries that have not previously participated in the RESTART 2026-2020 Programmes, should make use of the simplified cost Method «Standard Scales of Unit Costs» for the calculation of personnel costs.

Project Activities

• The projects must necessarily include Experimental Development activities. They may also include Feasibility Study activities.

Eligibility Criteria

• It is clarified that the participation in the training organized by the RIF is not mandatory. Staff of the beneficiary companies may participate in the training sessions organised by the RIF, free of charge, or they can choose other trainings of their choice, covering the relevant costs. In the case where they will attend other trainings of their choice:
  • The beneficiary should justify the participation of its staff in the trainings of their choice. The trainings should have a duration of at least thirty (30) hours and should be delivered by one provider.
  • Staff should complete the training within three (3) months at the latest, from the start date of the project.
  • Upon completion of their staff training, beneficiaries should submit to the RIF the relevant participation/attendance certificates. If the relevant documentation is not submitted within three (3) months for the projects start date, the projects will be terminated.
• It is recommended that all professionals who will receive training, will take the relevant applicable test in order to receive the NPDP Certification or NPDP Provisional Status by the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA).
• It is also recommended that enterprises that have received funding under this programme include the relevant project costs in their Financial Statements, as research and innovation expenses, in order to secure tax exemptions.
• The minimum budget for a Project should be 75.000 Euro.

Conditions

• The Host Organisation of a project must be a Small, Medium or Large Sized Enterprise (B1, B2, B3) that has at least thirty (30) full-time employees.
• The number of employees should refer to previous fiscal year (N-1) or the year preceding it (N2), where “N” the Call announcement year, i.e. 2023 or 2022, as justified by the audited financial statements, the Statement of Remuneration and Contributions from the electronic Social Insurance Contribution Payment System and the Ergani («Εργάνη») Information System, as well as the Declaration on the Information Relating to the Qualification of an Enterprise as an SME. The verification will be carried out during the Contract Preparation stage.
• In the frame of the present Call for Proposals, each enterprise may receive funding as Host Organisation (HO) for only one Project.
• The participation of Enterprises that have received funding as Host Organisations/Coordinators, in previous projects in the frame of the RESTART 2016-2020 Programmes, excluding «Participation in International Brokerage Events» Programme, or in projects funded by EU’s Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Programmes, is not allowed.
• The Project Coordinator (PC) should be the person who will undertake the Product Owner role in the beneficiary company. The PC should be a full-time employee of the Host Organisation during the project duration. The PC can be a new employee who has a NPDP Certification, or an existing employee in the beneficiary enterprise who should receive training in New Product Development.
• Up to 3 individuals may participate in the Project Team, including the PC. For the additional staff in the Project Team, further to the PC, at least one person should have a NPDP Certification, or should receive training in New Product Development, as is also the case for the PC.
• For projects to be selected for funding, individuals included in the Project Teams, will have the opportunity to participate in training sessions organised by the RIF, in new product development, prior to the projects start. The training costs, estimated at 250 Euro per person, will be covered by the RIF and will be awarded to beneficiaries as indirect state aid, on the basis of the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid. In order for enterprises to be eligible to participate in the training, the de-minimis aid control procedure will be followed.

For more information, visit Research and Innovation Foundation.