Support for research infrastructures - ERDF Notice No 2/2023

Provision has been made to extend the deadline for submitting funding applications for participation in ERDF Notice No. 2/2023 "Support for research infrastructures" until: 1 p.m. on Monday 16 October 2023.

______________________________

By means of this Notice, amended and supplemented by resolution No. 370 of 21 March 2025, the Autonomous Province of Trento intends to facilitate the implementation of investment projects aimed at developing and strengthening research and innovation capacities and enhancing research infrastructures and poles of specialisation/innovation in the provincial territory.

Eligible Initiatives

This Notice finances research infrastructures within the meaning of paragraph 2.1.1 of Commission Communication C(2022) 7388 final "Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation" and, specifically

• for the purposes of compliance with the provisions of the Communication, projects submitted by research organisations or other public entities carrying out research activities in the provincial territory will be eligible for funding provided that the economic activity, if any, of the research organisation or research infrastructure (in the case of other public entities) absorbs exactly the same factors of production (such as materials, equipment, labour and fixed capital) as the non-economic activities and the capacity allocated each year to such economic activities does not exceed 20% of the relevant overall annual capacity of the entity (research organisation or research infrastructure)
• if the research organisation or research infrastructure carries out both economic and non-economic activities, it must be ensured that the funding, costs and revenues of each type of activity are accounted for separately, including through the annual financial statements, on the basis of consistently applied and objectively justifiable accounting principles.

The projects submitted must concern the development and/or upgrading (implementation of the infrastructure with the equipment necessary for the purposes of the infrastructure or integration of the existing infrastructure with new equipment for new functions and possible networking) or the maintenance of state-of-the-art facilities (modernisation, updating of equipment also in terms of adaptation to more advanced technological standards with respect to the current state) of research infrastructures of regional interest, as set out in the PNIR list with reference to the Autonomous Province of Trento(Annex 1 to the Notice).

In order to be eligible for funding under this Notice, the proposed investment must be consistent with the aims of the Smart Specialisation Strategy of the Autonomous Province of Trento (approved by decision of the Provincial Council no. 2297 dated 23 December 2021) which identifies 4 priority areas for development

1. Sustainability, Mountains and Energy Resources
2. ICT and Digital Transformation
3. Health, Food and Lifestyle Area
4. Intelligent Industry Area

Contribution measure

The total cost of the project submitted under this Notice shall not be less than € 1,000,000.00; however, the total funding shall not exceed € 6,000,000.00 per individual project, taking into account the provisions of point 5 of the Notice.

Funding under this Notice covers 100% of eligible costs.

The following may participate in this notice

• Research organisations as defined in Communication C(2022) 7388 final of the European Commission that carry out research activities on the provincial territory;

• Other public entities carrying out research activities on the provincial territory.

Access Requirements

Each applicant must meet the following eligibility criterion at the deadline for submitting applications: have their registered office or local unit for which the investment is intended in the province, or meet this criterion at the date of the first grant payment.

Evaluation criteria

Grant applications will be assessed by means of an assessment procedure under the responsibility of the Industry, Research and Mining Service.

Applications submitted are assessed according to: general eligibility criteria; specific eligibility criteria; evaluation criteria; award criteria.

The application may be submitted by the legal representative or his/her delegate

The application may be submitted from:

• from 9 a.m. on Thursday 03 August 2023
• to 1 p.m. on Monday 16 October 2023.

To apply for the contribution, the company must submit an application via an IT platform.

For submission, it is necessary to be in possession of the Public Digital Identity System (SPID).

PLATFORM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Any technical problems related to the use of the platform should be reported to: assistenzafesrtn@performer.it
In the email please specify your name, company tax code, telephone number and application ID (if available).
Technical assistance is available from Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (excluding public holidays).

__________________________________________

LINK TO ACCESS THE ONLINE APPLICATION:

The following manually completed forms must also be uploaded to the system and reloaded in the online application procedure

1. the time schedule (indicating the breakdown of expenses by year)
2. the business plan (only in case of development/enhancement of research infrastructure)
3. any delegation for completing, signing and sending the application form electronically

The grant application forms and the project fiche are published for viewing only as they must be completed electronically,

The Industry, Research and Mining Service is responsible for the assessment of the applications relating to this notice.

The ranking lists are approved by order of the Director of the Industry, Research and Mining Service within 60 days from the deadline for submitting applications.

Projects are financed by order of the Director of the Industry, Research and Mining Service within 20 days from the approval of the rankings.

The e-mail address for any information concerning the contents of the Notice is: bandi.assistenza@provincia.tn.it