4th COVID-19 Update

Date
April 19, 2020

Elzaburu, COVID-19 Statement

Royal Decree 463/2020, published on March 14, which declares a state of emergency in our country, establishes, among other measures, the suspension of administrative deadlines, as well as expiration and statute of limitations periods, for the duration of the state of emergency.

The implications of this suspension of deadlines therefore affect procedures for awarding grants or subsidies, and vary depending on the specific grant program in question and the type of agency administering it. In this note, we have outlined how some of these grant programs are affected.

Calls for Proposals Administered by the State Research Agency (AEI)

The AEI has suspended the terms and halted the administrative deadlines for grant award procedures (both those already underway and those that may be initiated during the term of the Royal Decree), which will resume once the Royal Decree or, where applicable, any extensions thereof, have expired.

Among the affected deadlines, the notice refers to:

· The application periods for the scientific, technical, and economic justification of grants that are currently open—and whose deadlines fall before May 11—will be extended until that date;

· the deadlines for correcting deficiencies, filing statements, and filing appeals arising from any process in the grant cycle;

· the deadlines for requesting a modification of the award decision; and

· the statute of limitations and expiration dates for aid.

These measures will not prevent beneficiaries or applicants from continuing to submit corrections, statements, and appeals to the AEI, since the submission windows will remain open during the period in which the Royal Decree is in effect or, where applicable, during any extensions thereof.

The implementation period for the current aid programs will not be affected by this situation.

In addition, measures have been taken to provide hiring assistance for employees whose contracts expire within one year of the Royal Decree’s entry into force.

The affected calls for applications can be viewed on the AEI website. In addition, the AEI has published a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document that it updates periodically, providing additional information.

Calls for proposals administered by the Center for Industrial Technical Development (CDTI)

Since March 16, the CDTI has been publishing on its website the decisions it has adopted regarding the deadlines that affect its calls for proposals and grant procedures.

In general terms, the CDTI has adopted the following measures:

· Waiver of guarantees for all projects approved from March 14, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

· Streamlining procedures by conducting ongoing project evaluations and implementing an online format to accelerate the process of approving and awarding grants, rather than holding a single Board of Directors meeting per month, as has been the practice until now.

The CDTI has expressly stated that the suspension of deadlines will not affect the CDTI's partially repayable grants (since they are governed by private law).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we recommend checking the CDTI website for any changes related to each program in its specific section.

The CDTI has also published a Q&A section on its website with additional information.

Measures adopted as part of calls for proposals under other programs designed to provide funding for innovation projects

In addition to those mentioned above, here are some of the programs that have undergone changes as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. We recommend checking them, as most of them have suspended or extended their application deadlines, or modified the terms of the call for applications:

· The General Secretariat for Industry and SMEs (SGIPYME), among other measures, is streamlining the processing of loans and grants awarded to industrial research, development, and innovation projects in the manufacturing sector in 2019 (R&D&I) and the call for applications for financial support for industrial investment within the framework of the public policy for reindustrialization and strengthening industrial competitiveness in 2019 (REINDUS).

· The general measures approved by the government do not affect ENISA's funding, although recipients of participatory loans may request a renegotiation of their loans.

· The registration period for the María Guzmán Call for Grants to Promote Excellence in Scientific Research has been suspended for the duration of the state of emergency.

· Red.es, as part of the Acelera PYME program, is launching a call for proposals to develop solutions in artificial intelligence and new enabling technologies, with a total budget of 35 million euros.

· In addition, at the European level, the deadlines for submitting projects in response tothe Horizon 2020 program’s calls for proposalshave been postponed by two months.

Finally, both the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have taken measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis. In this regard, we recommend that you take note of the resolutions adopted by both agencies, which are published on our website.

We hope you found this information useful. Finally, we’d like to note that Elzaburu provides consulting services to tech startups and spin-offs, as well as to companies that are part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general. That’s why we stay up to date on developments that may impact innovative projects, and we’d be happy to provide more information on this topic.

Warm regards,

The ELZABURU Team

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