Innovation vouchers COVID19
About this good practice
Due to the digitalization needs in relation with the COVID 19 situation from most of the companies at Cantabria and specially SMES, the regional government launched a new programme specifically focused on the Technology requests and needs of these companies on order to reinforce its position in the market.
This program called Innovation Vouchers COVID 19 was specifically focused to answer the technology requests and the specific activities of the pandemic situation for most of these companies in relation with the technology suppliers and new channels of communication (media, web, marketing teleworking).
The programme with a budget of 400,000€ was designed and developed by the regional government for SMEs and Micro SMEs.
Some of the actions and activties supported by the programme have been:
Expertise to help create or improve products, services, business models or processes.
Access to specialist expertise in new technologies and software technologies.
Tapping into research and scientific expertise.
Resources needed
The programme has been launched using the own resources of the regional government with an annual budget as follows:
Year 2019: 400,000€
Year 2020: 500,000€
Year 2021: 500,000€.
Year 2022: 500,000€
The regional government has launched one call per year.
Evidence of success
Since the beginning of the action a total of 188 projects have been approved with more than 3 M€ mobilized of total investment by the technology providers and the companies receiving the innovation vouchers, most of them SMEs and micro SMEs.
Potential for learning or transfer
Some of the actions learned in the DEVISE project have been used in order to put into practice the action of the Innovation vouchers. We received further information form the Vouchers Scheme from Enterprise Ireland and the tools that they used during the COVID 19 situation.
At the same time, we have developed the action in a record time, and we can exchange the experience in order to design and to punt into the market the action to other regions. Our experience about designing evaluating and offering solutions to the SMEs can be transferrable.
We have improved the processes and products, which can be implement through the innovation voucher scheme, and we have limited the number of technology suppliers and the actions, which can be developed using these vouchers.