Regional Government to launch Research and Development Vouchers to support small and medium enterprises
The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology announced in Horta that the Regional Government will create, during the first half of 2018, Research and Development Vouchers to support small and medium-sized enterprises. It will help them "acquiring consultancy services in activities related to research and technological development."
According to Gui Menezes, this is one of the measures that "aims to simplify the access to scientific resources and to promote a faster transfer of knowledge" between research centres and the business community.
The Regional Secretary spoke at the Legislative Assembly during a debate on science policy. He added that the Government will create in 2018 a line of funding for research and development centres in business context, including research centres.
This measure is aimed at the acquisition of equipment and the strengthening of internal skills for the production of knowledge that "contributes to the competitiveness of Azorean companies and to business innovation."
The Regional Secretary pointed out that these financial mechanisms represent an investment of 1.3 million Euros, corresponding to an increase of 160% compared to the 2017 budget for investments in innovation, scientific training and implementation of research projects in business context.