Rafforza&Innova Grant: €30,000 Non-Repayable Funding for SMEs Collaborating with Eucentre

Rafforza & Innova Grant Lombardy: €30k R&D Funding with Eucentre

The Lombardy Regional Government has launched the Rafforza&Innova funding call (PR FESR 2021-2027, Action 1.1.2) to foster technology transfer and scientific collaboration between Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and research institutions. The grant provides a fixed, non-repayable contribution of €30,000 per innovation project, based on minimum eligible expenses of €50,000.

With a total financial allocation of €6 million, the call evaluates applications in chronological order until the funds are exhausted. Submit applications via the Lombardy Region’s Bandi e Servizi platform; the call remains open until 3:00 PM on 31 March 2027, unless funds are exhausted earlier.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

This opportunity is tailored for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), including innovative startups and innovative SMEs, that meet the following criteria at the time of submission:

  • Register and active in the Italian Register of Enterprises;
  • Active operational headquarters based in Lombardy;
  • Must collaborate with one to three designated Research Organisations (OdR), which must be identified and named in the application.

Funding Focus: PoC, Prototyping, and MVPs

To be eligible, projects must align with the Lombardy Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3 2021-2027) and incorporate at least one of these critical interventions:

  1. Proof of Concept (PoC): Assessing and verifying the technical feasibility of an innovative idea.
  2. Prototyping: Developing a physical or experimental model for laboratory testing, characterisation, and validation.
  3. Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Building the first functional version of a pilot product to be tested in real-world or operational conditions.

Eligible Costs

The 12-month projects can receive funding for:

  • Research Organisation Services: Advanced scientific consulting, testing, validation, and laboratory usage fees (the primary expense);
  • Materials and Intangible Assets: Raw materials, software, and components used to construct the prototype (capped at 30% of the Research Organisation’s fee);
  • SME Personnel: Factored as a flat-rate 20% of the two categories above;
  • Indirect Costs: Calculated at a flat rate of 7% of all direct project costs.

Why Partner with Eucentre as your Research Organisation?

Finding the right scientific partner is key to securing this grant. Fondazione Eucentre in Pavia, Italy, is an internationally recognised Research Organisation with laboratory facilities accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025standard, making it the perfect partner for Lombardy-based SMEs.

Collaborating with Eucentre allows SMEs to include crucial engineering, structural, and validation work within their “Rafforza&Innova” application, including:

  • Experimental, static, and dynamic testing on full-scale or large-scale components;
  • Advanced shake table testing and seismic qualification for industrial, structural, and non-structural products;
  • Technical feasibility studies (Proof of Concept) and advanced simulation to validate MVP prototypes;
  • Advanced materials characterisation in accredited laboratory conditions.

Eucentre’s scientific consultancy and accredited laboratory use are fully eligible under the grant, enabling SMEs to leverage Lombardy’s €30,000 non-repayable funding to cover critical validation and validation costs.

How to Get Started

Because the application process is evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis, early preparation of the technical proposal is vital.

Before submitting the application, SMEs must coordinate with the Eucentre technical team to outline the test plan, set technical objectives, and determine the exact costs to include in the proposal.