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ACCIÓ - Agency for Business Competitiveness
ACCIÓ - Agency for Business Competitiveness
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Aid from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

The European Union Cohesion Policy
A way to make Europe

Cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment policy. The Europe 2020 Strategy is the overarching framework. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is a European Union (EU) structural fund that aims to correct regional imbalances and strengthen economic, social, and territorial cohesion.

The ERDF funds seven-year investment programs, in which the European Commission as well as state and regional governments have a shared responsibility. ERDF-funded investments promote a smarter, greener, more connected, more social, and more citizen-friendly Europe. It is in this context that the Generalitat de Catalunya (Regional Government of Catalonia) designs and manages Catalonia’s ERDF operational programs, which must be framed within regional strategies for smart specialization (RIS3). In the case of Catalonia, this strategy is the Strategy for Smart Specialization in Catalonia (RIS3CAT).

The ERDF resources allocated to each of these priorities depend on the region’s category. There are three regional categories: more developed, transition, and less developed regions. Catalonia belongs to the category of the most developed regions. With ERDF funding, the European Union also promotes internal territorial cooperation between regions.

  1. Research, technological development and innovation.
  2. Information and communications technologies (ICT).
  3. Competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
  4. Shift to a low-carbon economy.
  5. Adaptation to climate change and the prevention and management of risks.
  6. Environmental protection and resource efficiency.
  7. Sustainable transport and the elimination of bottlenecks in key network infrastructures.
  8. Employment and support for labour mobility.
  9. Social inclusion and the fight against poverty.
  10. Education, skills and continuous training.
  11. Creation of institutional capacity and efficiency in the public administration.

Scheduling

Which ACCIÓ grants are co-funded by the ERDF?

RIS3CAT communities

RIS3CAT communities are business clusters, players of the R&D and Innovation system, cluster organizations, and business support entities with operational premises in Catalonia, which propose a research and innovation strategy for the economic transformation of productive activities, framed in the leading sectors defined in the RIS3CAT, through an action plan for its implementation.

ERDF co-funding will be a maximum of 50% of eligible expenditure.

Business R&D cores

Projects in the form of local, individual, or collaborative and international Industrial research and experimental development cores, aimed at encouraging industrial research and experimental development activities carried out in Catalonia that involve obtaining new or technologically improved products and processes compared to existing ones.

ERDF co-funding will be a maximum of 50% of eligible expenditure.

ERDF operational program. Open in a new window.

Management

In compliance with Article 125.4c of Regulation (EU) 1303/2013, the following channels for reporting suspected fraud or irregularities in the framework of actions co-funded through the 2014-2020 ERDF Operational Program of Catalonia are provided:

For more information on anti-fraud measures, see the following links:

List of operations on the Single Portal. Open in a new window.
Regulations applicable to ERDF co-funded grants. Open in a new window.

Evaluation

The evaluation of the 2014-2020 ERDF Operational Program of Catalonia is carried out in accordance with the Specific Evaluation Plan of the 2014-2020 ERDF Operational Program. This Plan sets out the criteria and procedures with which the managing authority and the ERDF intermediate bodies must measure the results and the degree of achievement of the programs’ objectives.

Common Evaluation Plan. Open in a new window.
Specific Evaluation Plan. Open in a new window.

Communication

Beneficiaries without a website

ERDF co-funded grants entail an advertising obligation that beneficiary entities must include on their websites. Whenever a private beneficiary entity does not have its own website, it is the managing body that must make this information public:

Good practices

Communication Strategy for the 2014-2020 Operational Program. Open in a new window.
ERDF information and communication manual. Open in a new window.
Download all logos. Open in a new window.

Subsidized projects