Updated April 24, 2024
In Estonia, the homebred Programme for applied research (Rakendusuuringute programm or The RUP) is the unique hybrid of Eurostars and EIC Accelerator as it enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises, registered in the Estonian business registry, to get access to public funding for their technology readiness level(TRL) 3 – 7 research and development (R&D) projects. Thus, The RUP fully includes the Eurostars and overlaps the earlier stages of EIC Accelerator hence providing the most value to the enterprises.
Here, we provide an analysis of the projects granted by The RUP. Specifically, we plot the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EASi ja KredExi ühendasutus) total commitment to project cost versus company main activity code (according to EMTAK 2008). EMTAK, or Eesti Majanduse Tegevusalade Klassifikaator, stands for Estonian Classification of Economic Activities. Each granted project (shades of grey and black dots) has two coordinates: grant amount provided by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (y-axis) and company main activity code (x-axis). Dots (granted projects) are colored light grey (nickel), dark grey (iron), and black (licorice) designating the projects granted in first, second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds (voorud I, II, III, IV, and V) of The RUP respectively (see the Figure below).
The total amount of support to be provided to SMEs and large enterprises, registered in Estonian business registry, through The RUP is estimated at € 92 730 762,85 for 105 projects (round I: 23; round II: 26; round III: 27; round IV: 14; and round V: 15). Twelve enterprises have two projects granted each, three enterprises have three awarded projects each, and one enterprise has four awarded projects. Thus, all in all, 84 unique enterprises got their projects awarded.
There are three major clusters of The RUP-supported projects. In the first major cluster, the projects are performed by the companies (enterprises) with the main activity in Research and Development (R&D): total amount of support € 33 860 684,17 for 26 projects. In the second major cluster, the projects are run by the companies active in Manufacturing: supported by € 22 030 079,24 for 30 projects. The third major cluster is represented by Programming companies - total amount of support € 9 167 491,50 for 16 projects. Thus, three major project clusters contain 72 projects representing 68.6% of all awarded projects and 70.16% of total granted funding.
Overall, the Figure demonstrates that diverse projects are supported by The RUP spanning the whole EMTAK range. The RUP occupies a truly unique place within the public funding programmes available worldwide.
Last but not least, within this constellation of 105 dots, there is one special dot (representing 2% of total RUP-granted funding) that appeared thanks to the efforts of craftsmen associated with NextGenRnD OÜ. So you might want to give us a call to plan adding some more dots to the plot.
Moreover, we might provide you the details not visible in the graph, such as companies that got the funding, amount and duration of project-specific funding, projects' names, abstracts of projects, as well as analytics. This information can be of value if you are hesitating whether a company like yours has chances of getting the RUP grant. Or you might be thinking about creating a RUP proposal and wondering which topics had been funded in the past. Or you might be an investor seeking for great SMEs – there are at least 84 candidates for now and at least 105 funded ideas with a commitment. Information is available on request.
NEXTGENRND OÜ, crafting unparalleled solutions to R&D challenges since 2018.