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Based on the findings, the minister has decided to abolish the IPC scheme. The MIT scheme, which is important for small and medium-sized enterprises, is currently extended for only 1 year instead of the usual 5 years, as a joint initiative between the central government and the regions. The minister stated the following: “Given the critical evaluation, I want to give a future cabinet the opportunity to review the MIT scheme or provide a potential alternative approach to meet the goal of stimulating innovation within SMEs.” Two scenarios and several recommendations have been outlined in the report.
The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Innovation Stimulation Top Sectors Programme (MIT scheme) has been promoting innovation among SMEs since 2013. The scheme consists of five sub-instruments, with the two main ones in terms of available grant budget - feasibility studies and R&D collaboration projects - being financed since 2015 in collaboration with the provinces, with a regional application process. Other sub-instruments include knowledge vouchers and two sub-instruments for the Top Consortia for Knowledge and Innovation (TKI), namely budgets per TKI for innovation brokers and networking activities.
The goal of the Innovation Performance Contracts (IPC scheme) is to enhance the innovation capacity of SMEs through increased collaboration and the utilization of external knowledge. For this purpose, under the direction of a lead partner, a group of ten to twenty SMEs can receive subsidies to work on an overarching innovation plan and their individual innovation plans within it.
Both reports and the accompanying letter from the minister to the Second Chamber can be found here.