Business support: Assistance Vouchers

The City of Prague, in cooperation with the Prague Innovation Institute, launched the business support program Assistance Vouchers. The program aims to support the preparation of both Czech and international projects in the field of research, development and innovation, which will be beneficial for the City of Prague in the long run. In the first phase, CZK 12 million is allocated for the best projects. Every research institution, university, company, enterprise, public administration and self-government, that has a branch in the Czech capital, can apply.

Eligible applicants

The applicant must be a public or private entity that has its registered office or at least a branch with its registered office in Prague (the size of the organization is not important). Only one project plan can be included in one application and a maximum of three applications can be submitted per IČO number (this condition has been included with regard to large companies, enterprises and schools).

What can Assistance Vouchers be used for?

Vouchers have the character of financial aid in the preparation of strategic projects that have a significant impact on the innovation environment of Prague. The funding can help successful applicants succeed in applying for a grant at the national or European level. The obtained financial support should help the selected projects to complete their preparation so that they can further present them to potential investors who would be willing to invest in them and thus ensure the future and implementation.

The project is considered strategic if it:

• contributes to the achievement of one of the strategic goals of the RIS3 strategy of the City of Prague,
• strengthens cooperation between the innovation environment in Prague,
• and has demonstrable benefits/impacts for the private sector in Prague.

The project must contribute to the growth of competitiveness of companies in Prague through the support of innovations, or serve to strengthen the intelligent specialization of selected domains of the Prague region, leading to the creation of new products, technologies, processes (business, management and other) or product properties, which will eventually lead to greater success of companies, increased productivity and growth of turnover of companies.

Characteristics of the support

Applications can be submitted from December 31, 2021, until May 31, 2022. This is an ongoing call, which means that individual applications are evaluated continuously in the order in which they are submitted until the total allocation is exhausted.

The minimum amount of support per project is CZK 100,000 and the maximum is CZK 900,000. The aid intensity is 90% of the eligible expenditure for an applicant who co-finances the remaining 10%.

In order to reimburse the funding, it is necessary to document the processed grant application, which will be submitted to the national or European grant program and meet the conditions of formal correctness and acceptability of the grant program, or in the form of a feasibility study, which will correspond to project readiness for or to implement the project from other financial sources.

How to apply?

The applicant is obliged to consult with the RIS3 developer about their project plan before submitting the grant application (the list of RIS3 developers can be found in the Guide for Applicants – Appendix 8 – in Czech only). The applicant must, with the help of their RIS3 developer, submit the completed Appendix 5 – Projektová Fiše. The RIS3 developer will then hand over this to the RIS3 manager for inspection, who will submit it to the Prague Innovation Council for approval and recommendations for financing.

Further information

If you need help with understanding the rules for applicants, let us know!

For more information you can contact the project manager:

Ing. Pavel Vaněk
vanek@prahainovacni.eu
+421 775 393 001

Prague Innovation Institute websites (Czech only)

The Assistance Vouchers program is administered by the Prague Innovation Institute as part of the three-year Prague Smart Accelerator (PSA) project. Prague Smart Accelerator is a part of the National Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization projects operated by the European Union. The project is funded by European subsidies – OP Research, Development and Education. The Prague Smart Accelerator began in 2020 and will run until the end of 2022.