- The funds will go to calls for human resources and research projects
The Council of Ministers today approved the granting of an extraordinary loan of 95.6 million euros for science, technology and innovation. These funds will be used to reinforce the R + D + i calls included in the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016, which is managed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
With these new resources, the Government maintains its commitment to R & D & I, aware of its importance for economic growth. The budgets of the State Secretariat for R & D & I increased by 10% in the items destined for direct aid in 2014 (the first increase since 2009). In addition, the credit supplements that have been granted in these years total a total of 364 million euros. This commitment has allowed Spain to remain these years among the 10 countries with the highest scientific production in the world.
The Secretary of State for R & D & I will improve with this supplement the calls for human resources and research projects to promote, through competitive participation, the execution of research and innovation projects, as well as other activities whose results represent an advance of the knowledge.
These 95.6 million euros contribute to maintaining the level of public financing in R & D & I and increasing the competitiveness of the business fabric of our country. The Secretary of State for R & D & I will soon publish the Annual Action Plan 2015, which includes: (a) training contracts, in their different stages, and support for the incorporation of R & D & I staff in the system; (b) aid to promote mobility; (c) aid for the realization of R & D & I projects distributed, according to their objectives, in the different state subprograms; (d) grants to finance collaborative strategic research programs presented by companies and other public sector R&D institutions; (e) dynamization aid – of different duration and characteristics – intended for users of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System for the achievement of specific strategic objectives linked to the State Plan.
Expense commitment
The Council of Ministers has also authorized the raising of limits for acquiring spending commitments charged to future years, which allows the amount granted for R&D activities to continue in the coming years.
