Source: CDTI.
Last December 14 the CDTI presented the final impact assessment report, conducted with a multidisciplinary team of experts from the company Novadays and the Complutense University of Madrid.
The evaluation covers R&D projects supported by CDTI and completed in the period 2015-2018. It has been based on quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques, in accordance with the methodology and plan approved by the European Commission in 2015.
In 2015, in accordance with European state aid regulations, the CDTI designed an evaluation plan for its business R&D aid scheme, which became the first plan of this nature to be approved by the European Commission. This was one of the requirements included in the regulatory change that the Commission introduced in 2014 to streamline the granting of incentives to companies.
Javier Ponce, Director General of the CDTI, opened the session with a clear message: the CDTI is a pioneer in the evaluation of public policies in Spain and there is a strong commitment to continue advancing along this path.
For his part, Daniele Vidoni, representative of the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition, highlighted the quality of the evaluation presented by the CDTI, which has been one of the best evaluated, both for its methodology and for the robustness of its results. He also announced the Commission's satisfaction with the result of this change in the state aid regulations: it shows that the evaluation can and should be considered a tool to improve the management of public aid.
Report results
The main results of the study were presented by the team of evaluators, represented by José Ignacio Cases, president of Novadays and Antonio Linaje, evaluator in charge of the project, and by José Molero, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid.
The results obtained confirm the positive effect of CDTI aid in boosting private investment in R&D, as well as in the creation of qualified employment, with respect to other innovative companies of similar characteristics that have not received CDTI aid. It is also found that the beneficiary companies patent and collaborate with public research centers more frequently. On the other hand, their international networks are strengthened on the basis of cooperation with other companies.
One of the most promising results is that CDTI grants facilitate access to other sources of R&D funding, either by increasing their knowledge of public calls and national and international programs or by improving their reputation in the eyes of private investors.
The evaluation shows, however, that companies continue to face significant barriers in bringing the results of their R&D projects to the market. The commercialization stage is undoubtedly the most sensitive in the innovation process. It involves factors that are difficult for the company to control and, more importantly, difficult to foresee in a medium-term time horizon.
Although this phase is not the object of the R&D&I aid offered by the CDTI, it is a lesson that should be taken into account when it comes to public actions coordinated with other organizations.
Based on these results, Ascensión Barajas, responsible for this evaluation at CDTI, highlighted the main lessons of the report. The CDTI is fulfilling its priority objective: to boost business R&D thanks to the consolidation of companies' internalCapabilities . It is also contributing to the structuring of the national innovation ecosystem, strengthening the links between public and private agents and promoting the presence of innovative Spanish companies abroad.
The messages of the evaluation have been directed, especially, to the political decision-makers, who, as Teresa Riesgo, General Secretary of Innovation and President of the CDTI, stated at the closing of the conference, need to have, now more than ever, truthful and contrasted information to carry out their work in an efficient way. The path initiated by the CDTI with this commitment to evaluation is representative of the initiatives being carried out by the Ministry of Science and Innovation to improve the collection and dissemination of information on public R&D policies.
Teresa Riesgo concluded by highlighting the excellent role played by the CDTI in supporting business R&D&I and its suitability as a key body in this field, in accordance with the Science, Technology and Innovation Act.