SMART Path

Calls in SMART Path have no thematic restrictions, as long as the project subject fits within the thematic scope defined under National Smart Specializations.

Grant settlement is the process of confirming to the financing institution that funds were spent in accordance with the agreement. EU grant settlement requires knowledge of regulations on, among others, state aid, public procurement (competitiveness principle) and reporting rules. It includes, among other things: payment requests, documenting and recording expenses, reporting results. Formal errors may lead to the need to return part or all of the funding. Innology has successfully settled over 100 projects and is currently settling projects under SMART Path worth over PLN 130 million.

The maximum project implementation deadline under SMART Path cannot exceed 2030, which means that all expenses eligible for funding can be incurred until 31 December 2030.

The implementation call in SMART Path assumes financing of projects through a conditional grant. This is a mixed instrument consisting of a non-repayable grant and a part of the grant subject to repayment. 

Standard remuneration models are a fixed fee, success fee (percentage of the awarded grant) or a mixed model. At Innology we apply a mixed model in which the success fee constitutes the predominant part of the remuneration. The offer depends on the complexity of the project and the program, the final price is determined individually after an initial project assessment.

EIC Accelerator is a European instrument under Horizon Europe for SMEs at TRL 5–9, offering up to EUR 2.5 million in grant + up to EUR 15 million in equity. SMART Path is a national instrument under FENG at TRL 2–9, offering up to PLN 50–70 million. EIC is more competitive (5–10% success rate), but provides access to the European market.

TRL (Technology Readiness Level) is a scale of 1–9 defining technology maturity. TRL 1–3 = basic research, TRL 4–6 = industrial research, TRL 7–9 = demonstration and implementation. Grant programmes require a specific TRL at the start — e.g. Ścieżka SMART: from TRL 2, EIC Accelerator: from TRL 5.

SMART Path is the largest Polish R&D&I grant instrument, operating under the FENG programme. SMEs, large enterprises and consortia with research organizations (max. 3 members) can apply. The R&D module is key — projects with this module have the highest chances of receiving funding.

• Calls for SMEs applying independently,
• Calls for large enterprises applying independently,
• Calls for consortia comprising SMEs/large enterprises with other SMEs/large enterprises or research institutions.a

Elements of prototypes, pilot and demonstration lines meeting the definition of a fixed asset can be qualified exclusively in category 3.3.3 Depreciation.

• The applicant's own R&D works – conducted before the project (e.g. in earlier SMART or POIR calls) or currently carried out in a separate R&D project
• Purchased from a research institution (university, research institute, research center) – on the basis of a license agreement or rights transfer
• Acquired from another entrepreneur or within a research consortium – on a market basis, under a contract

In the case of the R&D manager and managing manager, there is no possibility of qualifying their remuneration in the form of a civil law contract, the so-called B2B. Both these positions must be mandatorily shown in the project personnel, and not in subcontracting, which means that persons in these positions cannot be employed on B2B contracts. It should be noted here that the costs of the R&D manager and managing manager are not direct project costs but indirect costs settled by the flat-rate method. This means that these costs are not subject to recording and showing their incurrence for the purposes of settlement to funding.

In the consortium call, the research institution is a full-fledged project partner and receives funding up to 100% of its costs, retaining intellectual property rights to the developed results. The company must acquire these rights after the project ends. In the individual call with subcontracting, the company commissions R&D work to the research institution under a subcontracting agreement, finances it (with 40–80% funding) and acquires full IP rights by virtue of this agreement — without the need for subsequent buy-out.

The consortium model is optimal for projects with high research risk — when technical success cannot be predicted with sufficient certainty. In such a scenario, the research institution takes responsibility for its part of the budget and work, which protects the company from incurring the costs of unfruitful research. This applies to projects at early TRL levels (2–4) and deep tech areas.

Available models are: (1) full transfer of property rights at a market price determined by an independent appraiser, (2) exclusive license — the institution retains IP ownership, the company obtains the exclusive right of exploitation, (3) hybrid model: upfront fee plus royalties from commercialization revenue, (4) joint ownership of rights — rarely used, limits the freedom of exclusive exploitation. Buy-out conditions should be agreed in framework form already at the consortium agreement stage, before submitting the application.

Yes, Innology specializes in obtaining grants in the SMART Path program. We provide comprehensive support: from project potential assessment and program selection, through preparation of application documentation, to settlement of the awarded grant and support during the sustainability period. We have secured over PLN 210 million in the SMART Path program. Sample case studies are available here.