Small and medium-sized innovation

EU funding for Polish small and medium-sized enterprises has been money well spent, according to the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). The agency last week issued its assessment of the use of EU funds for SMEs during the 2004-2006 period.

PARP focused on two EU-funded programs: the Sectoral Operational Programme "Improvement of the Competitiveness of Enterprises, years 2004-2006" (SPO WKP) and the Sectoral Operational Programme "Human Resources Development" (SPO RZL).

Over 90 percent of the companies that took part in the SPO WKP program said that their development had been boosted, according to PARP research. In turn, about 87 percent reported an increase in their competitiveness.

The call for applications from SMEs seeking EU funds was announced in September 2004. PARP launched 11 initiatives between 2004 and 2006 within the framework of the SPO WKP and SPO RZL programs, the latter of which offers training and education opportunities. These initiatives were funded by the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund.

The total value of the contracts from the two programs reached over zł.4.4 billion, amounting to 116 percent of the original budget.

PARP representatives said that the tangible effects of the programs were numerous. Employment among SMEs that took part rose by 13 percent, averaging 11.1 new workplaces per company. Over 180,000 employees were sent for training and postgraduate studies.

The EU-backed companies also saw average revenues grow by 23 percent and average export sales increase by 24 percent.

The companies that took part in the program implemented an average of 1.4 projects involving "innovative products" and 1.6 projects involving "innovative processes" projects since the end of 2006. A total of 4,394 projects incorporating innovative technologies or ideas have been launched since then.