Karolina Leszek, Project Manager in the Grants, Development Incentives and State Aid Team at BLSK Legal, was selected to represent the voice of SMART Path applicants at a recent meeting organised by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). The meeting — also attended by representatives of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy (MFiPR) — was devoted to discussing the course and quality of the assessment of applications in the nationwide SMART Path competition, run under the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) programme and aimed at SMEs carrying out research and development projects.
During the meeting, the applicants’ representatives had the opportunity to share their observations on the assessment process and to propose changes aimed at improving the quality of the expert assessment and increasing the success rate of securing funding, which currently stands at around 30%. We are pleased that the institutions’ representatives were open to dialogue and listened carefully to all the suggestions raised. This gives hope that the applicants’ proposals will be taken into account in future rounds of the SMART Path competition, which will translate into even better quality of project assessment and implementation.