The concentration of public research, development and innovation (R & D + i) resources in strategic areas or objectives is a concern shared by several states in our environment. In these States the focus has been implemented through a specific budget fund that is nourished by budgetary increases. In this way, on the one hand, existing programmes are still under way and, on the other, a gradual focus is achieved, allocating a substantial part of the increases to strategic areas and policies. In addition, in the most developed countries, the improvement of incentives and instruments for public-private partnership has become the main objective of innovation policy. However, as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) points out, in Spain this is one of the facets of scientific and technological policy that needs a boost. Up to now in Spain, the main initiatives to finance public-private cooperation in R & D & I, the concerted projects and, more recently, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) consortia, have addressed the financing of specific R & D projects of short duration (2-3 years) with collaboration between companies and public institutions and with funding based largely on credits. These characteristics have been conducive to low commercial risk and limited private resources. The recent OECD report on science and technology policy in Spain highlights three issues: a) One of the main challenges of the national system is to develop public-private cooperation, b) The capacity of the current instruments to improve cooperation is limited, and c) The Spanish innovation system has achieved sophistication sufficient to enable them to address initiatives that stimulate physical or virtual collaborative research organizations, with management autonomy to develop lines of research in areas of strategic importance for the Spanish economy. From the above it follows the desirability of developing more long-lasting and ambitious public-private partnerships that address long-term thematic lines of research, with greater commercial risk and greater size. All this with a significant contribution of private resources and, in line with the greatest commercial risk, a substantial weight of subsidies in the face of credits in public aid. In the field of support for R & D + i the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) has a long history and experience in the management of own financial aid and in the promotion of access to third-party financing, for the implementation of research, development and innovation projects, both national and international. Its functions, which are governed by Article 3 of its Regulation, adopted by Royal Decree 1406/1986 of 6 June 1986, are to promote collaboration between industry and research and development institutions and bodies. "("), as well as the "development of a programme for the management of support for technological innovation" (paragraph 7.). These powers of promotion and support legitimise the CDTI to grant aid or grants, which is the expression of one of the forms of administrative action which is the promotion activity. In this line, it is planned that, in the General Budget of the State for the year 2006 and following, the corresponding budget item in favour of the CDTI for financing the CENIT programme, which is intended to finance certain strategic actions, focused on stimulating the stable public-private partnership in innovation. It is considered that the CDTI is the appropriate public body for the management of this new type of aid, which is expected to be awarded in the form of grants and, under the name of the CENIT programme, to finance large integrated projects. industrial research of a strategic nature, a great dimension and a long scientific-technical scope, oriented to a planned research in technological areas of the future and with potential international projection, the object of which is the generation of new knowledge which can be useful for the creation of new products, processes or services or for the integration of technologies of strategic interest, thus contributing to a better technological positioning of the Spanish productive fabric. This definition derives from the need for its implementation with numerous material and human resources from various scientific and technical disciplines both in the public and private sectors. These technological areas have been selected on the basis of the scientific capacity existing in Spain and the importance of this technology for our economy, corresponding, to a large extent, with the priorities that have marked the the implementation of R & D & I projects in recent years and with the priority areas of the next European Framework Programme. In compliance with Article 17 (1) of Law 38/2003 of 17 November, General of Grants, the mandatory report of the Legal Services and the corresponding Delegated Intervention has been evacuated. In its virtue, I have:

First. Article 1. The purpose of this order is to establish the regulatory basis for grants to finance stable public-private cooperation in research, development and innovation (R & D & I), in areas of strategic importance for the economy, by the creation of national strategic research consortia (CENIT Programme).

2. As a general rule, they are the targets for actions likely to benefit from grants, the bases of which are approved by this order, the following:

a) Extend and optimize the joint use, by companies, Public Research Bodies (OPIs) and Innovation and Technology Centres (CITs), of the public and private infrastructures of research existing in Spain.

b) To promote more efficient access of the participating consortia to the international cooperation programmes in scientific research and technological development, and in particular to the Community Framework Programme for R & D. (c) To encourage the implementation of major strategic industrial research projects that will increase the scientific and technological capacity of companies and national research groups. (d) to extend the culture of cooperation in research and technological development among all the agents of the science-technology-enterprise system. (e) Mobilise greater participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in large-scale industrial research projects. (f) Encourage the implementation of concurrent activities of multi-disciplinary industrial research directed towards a common objective through strategies of complementarity and synergy.

3. The specific objectives of the CENIT Programme shall be set out in the thematic priorities of the National R & D & I Plan for each of the areas identified as priorities in the following paragraph.

Second. Eligible activities and thematic areas.

1. The grants under this order will be directed towards the financing of large integrated industrial research projects of a strategic nature, a great dimension and a long scientific-technical scope. Such projects should be geared towards a planned research in future technological areas and aim at generating new knowledge which could be useful for the creation of new products, processes or services or for the integration of technologies of strategic interest, thus contributing to a better technological positioning of the Spanish productive fabric.

For the purposes of this order, industrial research means the planned research or critical studies whose object is the acquisition of new knowledge that can be useful for the creation of new ones. products, processes or services or contribute to significantly improve existing products, processes or services. 2. Regardless of the possible approval of proposals of particular interest in other areas, the following thematic areas will be priorities:

a) Biomedicine and Health Sciences (including Biotechnology).

b) Food Technologies (including Biotechnology). (c) Information and Communication Technologies. (d) Production and Design Technologies. (e) Environment, Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy. f) New materials and Nanotechnology. (g) Sustainable mobility (automotive, rail) and aerospace. (h) Security.

Third. Requirements of the beneficiaries.

1. Any grouping of public or private legal persons may be the beneficiary of the grants provided for in this Order in accordance with the terms laid down in Article 11 (3) of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2001. Grants. These groupings shall be governed by the contractual document governing them. The internal functioning of the group will respond to management autonomy criteria, assuming one of the partners, as the main contractor and leader, the project management, as well as the representation of the group to the CDTI.

Among others, such a contractual document must at least regulate the following aspects:

a) Distribution of activities and budget.

b) Relations of confidentiality. c) Property of the results. d) Legal protection of results (patents). (e) Future commercial exploitation of the results. f) Doctoral thesis and publication of the results. g) Public disclosure of results.

2. Economic Interest Groups (EIGs) may also be beneficiaries, which are incorporated in accordance with the rules in force.

3. The leader, or the IEA, shall receive the total assistance granted and shall be responsible for distribution among the participating partners in accordance with the allocation set out in the approved budget. 4. The groups shall be composed of at least four autonomous enterprises, two of them large or medium-sized and two small, as defined by the European Commission. Small and medium-sized enterprises shall be understood in accordance with the Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 on the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (2003/361/EC) (Official Journal of the European Union L-124 of 20-5-2003), undertakings which: employ less than 250 persons and whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 50 million or whose annual balance sheet does not exceed EUR 43 million. Small enterprises shall also mean those employing fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover or annual general balance sheet does not exceed EUR 10 million. In both cases, the calculation of such staff and limits in the case of associated or connected undertakings shall be carried out in accordance with Article 6 (2) and (3) of the Annex to the Commission Recommendation. In addition, the relevant participation of at least two research bodies, formalised participation, in any case, will be necessary in the form of subcontracting by one or more of the companies belonging to the group. For these purposes, research bodies, universities, technology centres and research and development centres of private non-profit ownership are considered to be research organisations. In any case, the participation of the research bodies as a whole must be significant, with a minimum share of 25% of the total budget. 5. The signed contractual document governing the grouping shall be submitted to the CDTI prior to the grant decision. The aid shall be deemed to have been granted and the contract approved by the granting authority, where the recipient receives the decision to grant the aid. 6. It will be valued favorably:

a) the creation of large consortia with numerous participants.

b) the incorporation of technologists and doctors in the R & D departments of the companies involved in the project. 7. In any case, the beneficiaries shall meet the requirements laid down in Article 13 of the General Law on Subsidies. Undertakings, groups or institutions in which one of the prohibitions laid down in that Article is present shall not be eligible for the aid provided for.

Fourth. Budget of the Projects. Amount and limit of the grants. Temporary commitment.

1. Eligible projects must have an average annual budget of between EUR 5 million and EUR 10 million. The duration of the projects will generally be four years.

2. The grant awarded to the project may reach a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs of the project. The budget items eligible for aid are those set out in the fifth paragraph of this order. 3. For budgetary purposes and for the calculation of the maximum amount of aid to be received by each participating partner in the pool referred to in the third subparagraph, 1 (hereinafter referred to as the 'beneficiary'), the eligible project shall be divided into the different activities to be performed by each of the members of the group. 4. The maximum amount of aid to be allocated to each beneficiary shall not be a gross intensity exceeding 50% of its own eligible expenditure, as referred to in paragraph 5. The value of the updated aid, the calculation of which shall be carried out in accordance with Annex I to the Regional Aid Guidelines (98/C 74/06), shall be understood as gross aid intensity. The 50% limit must be respected in all cases, even in the case of cumulation of Community subsidies.

Fifth. Items eligible for aid.-The aid provided for in this order shall be used to cover expenditure directly linked to the development of the project or action for which it has been granted, which shall be broken down by the following: Budget items:

1. Costs of instruments, equipment and equipment used exclusively and permanently (except in case of assignment for consideration) for the research activity.

2. Personnel costs (researchers, technicians and auxiliary staff, all of whom are dedicated exclusively to the research activity). 3. Cost of advisory services and the like used exclusively for research activity (including research, technical knowledge, patents, etc.), and acquired from external sources. R & D activities carried out by public institutions of higher education or research for non-profit-making purposes on behalf of or in collaboration with enterprises shall respect point 2.4 of the Community framework for State aid. This concept of advisory services and the like acquired from external sources will not exceed 70 percent of the total budget. 4. Additional general expenses directly arising from the research activity. Under this concept, 20% of the cost of self-employed staff expenditure for research activity up to a maximum of 10% of the total budget will be charged. 5. Project leader management costs, understanding as such those arising from the preparation of the proposal, overall coordination of the consortium, elaboration of reports of evolution of research activities, justifications for their monitoring and dialogue with the CDTI. The costs of direct and indirect staff and travel directly associated with the management of the research activities will be financed under this section of the leader's management costs. 6. Costs related to the obtaining and validation of patents and other industrial property rights, in accordance with the terms of Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No. 70/2001, dated January 12.

Sixth. Management of grants.

1. The grants referred to in this order shall be managed in accordance with the principles laid down in Article 8 of the General Law on Subsidies, the granting of which is the granting of competitive competition. The calls shall be made at the request of the President of the CDTI.

2. The competent authority for the instruction and organisation of the procedure for the award of grants shall be the Director-General of the CDTI. 3. The decision of the concession procedure shall be the responsibility of the President of the CDTI. 4. The CDTI shall report annually on the implementation of the Programme to the Support and Follow-up Committee of the Inter-Ministerial Science and Technology Commission (CICYT).

Seventh. Applications. -Applications shall be submitted in the standard models to be established in each call and together with the documentation to accompany them, in the General Register of the Center for Industrial Technological Development (Calle Cid, n. 4. 28001 Madrid) or in any of the forms provided for in Article 38.4 of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992, of a Legal Regime of the General Administration and of the Common Administrative Procedure, and shall be addressed to the body responsible for its instruction. Applications may also be submitted by telematic means once the telematic register of the CDTI has been established, in accordance with the legal provisions, in the form and conditions of the calls for grants after such creation. of the telematic presentation.

The application must be signed by the legal or proxy representative of the company acting as the leader. The application shall contain a statement responsible for each beneficiary not to be found in any of the cases referred to in Article 13 of Law 38/2003 of 17 November, General of Grants. In addition, applicants for grants must declare whether they are in a restructuring period in accordance with a decision of the European Commission for the authorisation of restructuring aid to firms in difficulty. The application must be accompanied by the contracts, agreements, agreements, etc., signed with the subcontractors and, in particular, with the Public Research Centres and Technology Innovation Centres. The filing of the application shall be the express authorization of the instructor to obtain the certificates to be issued by the State Tax Administration Agency and the General Treasury of Social Security. The time limit for the submission of applications shall be fixed at each call and shall not be less than 15 days, not more than 3 months, from the date of publication of the call in the Official Gazette of the State.

Eighth. Instruction.

1. The competent authority for the instruction of the concession procedure shall examine the applications and documents annexed to it and shall make the request for all the reports it deems necessary, requiring the person concerned to subsone the (a) a lack of, or accompanying, the required documents within 10 days, indicating that if they do not do so, they shall be withdrawn from their request.

2. The evaluation will be carried out by the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), which will be responsible for it, and the National Assessment and Prospective Agency (ANEP) in collaboration with an Evaluation Committee appointed for this purpose. composition will be set out in the call, and with the Inter-Ministerial Science and Technology Commission (CICYT).

Ninth. Assessment criteria.-For the award of the grants provided for in this order, the following assessment criteria shall be taken into account:

a) Identification of project objectives and their suitability for the definition of the general and specific objectives of the programme. In particular, the project must incorporate a strong innovation component capable of marking a scientific-technological break-up that justifies a large public support. Similarly, it must face a social problem or a clear and concrete economic demand, which poses a technological challenge.

Another aspect to be highlighted among the evaluation criteria is the integration of multiple synergistic and complementary disciplines into the project. b) Capacity and balance of the pool. The project, as a whole, must have the right material and human resources for its best development. A fundamental aspect of the evaluation is therefore the analysis of the structure of the group, assessing the technical and management capacity of its components as well as the necessary balance between them in the thematic areas. of specialization, division of tasks and weight of public and private participation in the structure. c) Quality and feasibility of the proposal from technical, commercial, economic and financial points of view. (d) Where, in the judgment of the CDTI, the economic and financial capacity, or of any other kind, of any of the members of the group is not adequate to carry out its activities as provided for in the project, the CDTI may require the adoption of measures to correct such a lack of adequacy. (e) Socio-economic impact, in particular as regards value added, potential market and job creation. The target market for the project should be at European or global level and the share to be achieved from the results obtained should be significant in that market. The project can also be justified in the social importance of the problem addressed. f) Project capacity to facilitate the participation of Spanish companies and research groups participating in international cooperation programs in scientific research and technological development. Previous experience in the participation of international R & D + i projects, in particular the Community Framework Programme. (g) Joint Research Area. There is evidence that the continued interaction of researchers is essential for collaboration, so the existence of one or more research spaces where researchers work in physical proximity will be highly valued. public and private.

10th. Proposal for a resolution and hearing.-The instructor, in the light of the dossiers, of the evaluation reports and after submission to the CDTI Management Board of the selected projects, will formulate the motion for a resolution on a duly substantiated basis, which shall be notified to the persons concerned in the manner set out in the call, and shall be granted a period of 10 days from the day following receipt of the notification, in order to submit allegations. In the event that full acceptance of the provisional proposal is not made, the proposal will be considered as final.

Where no reply is received within the time limit set out in the preceding paragraph or, where appropriate, the arguments put forward by the CDTI have been previously reported by the CDTI, the final draft resolution shall be formulated. Proceedings may be waived where they are not included in the proceedings and other facts or other arguments and evidence which are adduced by the parties concerned are not taken into account. In this case, it shall be expressly stated by the instructor that the motion for a resolution is final in such circumstances. The proposal for a final decision, which must be reasoned and which, in any event, must be expressed by the applicant or the list of applicants for which the grant and the amount of the subsidy is proposed, specifying the assessment and the In any event, the persons concerned who have been proposed as beneficiaries at the training stage shall be notified in any event so that, within 10 working days, they shall be counted from the day following that of the receipt of the notification, proceed to accept the conditions imposed. In the absence of acceptance or in the absence of a reply, the time limit shall be deemed to have been removed from the application. Eleventh. Resolution.

1. The procedure referred to in paragraph 10, and prior to the processing and approval of the expenditure commitment file, shall be made in accordance with the relevant resolution by the President of the CDTI.

2. The decision, which shall be reasoned, shall express the applicants for which the grant of the grant is proposed, the conditions attached to the grant and the amount of the grant. 3. The maximum period for resolving and notifying the decision shall be six months from the date of publication of the relevant notice. 4. The decision to grant shall be notified to the persons concerned in accordance with the provisions of Articles 58 and 59 of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Rules of Procedure Common Administrative. 5. After the six-month period for the resolution and notification provided for in this paragraph, the application may be deemed to be rejected. 6. The resolution shall terminate the administrative route.

12th. Obligations of the beneficiary. Compliance with requirements.-The beneficiary shall be obliged to use the grant exclusively for the performance of the activity for which it has been granted, from which the following obligations are derived:

1. To carry out the activity which bases the grant of the subsidy.

2.a) If the beneficiary of the subsidy is a company which does not have the status of an SME, it is established as a requirement to be able to enjoy the same as an increase in the R & D activity in that undertaking. which is normally carried out (incentive effect of the aid on the applicant, required by the Community framework on State aid for research and development-Official Journal of the European Union C 45, 17-2-1996). In this case, these companies will also have to submit an annual report of the additional scientific research and technological development activities that they have been carrying out prior to the granting of the aid. (b) they may not be beneficiaries of the aid provided for in this order, any large or medium-sized undertaking during the restructuring period of the order, provided that the European Commission had not been informed of such aid when it adopted its decision approving the relevant restructuring aid.

3. Accredit to the entity the performance of the activity, as well as the fulfilment of the requirements, deadlines and conditions that determine the grant or enjoyment of the grant, with the contribution of the documents that are required.

4. Authorize the CDTI, or the auditor designated by it, to have free access to the work that constitutes the development of the project and other documentation related to it. The beneficiary shall submit to the CDTI an audit relating to the expenditure incurred in carrying out the project, the cost of which shall be part of the project's budget. 5. Submitting to the actions of verification that the entity can carry out and to those of financial control that correspond to the General Intervention of the State Administration, in relation to the grants and aids granted and to those provided for in the legislation of the Court of Auditors, providing information and documentation as required. 6. Once the grant has been granted, the beneficiary may not obtain any other grant or aid for the same purpose from any public or private, national or international Administrations or Entes. 7. In the documentation, posters, propaganda or publications to be published for public dissemination, the CDTI logo and the phrase "Subvented by the CDTI" must be displayed.

13th. Justification and payment.

1. Investments and expenditure, or commitment of expenditure, shall be made in the years for which the aid has been granted and within the time limits laid down in the decision to grant the aid.

2. The beneficiary may have the grant granted through partial payments to be set out in the Annexes to the granting decision. Partial payments shall be taken into account, except in the case of the advance payments referred to in the following number 5. 3. The beneficiary is obliged to accredit, in accordance with the audit report provided for in the second subparagraph of paragraph 12 (4), 4, the performance of the activities which have been established for each partial payment before the they shall be three months from the date fixed for completion in the abovementioned Annexes to the granting resolution, by providing the following documentation:

I. Justification for the fulfilment of the purpose for which the subsidy was granted with the following indications: (a) Identification of the beneficiary.

b) Introduction of the content of the activity. c) Territorial location of the activity. (d) Methodology or instruments used. e) Actuations made. (f) Results obtained quantified or valued. (g) Amendments made, where appropriate, and justification for their need. (h) Conclusions.

II. Economic memory: (a) Summary with the final budget of the activity, specifying the annuity expenses and the concepts contained in the annexes to the grant resolution.

(b) A numbered ratio of expenses and investments with all appropriate supporting documents and amounts paid with the total sum (invoices and any other supporting documentation of the actual implementation of the funds granted). This documentation must be presented in original, without prejudice to the attachment of photocopies for your comment and return. c) Report on the fulfillment of contracts, agreements, agreements, etc., signed with the subcontracted and, in particular, with the Public Research Centers and Technology Innovation Centers. (d) Where the activities have been financed by other grants or aid, obtained on the basis of a pre-regulation in this order, the amount, provenance and application of such funds shall be credited to the activities supported.

4. Each partial payment of the grant will be conditional upon the fulfillment of the tax and social security obligations, in accordance with the provisions of the General Law of Grants, and must be accredited with the corresponding certificates.

5. Once verified and verified by the CDTI that the requirements set out in the preceding paragraphs have been met in the terms provided for in the concession notice and resolution, the partial payment of the grant shall be made. However, at the request of the party concerned, the partial payment may be paid before the justification for carrying out the activities established, provided that the annuity in which this advance payment is made is the same as was planned. In these cases, the beneficiary must provide a guarantee in favour of the CDTI through the submission of a guarantee granted by a bank or a mutual guarantee company, or by the lodging of a guarantee in the General Deposit Box in any of the arrangements laid down in the rules of that Box and with the requirements laid down for them. The security shall be constituted by the amount of the requested partial payment. The security shall be released when the accreditation has taken place that the activities relating to the early partial payment have been carried out. The partial payments of the grant awarded will be determined on the basis of the investments and expenses finally accepted by the CDTI, as well as the percentage established, without any of these partial payments being able to exceed the amount each of them is listed in the Annexes to the grant decision.

14th Variation and Annulment.

1. The beneficiaries are obliged to communicate any circumstances which alter or hinder the development of the subsidised activity, so that, if it is deemed to be of sufficient importance, the content and content of the activity may be modified. the amount of the project supported, as well as the time-limits for the implementation and justification of the expenditure. Such requests for amendment must be sufficiently reasoned and shall be made immediately to the appearance of the circumstances justifying it and, in any event, before the end of the period of execution of the Subsidised activity.

2. Any alteration of the conditions under consideration for the grant of the grant and, in any event, the concurrent obtaining of grants or aid granted by other public or private, national or international administrations or Entes, for the The same activity shall result in the cancellation of the same activity.

15th. Reintegra. -Procedera the drawback of the amounts received and the requirement for the interest of late established in Article 38.2 of the General Law of Grants, from the moment of the payment of the grant, in the cases previewed and in accordance with the procedure laid down in Title II of that Law.

sixteenth. System of liability and sanctioning regime.-The contracting entities shall be subject to the responsibility and sanctioning regime which, in the case of administrative infringements in the field of grants, lays down Article 52 and of the General Grant Act and other applicable regulations. Seventeenth. Criteria for the graduation of non-compliances.-The total or partial failure to comply with the conditions imposed by the grant of the grants will result in the obligation to reintegrate the amounts received, in whole or in part, plus the interest for late payment as set out in Article 38.2 of the General Law on Subsidies, in accordance with the following proportionality criteria:

(a) The failure to meet the scientific and technical objectives for which the project was approved, determined through the monitoring and technical scientific control mechanisms, will be the cause of the total reimbursement of the grant. In particular, the objectives shall be deemed to be non-compliant if at least 80% of the expenditure and investments provided for in the project are not carried out.

(b) It will also be the cause of total reimbursement of the grant, after the grant of the grant, of any other grant or aid for the same purpose, from any Administrations or Entes public or private, national or international. (c) Failure to comply with the partial objectives or specific activities of the project shall entail the return of that part of the grant to the project. (d) Unauthorized modifications to the financial budget shall entail the return of the amounts diverted. (e) The failure to submit, in accordance with the relevant call, the annual or final monitoring reports, both technical and economic, shall entail the return of the amounts received and not justified.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, Title IV of Law 38/2003 of 17 November, General of Grants, on infringements and administrative sanctions in the field of grants shall apply.

Single additional disposition. Calls for the financial year 2006.

Applications to be submitted to the calls for the 2006 financial year shall not be paid until the time when the European Commission authorises the aid covered by this order, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation. (EC) No 659/1999 of the Council of 22 March laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 88 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Final disposition first. Competence rating.

This Order is dictated by the exclusive competence in matters of promotion and general coordination of scientific and technical research that Article 149.1.15. of the Constitution attributes to the State.

Final disposition second. Applicable rules.

The provisions of Law 38/2003 of 17 November, General of Grants, in Law No 30/1992 of November 26, of the Legal Regime of the Administrations, will be applied in all the non-provision of this order. Public and the Common Administrative Procedure and other applicable rules.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This Order shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Madrid, 2 August 2005.

MONTILA AGUILERA