Concept
The advantages of grants and subsidies are only too obvious: grants create new financial openings and enable the transfer of new technologies from the realms of science to the real market. The risks to the company are much reduced. However, drawing on grants and funding presents additional new problems and issues, in particular more administrative work and delays in starting the project.We feel that funding options and grants are not an end in themselves and also not a panacea. They can never be more than a means to an end – the benefits and effort involved should, therefore, always be weighed up carefully. But that is what we are there for. We will weigh up the pros and cons together with you.
Grant projects should be managed within the company from a central point — either with one's own specialists or a specialist provider outside the company acting as a staff section — it is otherwise hardly possible to cope with the bureaucratic jungle. Projects that could well represent a considerable boost to the company but which require extensive dedication should be approached at the earliest possible opportunity, uncompromisingly and in a systematic manner to sound out the possibilities of funding. It is not always necessary or effective to apply for every conceivable source of funding; it only makes sense to file an application if there are chances of positive cost-effectiveness and high chances of success.
Many enterprises are sceptical about security and worry that sensitive data may end up in the competitors' hands through the application process. Some believe that they are required to make the results of their project available to the public domain if they receive grants. We are often also faced with the opinion that the company has no exciting projects worthy of a grant because there is no structured systematic research programme. It is not possible to affirm or reject these attitudes wholesale. However, it is possible to say that grant programmes are generally in keeping with the company's commercial aims if a few basic principles are applied.
We would recommend that you do not rely merely on your personal feelings or past experiences. Instead, contact us and talk to us about your chances, with no commitment on your part, of course. We can find out together whether there are realistic overlaps between sources of funding or grants and your entrepreneurial aims.
