S3 2026 Grants: three million to transfer innovation to the productive fabric

The Regional Ministry of Education, Science and Universities of the Community of Madrid has announced the 2026 grants to promote technological innovation and drive the transfer of technology to the productive sector included in the priorities of the Smart Specialization Strategy (S3). The call is published via the extract of Order 2573/2026, signed by the regional minister Mercedes Zarzalejo Carbajo, in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid number 204, dated August 27, 2026 (official reference BOCM-20260827-7).

The budget allocated for the call amounts to 3,000,000 euros, distributed over two annual installments of 1,500,000 euros corresponding to the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. The aid is co-financed at 40 percent by the ERDF Operational Program 2021-2027 of the Community of Madrid, and its full text can be consulted in the National Grants Database (identifier BDNS 918054).

Beneficiaries and objective

Eligible beneficiaries may be technological innovation liaison entities legally constituted at the time of the publication of the extract, with a headquarters or workplace in the Community of Madrid and sufficient administrative, financial, and operational capacity. The following types are admitted:

• Associations, confederations, and public law corporations.
• Foundations and non-profit entities.
• Groupings of companies and other entities.
• Groupings of natural or legal persons, public or private, and any other economic unit with legal personality.

The grants will finance driving projects aimed at supporting the business fabric in the different stages of generation and use of innovation, including training, dissemination, internationalization of Madrid’s innovation, support for entrepreneurs and technology-based companies, and the stimulation of public-private collaboration. The content of the projects shall fall within the priority scientific-technological specialization areas of the S3 Strategy.

Amount, duration, and deadlines

The aid intensity will be 50 percent of the eligible costs. The total budget requested for each project may not exceed 900,000 euros nor be less than 150,000 euros, therefore the maximum amount of aid will be 450,000 euros per project. The driving projects will have a duration of two annual installments.

• Total budget: 3,000,000 euros (1,500,000 in 2026 and 1,500,000 in 2027).
• Maximum aid per project: 450,000 euros.
• Submission deadline: fifteen business days from the day following the publication of the extract in the BOCM.

Evaluation criteria

The awarding procedure will be based on competitive bidding, with a final score calculated as a weighted average of the technical evaluation (70 per 100) and the economic evaluation (30 per 100). The technical evaluation, scored out of 100 points, requires a minimum of 60 for selection and assesses the technical quality of the project (up to 40 points), the technical capacity of the beneficiary (up to 20), the collaborative effect (up to 20), and the foreseeable results and potential impact (up to 20). The economic evaluation, also scored out of 100 points with a minimum of 60, weights the action plan, the suitability of the economic and organizational means, the alignment with the sectoral markets of the S3, and the economic capacity of the beneficiary.

The regulatory bases of the call are Order 3972/2022, of December 29, of the Vice Presidency, Ministry of Education and Universities, published in the BOCM of January 25, 2023.

The call reinforces the role of liaison entities as a bridge between research and the Madrid business fabric, a central axis of the S3 Strategy to consolidate the region as an innovation hub. With an allocation of three million euros and European co-financing, the measure seeks to accelerate the application of technology in companies and strengthen the position of the innovative ecosystem of the Community of Madrid.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, no. 204, August 27, 2026, section I.C (Other Provisions), pp. 23-25 (official reference: BOCM-20260827-7).