Extremadura renews the R&D aid commission for SMEs and startups

The General Secretariat of the Regional Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science and Territory has modified the call for grants for industrial research and experimental development projects for SMEs and startups for the 2025 financial year to renew the members of its evaluation commission. The decision is formalized in the Resolution of October 16, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE) No. 205, of October 23, 2026, with official reference 2026062634. The change affects only the body that evaluates the applications, not the conditions of the grants.

The framework: a 2025 call with three modalities

The grants are governed by Decree 57/2023, of May 24 (DOE No. 116, of June 19), modified by Decree 9/2024, of January 30 (DOE No. 25, of February 5), which establishes the regulatory bases and approved the first call for technology-based companies and startups. The current call was approved by the Resolution of December 16, 2025, of the then General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (DOE No. 3, of January 7, 2026), and is directed at three modalities:

• Modality I: industrial research or experimental development projects carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Modality II: technology-based SMEs.
• Modality III: startups in Extremadura.

Article 15.1 of Decree 57/2023 provides that the appointment of the commission members is carried out in each call, and paragraph 3 establishes the structure of the body: a Presidency with the rank of Head of Service, a Secretariat with the rank of Head of Section, and two memberships held by Group A civil servants (subgroups A1 or A2).

The reason: changes in the managing body’s staff

According to the background of the resolution, since the publication of the call, modifications have occurred in the personnel structure of the General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation, such that one of the persons designated as a member of the commission no longer provides services in that management body. To this is added the President’s Decree 11/2026, of April 29 (DOE No. 82, of April 30), which reorganized the regional ministries and assigned that General Secretariat to the Regional Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science and Territory, previously integrated into the Regional Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training.

The competence to issue the modification corresponds to the head of the General Secretariat in accordance with Article 23.1 of Law 6/2011, of March 23, on Grants of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura. The text bears the signature of María de la Concepción Montero Gómez, General Secretary, in Mérida, on October 16, 2026.

The new composition of the commission

The single resolution rewrites the tenth resolution of the call and establishes the commission as follows:

• Juan Ramón Regadera Blanco, Head of the Business Scientific Research Resources Service, who will act as Chairperson.
• Raúl Pinadero Manibardo, Head of the Business R&D Section, who will act as Secretary.
• Arturo Aparicio Román, legal advisor to the General Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Group A, Subgroup A1), who will act as Member.
• Laura Sánchez Pérez, Technician of the General Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Group A, Subgroup A2), who will act as Member.

There are two changes regarding the previous composition: Raúl Pinadero Manibardo changes from member (Technician, A2) to Secretary, and Laura Sánchez Pérez joins as a member replacing Fernando García Brajones, who appeared as Head of the Business R&D Section and Secretary in the original text. The Chairperson and the legal membership remain unchanged.

Publication and appeal process

This resolution does not exhaust the administrative route. An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against it before the Regional Minister of Industry, Energy, Science and Territory or before the General Secretary of the same Ministry within one month starting from the day following its publication in the DOE, in accordance with Article 101 of Law 1/2002, of February 28, and Articles 121 and 122 of Law 39/2015, of October 1.

The impact is limited but relevant for the companies applying for these grants: the commission is the body that evaluates and ranks the applications for the three modalities, meaning its final composition affects the processing of the files for the 2025 call. Interested SMEs, technological SMEs, and startups should note that the modification does not alter deadlines, requirements, or amounts, only the identity of those evaluating their projects.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura (DOE), no. 205, of October 23, 2026 (official reference: 2026062634).