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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Design Sector
This grant aims to integrate design expertise into the innovation processes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and social economy companies, strengthening their competitiveness, particularly in developing new or improved technology-oriented products and services.
Targeted recipients are technology-oriented SMEs and social economy companies of various sizes, aiming for product and service innovation.
Geographic Scope: Companies must have their registered office or a permanent establishment in Berlin, Germany. The commissioned design partner must also be based in Berlin or Brandenburg.
This is a recurring funding program, with current guidelines for the period 2025-2026.

Financial Structure

Funding Type: Non-repayable grant (Zuschuss) in the form of project funding.
Funding Mechanism: Provided as 'Anteilfinanzierung' (partial financing).
Funding Rate: Up to 70% of eligible expenses.
Maximum Grant Amount: 15,000 EUR per project.
Eligible Costs: Only the services of the external design service provider are eligible. These services must be based on a differentiated offer.
Ineligible Costs: For companies eligible for VAT deduction, the VAT on project expenses is not eligible for funding.
Co-financing: The remaining 30% of eligible costs must be covered by the applicant.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Size

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) as defined by the EU Commission (less than 250 employees AND annual turnover of up to 50M EUR or annual balance sheet total of up to 43M EUR).
Social Economy companies whose business model provides ecological, social, or societal added value, operating in the market but without profit maximization as a primary goal.
Legally independent commercial enterprises.
Must be technology-oriented, developing their own products, processes, or services for market introduction. Non-technology-oriented SMEs may be eligible in exceptional, justified cases if the project demonstrates a strong technological connection.

Geographic & Regulatory Requirements

Must have a registered office or at least one permanent establishment in Berlin, Germany.
The design company or university providing the transfer services must have its registered office or permanent establishment in Berlin or Brandenburg.

Project Specifics

The project must have a strong technological connection.
The project must involve applied research and development (FuE).
Excluded: Freelancers (Freiberufler) do not meet the GRW (Gemeinschaftsaufgabe 'Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur') requirements.
Excluded: Simple variants of existing products or design measures with a predominantly marketing or communication focus (e.g., brand design, corporate design, website relaunches) are not funded.
Excluded: Companies whose shareholders, management, employees, or advisory board members are currently or were previously active in the design institute or company commissioned for the service.
Excluded: Companies that have already received a state, federal, or EU project for applied research and development involving a scientific institution as a cooperation partner or subcontractor for a prior, independent project (this applies to the 'Einstiegsvariante' in general, but the 'Designtransfer' is exclusively 'Standardvariante', so this exclusion is less direct but still relevant for general programme understanding).

Financial Requirements

Must demonstrate secured project financing.

Application Process

Application Submission

Application Deadline: The guidelines are valid until 2026-12-31, so applications can be submitted up to this date.
Submission Method: Applications must be submitted to 'zukunft im zentrum GmbH' using standard forms, available via www.transferbonusdesign.de.
Project Start: The project may only begin after the grant decision has been issued.

Project Timeline & Implementation

Project Duration: The project duration should not exceed 6 months.
Commissioning of Services: The service of the design company should be commissioned within 3 months of the grant approval.

Decision and Review Process

Decision Timeline: Decisions on applications are typically made within 2 weeks of receiving complete application documents.

Reporting and Documentation

Required Documentation: After project completion, applicants must submit the following:
- Project documentation in German, approved by the grant recipient.
- Original invoice from the design company.
- Proof of payment for the total amount or the applicant's co-financing share of the invoice.
Submission of Documents: For the design transfer, documents are submitted directly to 'zukunft im zentrum GmbH'.
Verification: The funding body will perform a mathematical check and a substantive plausibility check of the purpose fulfillment, which also serves as the proof of use review.

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality and Innovation

Project must appear technically feasible.
The design projects and measures must demonstrate a connection to applied research and development.
The project must aim for the development of new products/services or a significant qualitative improvement of existing ones.
The early and application-oriented integration of design competence into the innovation process of the SME/social enterprise is key.

Regional Impact and Competence Strengthening

Expected to strengthen regional competence through cooperation between the design sector/universities and SMEs/social enterprises.
Expected to initiate or support entry into international markets.
The commissioned design company's qualification and offer must align with the applicant's expected performance requirements.

Relevance and Appropriateness

Appropriateness of the project volume.
The project should be conducted in Berlin.

Formal Assessment

Projects undergo a technical assessment for eligibility and worthiness by expert reviewers using a standardized evaluation system.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Grant is provided as De-minimis aid according to EU Regulation No. 2023/2831. Applicants must comply with all requirements of this regulation.
Compliance with Landeshaushaltsordnung (LHO), its implementing provisions (AV), and the current coordination framework of the 'Gemeinschaftsaufgabe Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur' (GRW) is required.
Application of procurement regulations for national procedures is required for eligible expenses.
Compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Berlin Data Protection Act (BlnDSG), and the Berlin Minimum Wage Law (LMiLoG Bln) is mandatory.

Legal and Ethical Standards

Facts relevant for grant approval, award, recovery, continuation, or retention are considered 'subventionserheblich' (subsidy-relevant) under German law (Criminal Code § 264, Subsidy Law). Changes to these facts must be immediately communicated to the funding body.

Data and Transparency

Applicants grant permission for their data to be stored and evaluated for statistical purposes and program effectiveness control, and for results to be published in compliance with data protection regulations.
Legal entities must be registered in the Berlin Transparency Database (www.berlin.de/buergeraktiv/informieren/transparenz/transparenzdatenbank).
Grant awards will be published in the Berlin Funding Database on the internet, in compliance with data protection regulations.

Monitoring and Audit

Applicants have a special duty to notify the funding body of any changes to the information provided in the application (e.g., ownership, influence, project location).
The responsible Senate Administration for Economics (or its representative) and the Berlin State Audit Office (Rechnungshof) are authorized to examine submitted documents, proofs, and reports, inspect original receipts, accounting, and other business records, conduct on-site investigations, and request all necessary information.

Grant Details