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In these difficult times where private financial flows are drying up, public aid became a safe value for French companies, as confirmed by the barometer 2009 of the financing of innovation, published today by Alma Consulting Group. Last year, 60.1 of surveyed companies have sought grants, tax credit research (CIR) and other repayable advances, or an increase of 20 points in just two years (41 in 2007). To avoid getting lost in the maze of administrative procedures, often very heavy, start-ups and SMEs, which are not committed to playing with major groups, should not leave the flower rifle hunting State aid. Like the protection of industrial property, they have interest to be accompanied by an expert to rely on the pay financing for their strategy.

Beyond this first observation, this barometer reveals another essential point: 74 of companies reported have maintained or increased their R & D effort in 2009. "It's huge in a period also troubled, because we had found a business concern which has, in reality, not really slowed their investment in research and development," said Abbas Djobo, Director of the Alma Consulting Group innovation pole. "Companies have understood interest do not stop or postpone their R & D expenditures".

Among the more incentive tax measures, "research tax credit is the highlight of the past year, with a net increase in volume 30, based on a new mode of more advantageous calculation for most companies," still said Abbas Djobo.

In this period of crisis, the new CIR plays a role of "buffer", doped by the repayment of debts from 2005 to 2008, established in January the economic recovery plan last. Positively welcomed by the vast majority of business leaders, the coupling of these two measures actually encouraged 37 of them to increase their R & D spending this year.

Properly evaluate the risks

From the annual envelope of the tax credit research of the order of EUR 4 billion, OSEO innovation aid weigh significantly less weight in the public balance with EUR 800 million in 2008. "It does not play in the same category", said Mathieu Defresne, delegate innovation network North - Pas-de-Calais of Oseo. Remains that these aid grants, taxable and advances to zero rate, repayable on success of the project, stand out at the head of the national direct financing with 36. But "it is true that, in the head of a business leader, there is often confusion, it retains especially grant." "Repayable advance covering approximately half of the financing of a project is a cash advance to share technological risk," says Mathieu Defresne. Specifically, the grants, which represent a third of the aid granted by OSEO, fund more upstream of a project. Whereas advances repayable - the remaining two thirds - take over downstream in the development phase. Except that, since the reform of the CIR in 2008, such advances are now deductible from the base of eligible expenditure, in the same way as grants, which causes a shift of trésorerie.

Fragile financial situation, it is preferable to combine tax and direct aid to minimize the effect penalizing. In these circumstances, "refundable advances are more interesting, is not the solution. "Mortality of many start-up is the cause", for its part said Gilles Rubinstenn, Director General of the Foundation Pierre-Gilles de Gennes. "There is a problem with the assessment of risk and training of R & D strategy of the company."

Another trend emerges clearly from this fifth barometer of Alma Consulting Group. Last year, 32 of companies have accumulated direct financing national and European, thus integrating the importance of their complementarity, only 9 in 2007. Even if the obtaining of funding of the framework programme for research and development (FPRD), head of the list with 44, much more complex.

Think about the output

"Contrary to conventional wisdom, the more difficult is not necessarily getting a European help." "The conduct of the project, reporting to the commission and the monitoring of administrative and technical coordination are also heavy," warns Abbas Djobo. Game entry, it is also thinking about the output of a R & D project, i.e. the management of the results and the distribution of rights", he added. A failure to have well anticipated the whys and wherefores, "not bad for SMEs was caught in European projects where the formalism is best suited to the operation of a large group", said David Bariau, responsible for the activity biotechnology & Alcimed innovations. To take advantage of this game in this type of consortia that include average a good fifteen partners, "it must be that the company is driving in the timeline of the project and not only to seize the opportunity to obtain additional assistance that does not serve its strategy", says.

Easier access to small and medium enterprises, although similar to the major European programmes, collaborative project ISI (industrial strategic innovation), piloted by Oséo since integration into its fold of the IIA in 2008, meet a great success. Year last, 18 projects involving large companies, SMEs and public laboratories have thus benefited from 273 million. In the same registry, competitiveness clusters have launched since 2005 8 calls for projects (SCURRYING) interdepartmental single fund, total supporting about 738 innovative programmes in all sectors for a comprehensive assistance of EUR 1.5 billion.

Find the barometer of the financing of innovation on