Process of obtaining support

Step 1: Quality business plan

A quality business plan is the fundamental condition for success. You should have a clear idea of the kind of project you want to realise and whether you are able to implement and finance it. The plan must be in accordance with the focus of the relevant grant programme and should also be sufficiently effective and sustainable. In the event that you need assistance with programme selection, the relevant CzechInvest regional office can help you.

Step 2: Obtaining basic information on possibilities of support for the business plan

You can obtain all documents and information needed for processing the application at public and private information centres and agencies.

Step 3: Applying for provision of aid and project evaluation

Applications for OPEI grant programmes are submitted in two steps (Application for Registration and Full Application) via the eAccount internet application. 

Description of the process of application submission and project evaluation:

Obtaining an electronic signature  

• all important documents sent via eAccount must be signed electronically

Creation of an account in the eAccount application  

• you can find the instructions here

Completion and sending the Application for Registration including the required appendices, in particular Financial Statements (the appendices will be different for each programme and will be specified in the call of the particular programme).

After sending the Application for Registration with all necessary appendices, CzechInvest will perform their material and formal inspection. You (the applicant) and your project will undergo an evaluation of acceptability including an economic evaluation (rating/scoring). The aim of this is to assess whether the project is in accordance with the announced conditions of the programme and whether it fulfils all prerequisites for obtaining aid according to the conditions of the programme.

You will obtain information on the evaluation results not later than within two weeks after sending the Application for Registration electronically via eAccount. In the event that your Application for Registration is accepted, CzechInvest will impart to you the date on which eligible costs arise (from this date, costs expended in connection with the project can be considered as deductible) and the time limit for submission of the Full Application*.

^{* The time limit for submitting the Full Application is different for individual OPEI programmes. In general, the time limit ranges from approximately one month to one year depending on the programme. The time limit will be precisely stipulated in the Call and in the document Instructions for Applicants and Recipients of Aid from the relevant programme.}

Completion and sending of the Full Application including the required appendices, particularly the business plan, within the stipulated time limit.

Upon sending the Full Application including the required appendices, the relevant agency will inspect it. You will receive information on the result of the inspection electronically via eAccount. In the event that the Full Application is correct, the project will be passed on for further evaluation; in the opposite case, the Full Application will be excluded from further evaluation and you will notified of the reason for its rejection.

Project evaluation

• Project evaluation is performed in the regime of small, medium-sized and large projects. Categorisation of projects is determined according to the complexity of the project and the grant amount. Projects are evaluated on the basis of clearly defined and publicly known criteria.
• You will receive information on the result of the evaluation via eAccount and you will subsequently be informed of the result of the evaluation in writing. In the event that the project is approved, we will also electronically send to you the Conditions for the Provision of a Grant together with a request for their signing and other instructions*. The time limit for sending information on the result of the evaluation varies depending on the complexity of the project, whereas it is necessary to take into account that you can be requested to provide missing information about the project, which will probably prolong the evaluation. In the ideal case, the time limit for sending information on the result of the evaluation is estimated for small projects as up to approx. two months from submission of the Full Application and for medium-sized and large projects as up to three months from submission of the Full Application.

^{* The time limit for signature and sending the signed Conditions for the Provision of a Grant to CzechInvest is usually 30 days.}

Issuance of the Decision on Provision of a Grant

• The Ministry of Industry and Trade subjects the signed Conditions to a Decision on the Provision of a Grant *, which it then sends to the applicant.

^{* The time limit for issuance of the Decision on the Provision of a Grant is usually approx. three weeks from receipt of the signed Conditions from the applicant.}

Step 4: Project implementation

You can begin (with respect to eligible costs) to implement the project following acceptance of the Application for Registration. You will be informed via eAccount of the date on which eligible costs arise together with information on the acceptance of the Application for Registration via eAccount. However, you will incur the risk that the project may not be approved in the evaluation process and thus you will not be able to apply the costs of its implementation.

The applicant’s obligations for implementation of the project:

As a successful applicant, you are obligated to comply with the conditions to which you committed when signing the Conditions for Provision of a Grant before the issuance of the Decision of the Provision of a Grant.

The conditions to which the applicant is bound to comply include, in particular:

• conducting of analytical accounting
• selection of suppliers of orders for which aid will be provided from the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation in accordance with previously established regulations
• ensuring publicity of projects for which grants are provided, in the form of posters, signs, billboards, etc. during and after implementation of the project in accordance with the established regulations
• division of projects into individual phases according to the schedule of works on the basis of previously established conditions (the length of phases is limited by time duration and the grant-payment amount)

Step 5: Application for Payment of a Grant and on-site inspection

Aid will be reimbursed to you on the basis of a submitted application for payment. You will submit the Application for Payment of a Grant in electronic form via eAccount following completion of a phase or of the entire project in accordance with the Conditions for Provision of a Grant and with the Project Phase Regulations.

The formally correct and complete application will be passed on to the relevant agency through the process of payment authorisation and, if no deficiencies are found, it will be handed over to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for approval and subsequent reimbursement*.

In the course of implementation or finalisation of a project/phase (i.e. following submission of the application for payment) an on-site inspection may be performed at your location.

^{*The time period for payment of a grant is usually approx. three months from submission of the Application for Payment, whereas it is necessary to take into account that you can be requested to provide missing information about the project, which could prolong the evaluation period.}

Step 6: Monitoring the benefits of the supported project

Monitoring of projects is performed in the course of their implementation (i.e. before payment of aid) and following completion of their implementation. The main goal of monitoring is the continual determination of progress in the implementation of supported projects. As a grant recipient, you must keep CzechInvest apprised of your project in monitoring reports, which you will regularly submit via the eAccount internet application. The indicators that you will include in the reports are stipulated in the Conditions for Provision of a Grant.