GINOP Plusz: What could still be coming?

Expectations should be divided into two main categories: first, calls about which we currently know nothing (we wrote about these previously here), and second, those where either (i) a specific call has already been identified but has not yet been published, or (ii) a previous call has already closed, but some of its budget remains unused because the full amount was not committed.

Taken together, these three categories represent the calls that may still be launched towards the end of the 2021–2027 programming period.

One further point is worth noting: it makes sense to launch these calls because the funding is provided by the EU, with only a minimal contribution required from the national budget, although the financing does have to be temporarily covered from a liquidity perspective. There is nothing new about this; this has always been the case.

Below, we look at the calls that we either know for certain are expected or believe are highly likely to be launched or continued. It is also clear that there are still applications currently under evaluation for which no decision has yet been made, and where some unused funding is also likely to remain. These are not included in the list below (I give my personal view on this at the very end of the article).

Innovation: There is still room for manoeuvre here too

A similar, though smaller-scale, situation can be seen in the case of GINOP Plusz-2.1.3-24 – Support for Improving the Innovation Capacity of SMEs.

Of the total budget of HUF 75 billion, according to our calculations approximately HUF 43.4 billion has been committed, leaving around HUF 31.6 billion still available.

Here too, it is not currently possible to say with certainty that the call will be reopened. The remaining funding could appear in a subsequent phase of the same scheme, or it could be transferred to a new RDI call. This is particularly interesting because, in addition to this amount, there is also significant additional headroom of HUF 102.35 billion at Operational Programme level under Priority 2.

In other words, business innovation is one of the areas where there are several reasons to expect further funding opportunities.

In some sases, we already know the name and budget of the call

The next category is considerably more specific. These are schemes that are already included in the Annual Development Framework (ÉFK), meaning that we know their names, budgets and intended direction, although the process has not yet reached the stage of a final call in every case.

From a business perspective, the most interesting item in this category is the GINOP Plusz-2.1.5-25 Life Sciences Catalyst Program, with a budget of HUF 15 billion, of which HUF 10 billion is allocated to the more developed region. The programme has already undergone public consultation, meaning that the details of the draft call are known, although at the stage examined it had not yet reached the conventional final call-for-applications phase.

Two further schemes are still expected under the vocational education and training priority. GINOP Plusz-5.2.7-25, aimed at the development of digital learning materials and digital assistants, is listed with a budget of HUF 22 billion, while GINOP Plusz-5.2.8-25 allocates HUF 2.877 billion to supported training programmes for instructors. Both schemes are specifically identified in the current Annual Development Framework.

It is important, however, that these latter two are designated priority schemes, with specific beneficiaries already assigned to them in the Annual Development Framework. They should therefore not be treated as conventional calls that will be broadly open to businesses. Public consultation has also already taken place for GINOP Plusz-5.2.7-25.

Overall, these three schemes account for nearly HUF 39.9 billion in funding already identified in the Annual Development Framework for which, at the time our Excel summary was prepared, no final call was yet available. From a business perspective, however, the HUF 15 billion Life Sciences Catalyst Program is the main direct opportunity among them.

And there is nearly HUF 194 Billion where we do not even know the names of the calls yet

The biggest question mark remains the gap identified in our previous analysis comparing the Operational Programme and the Annual Development Framework.

Under Priority 2 of GINOP Plusz – Research, Development and Innovation, there is a positive difference of HUF 102.35 billion between the Operational Programme and the Annual Development Framework. This means that this amount of additional funding headroom exists at programme level, while based on the Annual Development Framework we still cannot say exactly which new schemes it may ultimately be allocated to.

The other major item is the new Priority 6, STEP, which supports strategic technologies. Here, the Operational Programme includes a budget of HUF 91.51 billion, while at the time our previous analysis was prepared, no separate package of calls had yet been assigned to this amount in the Annual Development Framework.

These two areas represent the real “unknown” GINOP package: we know that funding is available at programme level, but we do not yet know exactly what form the related calls will take when they reach the market.

Further innovation schemes can logically be expected under the RDI priority, while in the case of STEP, programmes related to the development and manufacturing of strategic technologies are likely to emerge. Based on the documents currently available, however, it would be premature to make any more specific statements.

So what should we be watching?

However, the figures in the table should not simply be added together and treated as a single pool of “GINOP funding still available to be spent”. These amounts are at different legal and implementation stages: some represent the unused portion of a scheme that has already been launched, some relate to future programmes already identified in the Annual Development Framework, while others represent Operational Programme-level headroom for which no call has yet been assigned. Even so, the overall picture is particularly interesting.

The part of GINOP Plusz relevant to businesses is far from being closed. Opportunities in the coming period are likely to emerge from three directions: the reopening or restructuring of previously launched but not fully utilised schemes; the actual publication of programmes already identified in the Annual Development Framework; and new schemes financed from funding that has not yet been allocated under the RDI and STEP priorities.

From a business perspective, three things are particularly worth watching at present: when and under what final conditions the Life Sciences Catalyst Program will be launched, and what new business-focused RDI and STEP calls will ultimately fill the remaining programme-level headroom.

Together, these could make up the next major wave of GINOP Plusz funding opportunities.

In my view, there is also still significant unused funding under GINOP Plusz-2.1.4-25 and GINOP Plusz-2.1.1-24, as experience from recent years suggests that there will be a substantial drop-out of applicants following the detailed evaluation stage. I would not even attempt to estimate the exact amount at this point, but I expect it to be significant.

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