'COVID-19 Emergency' Priority Equipment Support for Product Companies... R&D Project Submission Extended

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 26th that it will extend the application period for major research and development (R&D) projects in the first half of this year.

This decision was made because difficulties arose in project planning due to self-quarantine of research personnel, movement restrictions, and avoidance of face-to-face meetings among small businesses and research institutions, especially in areas affected by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Additionally, the number of applications received was only about 50% compared to the previous year, necessitating an extension of the period.

The scale of R&D projects announced by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in January this year for the first half includes 14 projects and 2,329 tasks, with a total investment of 292.1 billion KRW.

As the evaluation of the Ministry’s R&D projects is scheduled to begin at the end of next month, concerns about the spread of COVID-19 due to long hours spent in confined and small spaces have led to minimizing the movement of both evaluators and evaluation committee members to prevent transmission.

In cases where participation is difficult due to self-quarantine of research personnel, face-to-face evaluations will be conducted online. The scope of online written evaluations from home by evaluators will also be expanded. For companies in regions heavily affected by COVID-19, evaluation schedules will be postponed and operated flexibly to minimize inconvenience to businesses. The postponement of the entire schedule for the Ministry’s R&D project evaluations and agreements will be promoted in consultation with related government departments.

For companies producing emergency COVID-19 products such as masks, the research infrastructure utilization project will be modified to allow priority support for research equipment, enabling rapid use of research equipment and personnel. The 'expense recognition criteria' will also be improved to allow project expenses to cover unavoidable changes in business plans, additional costs incurred, and infection prevention expenses related to research activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Furthermore, the existing restriction on support for mass production will be relaxed to allow mass production of prototypes for process improvement, supporting rapid technological development by companies.

Kim Hakdo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Various difficulties in the field of small businesses have been increasing due to the recent spread of COVID-19. We hope that this measure will significantly alleviate the challenges in the field of technology development."