Up to €500,000 for Innovation in a Network: Laura Bassi 4th Call

What to expect in this issue

• Deep Dive - Laura Bassi: up to €500,000 in a network
• StartMatch News - 12 Hours in Graz
• FörderRadar - New and expiring grants

🤿 Deep Dive: Up to €500,000 for Innovation in a Network - Laura Bassi 4th Call

In the Deep Dive we regularly present a financing or funding topic in detail. Today: the 4th call of the FFG's Laura Bassi initiative, up to €500,000 for innovation in a network.

The 4th call of the FFG's Laura Bassi initiative is open. Under the title "Shaping an Equitable Future", it funds concrete innovation projects, meaning new products, processes or services that several organizations carry out together. The call is aimed primarily at SMEs whose innovation contributes to an equitable future by taking one or more dimensions of diversity into account.

What Do You Get?

• A non-repayable grant of up to €500,000 per project
• Funding rate depending on the type of organization: small companies up to 60%, medium-sized companies up to 50%, large companies up to 35%, research and knowledge-dissemination organizations and other non-economic organizations up to 60%
• Duration of 2 to 3 years, project start no later than 01.01.2028
• Eligible costs include personnel, materials and supplies, use of equipment, third-party costs and travel

What Is Funded?

Practice-oriented research, development and innovation projects carried out in a network that take one or more dimensions of diversity into account, for example age, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental abilities, religion and belief, or sexual orientation. The collaboration should give all partners, and SMEs in particular, a clear and lasting leap in quality and innovation. Open innovation approaches, such as involving users early on, are explicitly welcome.

What Is NOT Funded?

• Projects by a single organization, a consortium is mandatory
• Projects with less than €100,000 in eligible total costs
• Projects in which more than 40% of the work is subcontracted
• Civil-law partnerships (GesbR) and companies in difficulty
• Federal states (eligible to participate, but not eligible for funding) and activities that municipalities carry out under a statutory mandate

Who Can Apply and by When?

• Companies of any legal form including startups, universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutions, associations, municipalities and self-governing bodies
• The consortium needs at least 3 independent companies, at least 2 of them SMEs, or at least 2 independent other non-economic organizations and at least 1 SME
• The consortium lead submits on behalf of all partners and needs a permanent establishment or branch in Austria by the time the first installment is paid out at the latest
• Organizations with 5 or more full-time equivalents must have an external body prepare a gender and diversity analysis as part of the project. Up to €8,000 per organization is eligible for this
• Applications in German or English

Submission by 26.02.2027, 12:00 noon via the FFG's eCall. The decision will be made at the end of June 2027.

Why Does This Matter?

With a funding rate of up to 60% for small companies and up to €500,000 per project, Laura Bassi is a strong option for SMEs and startups that want to bring an innovation to life together with partners while taking the different needs of users into account. What counts is a well-built consortium and a convincing link to diversity.

Our tip: put your consortium together early and settle collaboration and exploitation rights in a cooperation agreement in good time. If you want to apply, we are happy to support you from the concept to the finished application.

You can find all the details here: FFG Laura Bassi: Shaping an Equitable Future

🗞️ StartMatch News: 12 Hours in Graz

This week Robert was at the Technology Impact Summit in Graz. The big question there: what will win Europe the AI race? Robert's answer is clear: determination. The know-how is there, and so is the money. Now it takes the courage to make uncomfortable decisions, too.

Alongside many inspiring conversations at the summit, Robert used his time in Graz to meet some of our customers and partners in person.

Are you based in Styria and have a project you're looking for funding for? Get in touch, and we'll gladly make time for you on our next visit to Graz.

📡 FörderRadar: New and Expiring Grants

Book a free consultation

Best of luck with your projects!

Best regards,
Robert & your StartMatch Team 👋