MEASURE FACT SHEET

To strengthen the capacity of associative structures, and of regional and local tourism bodies, with the aim of providing enterprises with the opportunity to achieve sector, regional or even national synergies.

Goals

To enhance the impact of the associative structures' intervention as the drive of the modernisation and competitiveness growth processes ongoing in Portuguese enterprises.

Beneficiaries  

• National, regional and sector business associative structures classified under EAC (Economic Activities Classification) 91110, or any other equivalent structures, whose members develop activities within the framework of the Programme;
• Federations or confederations of the associative structures (as defined above);
• Regional and local tourism offices.

Activity Sectors

Industry, energy, building industry, commerce, tourism, transport and services.

Eligibility Requirements

For the Promoter

• To be legally established;
• To have an organised accounting system;
• To have fulfilled all obligations related to taxes and social security, and towards the paying agency responsible for the incentive;
• To have a balanced economic and financial situation, to be established through liquid positive annual results in the year before the application date*;
• In the case of support to vocational training, to meet the requirements included in the regulations governing ESF (European Social Fund) support;
• To have concluded any project formerly supported within the framework of this regulation, or within the framework of the Associative Support Measure (Order in Council no. 686-B/2000, of 30 of August);
• To have a suitable organisational structure, and qualified human resources for the activities to be developed.

* Not applicable to associative structures created less than one year ago, nor to local and regional tourism offices.

For the Project

• To fall within the framework of this Support Measure;
• Whenever it includes vocational training actions, the training plan must be coherent and in line with the project purposes, and meet the regulations applicable to ESF support;
• To be part of the medium-term strategy of the beneficiary, in order to guarantee its participation in the decision-making process, and in the implementation of the measures relevant for the economic agents; such strategy should be justified by a medium-term diagnosis and an action plan, proving that the activity to be developed is coherent with its basic development strategy (sector, regional or national);
• To present an annual listing of actions to be developed, according to the objectives defined in the diagnosis and action plan;
• To demonstrate, through a financing plan, that project financing sources are guaranteed;
• To involve a minimum investment amount of 35 thousand euro/year, except for the first year, if the investment foreseen happens only on the second half of that year;
• It must not have been launched before the application introduction date, except for the diagnosis and action plan (that must have been concluded less than 80 working days before) and the down payment for the equipment (that must have been made less than 60 working days before) provided they do not exceed 15% of the total project eligible expenses;
• The project, including the vocational training component, should be coherent with the diagnosis and the medium-term action plan;
• To have qualified human resources at its disposal;
• Annual investment should not exceed four times the average total profits over the last 3 years, including members’ contributions, and after deducting public grants;
• To have a maximum implementation period of 2 years.

Eligible Expenses

• External technical assistance for the diagnosis and action plan development;
• Associative structure internal costs related with the development of the diagnosis and action plan, up to 5% of total eligible expenses;
• Recruiting and/or permanently employing (salaries and mandatory social security expenses) of a maximum of three specialised technical executives, to work directly in the project, and exclusively in specific areas in which the diagnosis has identified weaknesses;
• Upgrading of computer systems, and purchasing of other equipment essential for activity development;
• Preparation and dissemination of sector, regional or thematic studies and monographs;
• Organizing seminars or other meetings intended for awareness raising and information to members;
• Participating in trade fairs and other events aimed at in-country tourism advertising;
• Production and dissemination of specialised publications, yearbooks, catalogues and audiovisual materials;
• Purchasing of technical and economic literature;
• Enrolment fees and subscriptions as members of international organisations, as well as travelling expenses the association's executives may have incurred into, when participating in meetings abroad; costs related with the organisation, in Portugal, of meetings and congresses of the abovementioned organisations – including premises renting, equipment, translation services, advertising, support materials, and lecturers' travelling expenses;
• Expenses related to one-off duly justified participations in national bodies, deemed essential for the association's activity;
• Costs related to the implementation of quality assurance systems in the association that is promoting the project;
• Costs related to the work of certified accountants or statutory auditors;
• Costs related to the vocational training component of the project.

Non-Eligible Expenses

• Second-hand goods purchasing;
• Purchasing of land property  and furniture;
• Motor vehicles and other transport equipment;
• Loan interests, change commissions and losses, and other purely financial expenses;
• Meals;
• VAT, except when disbursed by entities not entitled to refunds from VAT on goods and services purchasing.

Incentive

Any non-refundable incentive shall have a maximum rate of 45% of eligible expenses, with the exception of investments in vocational training.

A surcharge of 15% may be granted as bonus, after project completion and depending on the fulfilment of indicators measuring its impact on the economic structure.

Absolute maximum ceilings shall be graded according to relevant investments, up to a maximum of 30% of the promoter's revenues over the 2-year period immediately before the application; those cannot exceed a total of € 390.000.

• Relevance of the diagnosis and of the medium-term action plan to be implemented, in the light of the Measure/Action goals;
• Degree of fulfilment of material and financial goals achieved in previous projects.

Application Submission

Depending on the activity sector of the associative structure, applications should be presented at IAPMEI or ITP, by filling in the adequate form.

Applications to this Measure are now suspended (Ministerial Order no. 19624-B/2006, of 25 September).  

Bodies in Charge

IAPMEI – Institute for Support to Small and Medium-Size Enterprises and Investment

ITP – Portuguese Tourism Board

Geographical Area 

Mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions.

This information does not dispense with consulting the legislation.

Updated on November 2006.