Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital)

The Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital) targets micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as craft businesses with an operating facility in the state of Brandenburg. The program aims to sustainably strengthen their innovation and competitiveness through digitalization projects.

The BIG-Digital Innovation Voucher specifically funds digitalization projects aimed at organizational and process innovations. This includes consulting, implementation, and training projects. Specific project-related expenses are funded, while certain cost categories are explicitly excluded. The funding focuses on projects in various development phases, from analysis to implementation and qualification.

The Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital) program offers financial support in the form of non-repayable grants. The funding rate is 50 percent of the eligible expenses. The maximum funding amount varies depending on the project type, with implementation projects being able to receive the highest grant of up to 250,000 euros. Project durations are clearly defined and depend on the nature of the project.

To receive funding through the Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital), applicants must meet various conditions and requirements. These include specific conditions for application and project commencement, rules on aid cumulation, and comprehensive obligations regarding transparency, communication, and data collection, which are particularly due to co-financing from EU funds.

The application procedure for the Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital) is clearly structured and requires prior expert consultation. Complete documents are submitted online via the portal of the Investment Bank of the State of Brandenburg (ILB). Approval is at the discretion of the ILB, taking into account an expert opinion from the WFBB. The payment and proof of use procedures also run through the ILB online portal.

The legal basis for the Brandenburg Innovation Voucher (BIG-Digital) is primarily a guideline from the Brandenburg Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy. The program is also based on budgetary law and specific EU regulations, particularly the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), as it is co-financed by funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). These legal frameworks ensure conformity with national and European state aid rules.