PR South-Muntenia: €29.9 million for innovation in SMEs, pre-selection until 20 October

Micro-enterprises and SMEs in the South-Muntenia region have until 20 October 2026 to complete the pre-selection questionnaire for the pilot research and innovation call under the South-Muntenia Regional Programme 2021–2027. The call has an allocation of 29.88 million euro, and grants will range from 30,000 to 100,000 euro per project. Pre-selection is mandatory: only the companies selected at this stage will be invited to submit the funding application in MySMIS.

In brief

• Programme: South-Muntenia Regional Programme 2021–2027, Priority 1, specific objective RSO1.1
• Authority: ADR South-Muntenia, as Managing Authority
• Beneficiaries: micro-enterprises, SMEs and partnerships between them
• Total budget: 29,882,352.94 euro, of which 25.4 million euro from the ERDF and 3,884,705.88 euro from the national budget
• Value per project: between 30,000 and 100,000 euro in non-refundable funding
• Pre-selection period: 20 July – 20 October 2026 (extended deadline, announced on 17 September 2026)
• Status: the guide has been through public consultation (29 April – 22 May 2026). Pre-selection is under way, and the call in MySMIS has not yet been launched.

What does the call fund?

The official title of the call is "Supporting investments in research and innovation activities in micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises to increase the level of technological maturity in the smart specialisation fields". According to the call page, the following are supported:

• industrial research, experimental development and feasibility studies;
• innovation activities: patent protection, seconded highly qualified personnel, innovation consultancy services;
• process innovation and organisational innovation;
• vocational training programmes in the region's smart specialisation (RIS3) fields.

The stated aim is to raise the level of technological maturity. The project must therefore bring a product, service or process one step closer to the market, not merely fund the purchase of equipment. The funding rates for each type of activity are to be set in the final guide.

How does pre-selection work?

The call is part of the pilot study "Grants for innovation and increasing the capacity of SMEs in the South-Muntenia region, Romania – Pilot call for projects". The study is run by ADR South-Muntenia together with the World Bank Group, at the invitation of the European Commission (DG Regio), under the "European Regional Competitiveness Policy Lab" initiative. For this reason, the process differs from an ordinary call:

1. The online questionnaire: completed outside MySMIS, by 20 October 2026.
2. Verification: the project ideas collected are reviewed.
3. Randomisation: the ideas are allocated, using the randomised controlled trial (RCT) method, to funding groups and a non-selected group.
4. Invitation to submit: the selected companies are invited to submit the funding application in MySMIS.
5. The call is non-competitive, with a submission deadline. The opening date in MySMIS has not yet been announced.

6. What do non-selected companies receive?

7. ADR South-Muntenia states that companies in the non-selected group will receive documents certifying their contribution to the study. Their applications will be included on a priority list of projects that will receive additional points in the programming period after 2027. Selected companies also receive an individual feedback report showing their position relative to the sector average.

8. What this means for your business

9. Our recommendation is to treat the questionnaire as a mini funding application, not as a formality. In pre-selection you cannot improve the idea once you have submitted it, and only ideas that pass verification go into randomisation. In practice, before completing it:
10. • check that the project activity falls within a smart specialisation field of the South-Muntenia region;
    • describe the current level of technological maturity and the level you want to reach by the end of the project;
    • prepare the financial data for the last financial years and a budget estimate between 30,000 and 100,000 euro;
    • if you need a partner (another company, a research service provider), speak to them now.
10. A common pitfall is confusing innovation with simple modernisation. A project that merely replaces old equipment with new has little chance in a call focused on research and innovation. The call suits companies that already have a prototype, a tested idea or a concrete technical problem to solve. If you are not sure that you qualify, you can start with the eligibility check.

11. Frequently asked questions

12. Can I submit the funding application directly in MySMIS, without the questionnaire?

13. No. Pre-selection through the online questionnaire is the first stage of the call. Only the companies selected after randomisation will be invited to submit the funding application in MySMIS.

14. Until when can the pre-selection questionnaire be completed?

15. The original deadline, 20 September 2026, has been extended. According to the ADR South-Muntenia announcement of 17 September 2026, the questionnaire can be completed until 20 October 2026.

16. How much can an SME receive through this call?

17. The non-refundable value per project is a minimum of 30,000 and a maximum of 100,000 euro. The total allocation of the call is 29.88 million euro.

18. What happens if my idea is not selected?

19. Companies in the non-selected group receive documents certifying their participation in the study, and their projects go onto a priority list that will receive additional points in the programming period after 2027, according to ADR South-Muntenia.

20. Is the guide final?

21. Not yet. The guide was in public consultation between 29 April and 22 May 2026, and the responses to comments have been published. The final conditions will be those in the guide approved when the call is launched in MySMIS.

22. Official sources

23. • ADR South-Muntenia – call page PRSM/ID/PRSM P1/OP1 (budget, beneficiaries, values, consultation documents)
    • ADR South-Muntenia – Announcement extending the time for completing the pre-selection questionnaire (17 September 2026)
    • ADR South-Muntenia – Start of pre-selection for the pilot innovation call for SMEs
    • ADR South-Muntenia – "SME Innovation" page (methodology and pre-selection questionnaire)
23. Information checked on 26 September 2026. Conditions may be amended by the managing authority — check the guide in force before submitting.