OBSERVATORY ON STATE AID IMPACT
The aid granted to SME through various forms,represents an important part of the public resources allocated to the regional development.Considering the remarkable amount of resources involved, it is in the interest of each Public Authority to outline the situation regarding the exact amount of the aid granted and, at the same time, to know what is the impact on the area of the regional subsidy policy. Furthermore the present economic crisis calls for evaluation of  contingent policies to be implemented in 2009/2010 by Local Authorities to support the SMEs sector. OSAIS affects basically two aspects: 1) analysis of the macroeconomic impact of the regional subsidy policy in terms of effectiveness. 2) analysis of the impact in terms of efficiency, trying to identify among the different financial tools (grants, interest rate rebates, guarantees, capital injections, accelerated depreciation allowances etc.) the most effective practice (i.e. the best practices).
Both aspects will be taken into consideration to evaluate  a) long term (structural) policy and – also – b) short period (contingent) policy to face the current economic crisis.The goal of the project will be carried out through several activities. The preliminary activity will consists in a series of 6 Joint Thematic Seminars and in data collection by each partner through the creation and networking of data-base. This data processing will be the object of a Joint Thematic Survey which will involve  institutions, Universities and stakeholders. The result of the study will be the identification of best practices in the area of  state aid grant. These best practices will be exchanged among the partners through 6 study visits, 11staff exchanges, 1 joint interregional training session. The dissemination part of the project will be carried out mainly through the publication of a Best Practice Guide, website, a Launch and a Final conference, press conferences, newsletters, brochure,
leaflets, reviews advertisement, TV spots, participation at “Open Days” event. A Conference will be promoted with the involvement of the European Observatory on State Aid. An innovative component of the project will be the development of a new approach to subsidy policies, documented in the OSAIS Guide. The project will go further towards an effective improvement of the regional/local policy in the domain of state aid. The participation in this project is determined by the will of taking advantage of the existing European experiences. The work of the component "exchange of experiences" will be included in  the development of   Action Plans by some partners with detailed specific aid schemes focusing on the most efficient way to support the SME system with the full band witdth of state aid in all contrivable economic, environmental and social areas.The Action Plans will be submitted to the relevant regional legislative/executive bodies.