On 4 November 2026, the regional government of Castile-La Mancha announced its decision to award funding totalling €1.3 million to four regional Centros Tecnológicos The body responsible is the Agencia de Investigación e Innovación (INNOCAM). The funding comes from the European Regional Development programme (Feder) under the Feder Castilla-La Mancha 2021–2027 programme and is allocated for the period 2026 to 2028.
According to the authority, the grants go to four centres belonging to the Federación de Entidades de Innovación de Castilla-La Mancha (FEDICAM): the Centro Tecnológico del Calzado (ASIDCAT), the Centro Tecnológico de la Confección (ASINTEC), the Centro Tecnológico del Metal de Castilla-La Mancha (ITECAM) and the Centro Tecnológico de Actividades de la Construcción (NOTIO). The funding will support applied research programmes, innovation projects, research and development support services, and training and knowledge-transfer measures for companies in the region.
The award, now finalised, follows a call for applications published by INNOCAM. The call opened on 9 April 2026; the notice was published in the region’s official gazette on 15 April 2026. The formal list of approved grants was published on 4 November 2026 on the regional government’s Tablón de anuncios. The documents refer to the “Resolución de 09/04/2026” as the legal basis for the procedure. The funding scheme sets maximum amounts per institution to ensure operational stability and the capacity to carry out multi-year projects.
Politically, the Junta de Comunidades frames the measure as part of its regional strategy to strengthen research and innovation capacity, smart specialisation and industrial transformation. The aim is to deepen cooperation between the Centros Tecnológicos and the business sector. INNOCAM cites typical uses of the funding, including participation in research, development and innovation projects, expanding services for companies—such as by hiring additional specialist staff—and measures relating to industrial property rights.
In the short term, the grants are intended to stabilise ongoing collaborative projects and strengthen the competitiveness of regional businesses through improved research and knowledge-transfer services. In the medium term, the regional innovation infrastructure is expected to be consolidated. The notices reviewed contain no specific forecasts of employment effects or subsequent private investment, and the regional government has not quantified these.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).