Article 27U.K.Aid for innovation clusters
1.Aid for innovation clusters shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2.Aid for innovation clusters shall be granted exclusively to the legal entity operating the innovation cluster (cluster organisation).
3.Access to the cluster's premises, facilities and activities shall be open to several users and be granted on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. Undertakings which have financed at least 10 % of the investment costs of the innovation cluster may be granted preferential access under more favourable conditions. In order to avoid overcompensation, such access shall be proportional to the undertaking's contribution to the investment costs and these conditions shall be made publicly available.
4.The fees charged for using the cluster's facilities and for participating in the cluster's activities shall correspond to the market price or reflect their costs.
5.Investment aid may be granted for the construction or upgrade of innovation clusters. The eligible costs shall be the investment costs in intangible and tangible assets.
6.The aid intensity of investment aid for innovation clusters shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs. The aid intensity may be increased by 15 percentage points for innovation clusters located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty and by 5 percentage points for innovation clusters located in assisted areas fulfilling the conditions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty
7.Operating aid may be granted for the operation of innovation clusters. It shall not exceed 10 years.
8.The eligible costs of operating aid for innovation clusters shall be the personnel and administrative costs (including overhead costs) relating to:
(a)animation of the cluster to facilitate collaboration, information sharing and the provision or channelling of specialised and customised business support services;
(b)marketing of the cluster to increase participation of new undertakings or organisations and to increase visibility;
(c)management of the cluster's facilities; organisation of training programmes, workshops and conferences to support knowledge sharing and networking and transnational cooperation.
9.The aid intensity of operating aid shall not exceed 50 % of the total eligible costs during the period over which the aid is granted.