Securing funding is a decisive step that ensures a project will get off the ground.

Every month a Funding Committee, made up of representatives from government, local authorities and other public and private funding bodies, meets at the Pôle Mer Bretagne to direct new projects towards suitable sources of finance and to provide an update on the progress of project proposals submitted to them for funding.

FUNDING BODIES

Putting together project funding

The Fonds Unique Interministeriel (FUI - French interministerial funding programme)

The FUI finances collaborative research and development projects set up by clusters whose remit is to promote competitiveness. The aim of the fund is to support applied research projects that will lead to the development of products or services with the potential for market placement in the short to medium term.
To find out more, visit: www.competitivite.gouv.fr

The Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR - French national research agency)

The ANR funds research projects that are selected according to criteria of scientific and technical excellence. Projects recognised by economic competitiveness clusters can apply for such funding by signing up for programmes specified by the ANR.

To find out more, visit: www.anr.fr

Brittany local authorities

• The Région Bretagne (Brittany region), Départements and  Communautés d’agglomération de Bretagne* (Brittany administrative districts and urban communities) contribute significantly to financing recognised projects. Each year the level of funding from these sources is equivalent to 30% of all project financing.

• In additional to providing substantial sums, the local authorities have established an exemplary funding process: as a group, with the Region heading up the process, the local authorities have drawn up a single funding dossier that simplifies administration for project directors.

• Each of the following contributes to a single local authority fund with a competitive application process:

• Région Bretagne - Brittany Region

• Département du Finistère - Finistère District Council

• Département d’Ille et Vilaine - Ille-et-Vilaine District Council

• Département du Morbihan - Morbihan District Council

• Brest Métropole Océane - Brest Urban Community Council

• Quimper Agglomération - Quimper Municipal Council

• Cap Lorient - Lorient Municipal Council

• Saint-Malo Agglomération - Saint Malo Municipal Council

• Rennes Métropole - Rennes Urban Community Council

OSEO Anvar

OSEO Anvar, an enterprise agency, provides interest-free loans, that have to be repaid in the event a project is successful, and in some cases grants to support R&D projects undertaken by SMEs and companies with fewer than 2000 employees.

To find out more, visit: www.oseo.fr

Other sources of funding

Depending on the nature of a project and/or the players involved, the Pôle Mer Bretagne may assist in directing it towards other agencies for support: Fonds Ministériel Spécifique (Ministerial funding for special projects), Agence De l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie (ADEME - Environment and energy efficiency agency), ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), Concertation pour l’Innovation Technologique dans l’Exploration et la Production d’Hydrocarbures (CITEPH - Funding body for R&D and innovation in the hydrocarbon industry), etc.

To find out more, visit:

• The ADEME website: www.ademe.fr

• The website of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment: under the tab 'ministère', look for the heading 'politique industrielle' and pages devoted to the 'pôles de compétitivité' and to 'financement des projets': www.minefe.gouv.fr

• The government website devoted to promoting and developing the economic competitiveness clusters: www.competitivite.gouv.fr

• The website for the CITEPH programme: www.gep-france.com