The Polish Agency for the Development of Entrepreneurship (PARP) offers two subsidy programs for entrepreneurs interested in the introduction of quality management systems in their companies.

The first is the Introduction to Quality program carried out as part of the National Program of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development PHARE 2000 program based on the Financial Memorandum signed Dec. 29, 2000 by the Polish government and the European Commission. The program enables entrepreneurs to apply to PARP for subsidies to co-finance advisory services and training costs connected with the improvement of product and service quality.

Projects realized as a part of the program may concern:

- preparation of small and medium-sized enterprises' personnel for quality management,
- obtaining compliance certificates for products, materials, machines and appliances, control-and-measuring apparatus and personnel
- evaluation of product compliance with EU instructions, granting the CE mark, which enables access to EU markets
- obtaining a certificate for specific quality systems in some industry sectors (food, medical, automotive and telecommunications)
- improvement of management systems after certification.

The projects must be carried out in Poland and completed by June 30, 2003 (the application deadline is March 5, 2003). The budget of the subsidy fund is 1 million euros from EU resources and 330,000 euros from the state budget. Nearly a million euros remains unused (by the end of September 2002, ninety contracts for the sum of 330,000 euros were signed). A subsidy per project cannot be smaller than 1,000 euros and not bigger than 7,000 euros. The amount of project costs financed from the program's budget cannot exceed 60 percent. The applicant may hand in more than one application during the Introduction to Quality program. In such a case, the subsidy granted to each project cannot be smaller than 1,000 euros and the total sum of all subsidies granted cannot exceed 7,000 euros.

The applicant must be a small or a medium-sized entrepreneur, in the understanding of the Business Activity Act of Nov. 19, 1999, and located on the territory of Poland. He should possess the proper financial means to ensure the smooth and prompt realization of projects. The entrepreneur is also obliged to present a realistic estimate guaranteeing profitability of the undertaking on the basis of estimated actual costs.

The second program was launched in June 2001. At that time, PARP began accepting applications from entrepreneurs competing for subsidies to obtain the certificate. A total of 1,100 such applications were submitted by the end of 2001, and 1,200 more were received by the end of August 2002.

Subsidies are granted to small and medium-sized enterprises for financing part of the advisory services and training costs connected with the design and introduction of certificate-granting quality management systems, environment management systems and occupational safety management systems. This applies mainly to seminars and introductory training for managers, analysis, training for personnel and employees, the preparation of documentation, the introduction of the managing system, and the internal audit. Part of the costs connected with the certification audit conducted by a certifying unit in the accreditation system can be refunded.

No more than 60 percent of the costs of advisory services and training realized after the signing of the subsidy contract can be financed. However, the financing cannot exceed zl. 20,000 in the case of small enterprises, and zl.25,000 in the case of medium-sized enterprises. Similarly, the net costs of the certification audit can be refunded at most by 60 percent, and the subsidy cannot exceed zl.6,000 for small enterprises and zl.12,000 for medium-sized enterprises. If more than one management system is designed and introduced at the same time, the aforementioned limits are enlarged by 50 percent.

The subsidy cannot be granted to an entrepreneur who is in arrears with paying taxes or insurance contributions or who has already obtained public assistance for the financing of the whole or a part of the costs associated with the aforementioned subsidy.

Although it is possible for one entrepreneur to use both programs, the Polish Agency for the Development of Entrepreneurship distributes the funds based on the principle that a single project cannot be financed twice.

Refunding foreign costs

One of the initiatives of the Ministry of the Economy which are meant to support Polish entrepreneurs active on foreign markets is the Refunding of Part of the Costs in Obtaining a Product Certificate or of Registering a Trademark Abroad. The program was launched at the beginning of August. Product certificates and trademark registration are necessary for running an export activity or improving export products' competitiveness.

The certification mentioned in the program consists of both European (i.e. the CE mark) and international certificates of compliance with requirements according to the norms of a given foreign market, as well as certificates necessary for exporting goods to foreign markets such as veterinary or hygiene certificates.

The refund amounts to 50 percent of documented costs of all activities leading to the obtainment of a certificate or extension of its validity, as well as registration costs of a trademark abroad. In 2002 the yearly limit for financing one entrepreneur within the program is zl.50,000. One million zlotys has been earmarked for this purpose from the Ministry of the Economy budget. The contracts are signed on a "first come, first serve" basis, until the public means earmarked for this project in a given year are exhausted.

The realization of the program shall involve cooperation with economic-commercial departments of Polish embassies. They are to evaluate the significance and legitimacy of obtaining particular certificates or trademark registration prior to the introduction of products on a given foreign market. They will also verify the amount of cost invoices provided by an entrepreneur for refund.
In order to take advantage of the refund (as in the case of PARP subsidies), the entrepreneur cannot be in arrears with either insurance contributions or taxes. Proper motivation in the choice of a given certifying or registering unit is also significant.

Wojciech Jankowski
(The author is a journalist with "Wspólnota" Selfgovernment Weekly Magazine)