Innovative underfunding by Valencia Innovation Agency (AVI) extends into the Alicante province. Since the three-year program began in 2021, AVI has continued direct support with a focus on Valencia. As a result, assets in Alicante and Castellón receive less attention, though the 2023-2025 call published this week in the DOGV shows reduced amounts for first and last names. The question remains where science parks or the Technological Institutes Network are accessible in Ibi and Elda.
In a report published yesterday, an item under 8,000 euros per year targets student internships at the University of Valencia. Looking back, the highest recorded subsidy was granted by the state. The founding of Valencia General University Hospital and more than 2 million donors supported a program ending in 2024.
Another significant recipient within this framework is the General Foundation of the University of Valencia (UV), responsible for Arxiu Valencià del Disseny, which receives a grant of 130,000 euros annually.
New setback from AVI to Alicante: direct assistance reduced
In addition, Valencia Community Designers Association, located in the innovative center of Valencia, Las Naves, benefits from 150,000 euros each year for the first three activities. The group includes professionals, teachers, and students.
Other autonomous organizations, such as associations indromeda, face difficulty regionalizing the amounts. They include employers, universities, and unions, totaling over a million euros annually.
The program’s total budget for the year, continuing through 2025, stands at 197 million. About 7% is nominal, a share lower than in earlier years, as AVI fixed and removed issues of direct injection for robotic surgery within the Valencia hospital. The Generalitat Official Journal of November 2020 states that La Fe Health Research Institute, three units from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, two from UV, one from Jaume I in Castellón, one from Alicante, and another from Miguel Hernández were allocated a budget of 6.9 million for 2021–2023.
AVI aims to phase out such direct aid and retain only those aligned with obligations inherited from Ivace. The agency, under the Ministry of Innovation and Universities, has become a valuable financing tool for areas like innovative public procurement and strategies targeting this line.
AVI’s selective funding: more aid for Alicante but limited overall impact
The program’s approach has drawn scrutiny, aligning with Botanic’s philosophy and the regional government under President Ximo Puig. Since taking office, regional leaders have adjusted the distribution in response to concerns raised by public and economic researchers about underfunding in some areas. Alicante and Castellón show zero or minimal direct scholarships when compared to the overall geographic spread.
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According to the Generalitat Valenciana Transparency Portal, AVI provided 15 million subsidies in 2019, 3.5 million of which were direct. In 2020, aid exceeded 18 million and half went to direct allocations. By 2021, direct aid dropped to 4.6 million from over 60 million in total investments, with 46 million awarded through competitive processes. The 2022 rollout shows a similar pattern, with 46 million through competition and 3.8 million directly.
Recent regional data reveal the distribution of aid last October. In 2022, Alicante received 9,739,800 euros, about 20.6% of the total; Castellón received 9.2%; and Valencia accounted for 66%, leaving smaller shares for other provinces. A presentation of the annual bases accompanying each program is anticipated mid-month. Analysts advocate a system where the evaluation panel includes experts from all three provinces to structure initiatives, support productive sectors, promote equal opportunities, and enforce more transparent criteria.