The initiation and launch of the Proof-of-Concept program will be extended to all regions in Romania, being allocated from the ROP 2014-2020 an amount of 10 million euros to finance selected projects (of which 2 million euros for the Bucharest-Ilfov Region).

The activities within the PoC started in September of this year with a workshop in Bucharest where the representatives of the ROP MA, together with the project teams from the World Bank and the RDAs organized a brainstorming on how to launch the program. According to the initial planning, the activities for the PoC program will include:

• workshops for the validation of the methodology proposed by the World Bank

• interviews, consultations for the development and launch of the program (procedures, manuals, governance structure, list of knowledge providers, selection criteria, amount of financial support, establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework)

• training in the field of proof-of-concept programs, alignment of voucher programs with grants available in the region

• completion of the operational manual

• participation in study visits

• implementation of the program by the beneficiaries

• evaluation of results

•  generation of a set of documents: draft intellectual property policies, NDA forms, model licensing agreements, etc.

• advice on specific issues identified

• development of medium and long-term action plans on the activity of technology transfer entities.