Call for applications for a grant to support the education and training of developers of cyber security solutions, within the framework of financial support to third parties

This grant opportunity focuses on enhancing education and training for developers of cybersecurity solutions within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia. The program, known as TestCert-SK, is part of the EU Digital Europe Programme and aims to improve testing and certification capabilities in cybersecurity, specifically targeting the EUCC cybersecurity certification scheme.

Eligible applicants are SMEs that must be registered in Slovakia and have approved financial accounts for the preceding financial year. They should demonstrate an intention to provide or supply products with digital elements as per the Cyber Resilience Act.

The funding type is characterized as a non-repayable grant, distributed as financial support to eligible partners. This opportunity does not require a consortium; only a single applicant is permitted to submit a proposal. The geographic focus is strictly Slovakia.

The sector targeted by this grant is cybersecurity, emphasizing education and training that leads to certification for developers of cybersecurity solutions. The amount of financial support varies based on the number of trainees involved in the educational activity, with allocations between €3,210 and €9,630, excluding VAT.

The application process is open, with a single-stage deadline set for June 15, 2025. Applications must be submitted electronically via Slovakia’s Central Public Administration Portal with a qualified electronic signature. A ranking system will be used to evaluate applications, and only projects fully covered by available funds will receive grant agreements.

There is no co-funding requirement, and grants will cover 100% of the eligible expenses associated with employee training. The total budget for this call is €120,000, with an expected participation term lasting until March 30, 2026.

In summary, the grant supports SMEs in Slovakia to enhance their cybersecurity capabilities through employee training and certification processes linked to the EU's regulatory framework. It aims to fill the cybersecurity skills gap within the region, aligning with broader EU objectives for technological resilience and regulatory compliance within the digital landscape.

This is a call for applications for a grant to support the education and training of developers of cyber security solutions, within the framework of financial support to third parties. The call is part of the TestCert-SK project, officially named "Testing and Certification Capabilities in Slovakia," which has been funded by the EU under grant agreement number 101127837. The topic is DIGITAL-ECCC-2022-CYBER-03-TEST-CERT-CAPABILTIES - Testing and Certification Capabilities.

The opening date for submissions was 31 March 2025, and the deadline for submission is 15 June 2025 at 18:00 (Brussels time). The expected duration of participation is until 30 March 2026. The total funding available for this call is 120,000.00 EUR.

The completed application form must be signed by the statutory body with a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic signature bearing a mandate certificate or a qualified electronic seal. The applicant must send the signed application to the Authority in electronic form as an annex to the electronic submission via the Authority’s electronic mailbox established within the Central Public Administration Portal www.slovensko.sk using the ‘General Agenda’ service. Applications not received in this manner will be disqualified. Annex 2 to the call, ‘Conditions for granting a grant,’ provides further details on the method of delivery.

Each grant application will be assessed using the Criteria for the selection of projects, outlined in Annex 4 to the call, to establish a ranking. The Authority will create a descending ranking of applicants whose applications meet the conditions for granting a grant, based on the points obtained from the criteria. The purpose of this ranking is to determine the order in which notifications of compliance and draft grant agreements are sent. Draft grant agreements will only be sent to applicants for whom the grant is fully covered by the available call funds, in the order determined by the project selection criteria. Applicants for whom the grant is not fully covered will not receive a draft agreement due to lack of funds.

Eligible projects must aim to obtain a certificate of completion of an education/training course in the field of product certification under the EUCC cybersecurity certification scheme and Commission Implementing Regulation 2024/482 for a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 employees of the applicant. The minimum requirements for the scope of the educational activity/training are detailed in Annex 7 to this call. An applicant may submit only one application; in case of multiple submissions, the Authority will consider the last application submitted.

Eligible applicants are legal entities pursuant to Section 2(2)(a) of the Commercial Code, meeting all the following conditions:

1.  They must meet the definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), as defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.
2.  They must be registered in the territory of the Slovak Republic at the date of application submission.
3.  They must have approved accounts for:
 *  A completed financial year which is not a financial year of less than 12 months and which is also immediately preceding the financial year in which the application is submitted. For example, if applying in 2024, the accounting period should be 2023.
 *  OR a completed financial year which is not a financial year of less than 12 months and which is also immediately preceding the financial year referred to in the preceding indent. For example, if applying in 2024, the accounting year should be 2022.
 *  In the case of SMEs resulting from a merger or division, the period of business of the longest-running merging company, the capital or part thereof of which has been transferred to the successor company, shall also be taken into account for the purposes of assessing the period of business.
4.  They must demonstrate, at the date of application submission, that they intend to provide or are providing a product with digital elements to customers, according to REGULATION (EU) 2024/2847 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 October 2024 on horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulations (EU) No 168/2013 and (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2020/1828 (Cyber Resilience Act). This includes application software that runs on any platform and performs tasks on behalf of a user or system owner, such as office packages, development environments, server-client applications, thin clients, communication tools, software implementation of a network device connected to an IP network, cryptographic data protection applications, smartphone applications, or HW equipment within which such application SW is implemented.

Grants will cover 100% of the total eligible expenditure and will be implemented based on the submitted payment application and the conditions laid down in the call and its related documents. The minimum grant amount is 3,210 EUR (excluding VAT), and the maximum grant amount is 9,630 EUR (excluding VAT).

The maximum grant amount depends on the number of employees who successfully complete the educational activity/training:

Number of trainees: 1
Amount of education allowance: EUR 3000 excluding VAT
Flat rate for indirect expenditure: 210 EUR
Total grant granted: EUR 3210 (excluding VAT)

Number of trainees: 2
Amount of education allowance: EUR 6000 excluding VAT
Flat rate for indirect expenditure: 420 EUR
Total grant granted: EUR 6420 (excluding VAT)

Number of trainees: 3
Amount of education allowance: EUR 9000 excluding VAT
Flat rate for indirect expenditure: 630 EUR
Total grant granted: EUR 9630 (excluding VAT)

For more information, applicants should visit https://ncca.nbu.gov.sk/vyzva-na-predkladanie-ziadosti-o-nenavratny-financny-prispevok-nfp-na-podporu-vzdelavania-a-odbornej-pripravy-vyvojarov-rieseni-v-oblasti-kybernetickej-bezpecnosti/.

In summary, this opportunity provides funding for SMEs in the Slovak Republic to train their employees in cybersecurity, specifically related to product certification under the EUCC scheme. The grant covers the costs of training and indirect expenditures, with the amount varying based on the number of employees trained, up to a maximum of three. The goal is to enhance the cybersecurity capabilities of companies providing products with digital elements, aligning with the EU's Cyber Resilience Act. The application process involves electronic submission with qualified electronic signatures, and projects are evaluated based on predefined criteria.

Eligible Applicant Types: Eligible applicants are legal entities that meet the definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) according to Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. They must be registered in the territory of the Slovak Republic at the date of submission and have approved accounts for a completed financial year which is not a financial year of less than 12 months and which is also immediately preceding the financial year in which the application is submitted, or a completed financial year which is not a financial year of less than 12 months and which is also immediately preceding the financial year referred to in the preceding indent. In the case of SMEs resulting from a merger or division, the period of business of the longest-running merging company, the capital or part thereof of which has been transferred to the successor company, shall also be taken into account for the purposes of assessing the period of business. Applicants must also demonstrate that they intend to provide or are providing a product with digital elements to customers, according to REGULATION (EU) 2024/2847 (Cyber Resilience Act). This includes application software, such as office packages, development environments, server-client applications, thin clients, communication tools, software implementation of a network device that is connected to an IP network and plays the role of transmission security or control of IP packet flow within that network, cryptographic data protection applications, smartphone applications, etc., or HW equipment within which such application SW is implemented.

Funding Type: Grant. The call provides non-refundable grants (NFP) to eligible applicants.

Consortium Requirement: Single. An applicant may submit only one application for a grant.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is the Slovak Republic, as applicants must be registered in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Target Sector: Cybersecurity. Specifically, the program targets the education and training of developers of cybersecurity solutions, focusing on product certification under the EUCC cybersecurity certification scheme. The call is related to testing and certification capabilities in Slovakia.

Mentioned Countries: Slovak Republic.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on training and education leading to certification. The projects should aim at obtaining a certificate of completion of an education/training course in the field of product certification under the EUCC cybersecurity certification scheme.

Funding Amount: The minimum grant amount is €3,210 (excluding VAT), and the maximum grant amount is €9,630 (excluding VAT). The grant amount depends on the number of employees who successfully complete the educational activity/training. For one trainee, the total grant is EUR 3,210 (excluding VAT), for two trainees, it is EUR 6,420 (excluding VAT), and for three trainees, it is EUR 9,630 (excluding VAT).

Application Type: Open call. The call is open for submission with a single-stage deadline model.

Nature of Support: Money. Beneficiaries will receive financial support in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: 1. Submission of the application form with a qualified electronic signature or seal via the Central Public Administration Portal. 2. Evaluation of the application based on the Criteria for the selection of projects (Annex 4). 3. Notification of compliance with the conditions for granting a grant and sending a draft grant agreement to applicants for whom the grant is fully covered by the available funds.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided text. The text mentions that draft grant agreements will only be sent to applicants whose grant is fully covered by the available funds, suggesting that the success rate depends on the available budget and the ranking of applications based on the evaluation criteria.

Co-funding Requirement: No. Grants for eligible applicants will amount to 100% of the total eligible expenditure.

Summary: This opportunity is a call for applications for grants aimed at supporting the education and training of developers of cybersecurity solutions in Slovakia. The program, named TestCert-SK (Testing and Certification Capabilities in Slovakia), is funded by the EU and managed by a Slovak authority. The goal is to enhance the testing and certification capabilities in the cybersecurity sector by providing SMEs with grants to train their employees in product certification under the EUCC cybersecurity certification scheme. Eligible applicants are SMEs registered in the Slovak Republic that provide or intend to provide products with digital elements. The grant covers 100% of eligible expenses, with the amount varying between €3,210 and €9,630 (excluding VAT) depending on the number of employees trained (between 1 and 3). The application process involves submitting a signed application form electronically via the Central Public Administration Portal. Applications will be evaluated based on predefined criteria, and successful applicants will receive a grant agreement. The opening date for submission is March 31, 2025, and the deadline is June 15, 2025. The total funding available for this call is €120,000. The program is designed to help SMEs comply with the Cyber Resilience Act by upskilling their workforce in cybersecurity product certification.