ENAC and the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) have formalised an agreement to establish a collaboration framework with ENAC-accredited validation and inspection bodies participating within the framework of the CDTI's activities.

The CDTI is the body under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities that promotes innovation and technological development of Spanish companies through programs, instruments and the channelling of applications for aid and support for Spanish companies' R&D&I projects.

This agreement formalises the intense collaboration already existing between the two organisations in the technical field. In 2022, the CDTI decided to make use of ENAC-accredited inspectors to give absolute confidence to complying with the DNSH principle (Do No Significant Harm to the environment) and for granting its partially reimbursable aid to R&D&i projects co-financed with ERDF funds. For this reason, ENAC drew up the corresponding accreditation scheme and, since then, both organisations have been collaborating in refining this scheme. There are already 9 accredited bodies providing the service to the CDTI.

With the agreement signed, providing institutional coverage and continuity to this collaboration, both organizations express their firm willingness to continue cooperating in the future to develop new accreditation schemes, if required by the CDTI, and in training and promotion activities.

Beatriz Rivera, ENAC's General Director, highlights this cooperation's institutional importance: "Governments around the world increasingly opt for accreditation as the mechanism to choose assessment and control services that have the necessary technical competence to carry out their activity in key sectors for public policies. It makes us proud that an institution with the prestige and solvency as the CDTI is using accredited inspection to strengthen its compliance assessment processes with requirements for managing public aid and it reaffirms that we are on the right track”.

For his part, José Moisés Martín Carretero, CDTI General Director, confirmed that "this strategic alliance is essential for promoting innovation and technological development in Spain in a sustainable and responsible way. Our collaboration with ENAC is crucial and brings significant added value to our assessment processes as, thanks to its accredited validation and inspection bodies, we can offer Spanish companies the utmost confidence in granting aid to R&D&I projects and in the technical competence related to project assessment. This is one more step to continue maintaining the highest standards of quality and sustainability and to help build, from the public sector, a more robust, reliable innovation ecosystem oriented towards a sustainable future for Spain”.