An Italian preview of evidences in accessing EU funds by the SMEs. Social and economic development leveraging in the R&D and Innovation capabilities

An overview of the Italian scenario has been developed considering the driving role SMEs play in the economic structure of the country and the pioneering function they have played in R&D and Innovation of Italy and of the whole Union in general. Through secondary data provided by various sources, such as the Cordis database, Istat and CIS 2018 we have done the analysis of regional disparities, which is also evident in the access to the European funds for research and innovation of SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the position held by Italy in relation to the opportunities offered by the European Union in the field of R&D and innovation, reflecting the changes that can be undertaken by the Italian national policy to serve as a bridge between the European institutions that offer these types of funds and SMEs and to better guide the latter towards the appropriate resources based on their distinctive characteristics which constitute a great development potential.