How can your organization take advantage of the Recovery and Resilience Plan?

We continue to support our clients so that, properly framed, they can identify opportunities by reshaping business strategies aligned with the priorities of the recovery and resilience plan.

 

Pedro Monteiro, Business Development Executive, Softinsa
www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-monteiro-3207b119

The Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) was published on February 15, 2021 and is now subject to public consultation, based on an unequivocal reference to our country’s structural options over the decade, which is based on the Strategic Vision for Portugal’s economic recovery plan 2020-2030, work prepared by Prof. António Costa Silva.

After being delivered in the draft in October last year, the national PRR is one of those in the most advanced state of preparation, putting Portugal at a head among its European counterparts.

The PRR benefits from a total financial envelope of EUR 16.643 million (M€), consisting of €13.994 M in grants and €2.699 M in loans, with investment focusing on three major thematic areas: resilience, climate transition and digital transition. Each of them is composed of several components, subdivided into reforms that, in turn, are substantiated through projects.

The Resilience Dimension is the one that absorbs the most resources. Concentrating 61% of the amount of PRR grants, the Resilience Dimension is the most cross-cutting thematic area, linking and contributing to the achievement of the investment targets proposed by the European Commission in the six relevant EU Policy Pillars:

• Ecological transition;
• Digital transformation;
• Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
• Social and territorial cohesion;
• Health and economic, social and institutional resilience;
• Policies for the next generation, children and young people.

Focused on people and the development of the territory, the Resilience Dimension integrates nine components, ranging from Health to Social Responses, through Housing, Innovation, Infrastructure, Qualifications and Competencies, among others. Of these nine components, 20 reforms result, carried out through 43 investments, which aim, for example:

• Reform of the governance model of public hospitals;
• Digital transition in Health;
• Platform + Access;
• Re-industrialization Agendas/Alliances;
• Create 15.000 new skilled jobs, and increase spending (public and private) on R&D to at least 2% of GDP by 2025.

The Climate Transitions Dimension is an ambitious sustainability agenda, significantly altering the landscape of mobility, decarbonisation, the bio-economy of energy efficiency, accelerating the transition to the use of clean and renewable energy, developing the circular economy and changing the paradigm of mobility, taking into account the needs of preserving the future of the new generations. On the other hand, the strong commitment to energy efficiency will lead to a qualitative leap for the Portuguese population, greatly reducing energy poverty situations, which currently affect thousands of families.

In the Climate Transition Dimension, a funding tranche will be applied corresponding to 21% of the total PRR grants. This dimension includes a total of 5 components, resulting in 8 reforms implemented through 14 investments. These investments are objectives, for example:

• Support the acquisition of clean public transport fleets;
• Support energy efficiency solutions by awarding checks to 100.000 households in energy poverty;
• Contribute to reduce by 40% primary energy consumption in public administration;
• Intensively support the renovation of residential, public and service buildings.

The Digital Transition Dimension emphasizes the importance of investing in people and training as engines for the development of an increasingly digital-based economy, a structural pillar of the country, evidenced even more by the pandemic. Portugal needs a focus on school, business and public administration, capable of contributing decisively to increasing the country’s competitiveness and reducing context costs, in line with the Commission’s guidelines in the Communication on the Construction of Europe’s Digital Future and the European Ecological Pact.

The Digital Transition Dimension concentrates 18% of the overall amount of PRR grants and is developed through 5 components that respond to the need for effective digital structures to ensure the dematerialization of learning, transactions and processes and enabling remote work, satisfactorily consolidating the transformation that is already underway in this area, accelerated by the pandemic. In these components, 8 reforms are adopted and 17 investments are implemented, with which important results are to be achieved such as:

• Acquire 260.000 computers for individual use, for students and teachers;
• Train 800.000 people in digital skills with individual training plans and access to online training;
• Promote the digital transition of companies by requalifying 36.000 workers and supporting 30.000 SMEs;
• Promote the digitization of public administration, enhancing interoperability and facilitating access to public services, in particular health, social security, finance and justice, significantly reducing the costs of context for citizens and businesses;
• Strengthen the qualification and rejuvenation of the human resources framework of the Public Administration.

These are the three major dimensions of a Recovery and Resilience Plan which, in conjunction with the other instruments available, such as the Multi-annual Financial Frameworks, which ceases (2014-2020) and what now begins (2021-2027), will mark the start of a wide range of structural reforms capable of meeting the country’s transformation needs, to ensure a future of growth and development based on territorial and people-centered cohesion.

After intensive work of incorporating contributions and strategic development, the PRR is now, once again, submitted to public opinion, for auscultation, with the aim of collecting new contributions to improve it and ensure the greatest possible consensus around the document.

The Recovery and Resilience Plan Portuguese

The combination of funds from the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and the Next Generation EU will allow Portugal to benefit, over the next nine years (considering the N+2 rule for the implementation of the MFF), from a significant volume of funds that should be applied to the recovery and expansion of the national economy. Indeed, the 2021-2027 MFF allocated a total of EUR 29.8 billion to Portugal, in addition to EUR 12.9 billion in grants and EUR 15.7 billion in loans to be financed by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM).

This road-map is being understood and analyzed so that due efforts can be allocated to the investment intentions that are being designed soon. We are prepared for the challenge, and we have the resources. We continue to support our clients so that, properly framed, they can identify opportunities by reshaping business strategies aligned with the priorities of the recovery and resilience plan.

The goal remains through innovation, the implementation of professional solutions and services with a great maturity, in a logic of promoting a quick and efficient management decision. This premise is very much related to the constant changes that occur in the markets, which this pandemic has worsened to a level never seen before.

Support in the digital transition

• Definition and adoption of digital matrix business models, (increase in online presence, digital marketing, ecommerce, cloud solutions)
• Support for the technological capacity of organizations, by empowering cyber-security, privacy and interoperability of systems that are part of the value chain of companies;
• Implementation of programs that ensure data security as well as privacy;
• Promotion of digital school;
• Promotion of information-based decision-making handled using technological tools;
• Training of data-based decision processes and quality management models that allow to increase event monitoring and enhance continuous improvement and response capacity “almost in real time and in context”;
• Support in the implementation of Artificial Intelligence;
• Development of new solutions and digital products;
• Increasing the efficiency of companies and the public sector through the use of digital technologies.

 

Support in the climate transition

• Promoting sustainability in different aspects, such as mobility, circular economy and energy efficiency;
• Definition of mobility plans based on the public transport network, in close coordination with other operators (public and private);
• Support in improving the energy efficiency of production processes;
• Reduction of energy bills through the efficient use of energy and resources (Smart buildings, management of public and private lighting).

 

Learn how your organization can take advantage of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Get in touch with our team of consultants here.