The CDTI-EPE is a Public Business Entity, dependent on the Ministry of Science and Innovation, which promotes innovation and technological development of Spanish companies. It is the entity that channels requests for aid and support for R+D+i projects from Spanish companies at the national and international levels. Thus, the objective of the CDTI is to contribute to improving the technological level of Spanish companies through the development of the following activities:

• Technical-economic evaluation and granting of public aid for innovation through grants or partially reimbursable aid for R&D projects developed by companies.
• Management and promotion of Spanish participation in international technological cooperation programs.
• Promotion of international transfer of business technology and support services for technological innovation.
• Support for the creation and consolidation of technology-based companies.

The bulk of the CDTI infrastructure is located in Madrid, although it makes a strategic network of offices or representatives abroad available to Spanish companies (Japan -SBTO (Spain Business and Technology Office)-, Belgium -SOST (Spain Office of Science and Technology) and Permanent Secretariat of Eureka-, Brazil -FINEP (Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos)-, Korea, Chile, Morocco, China, India, Mexico and the USA) to support them in their international technological activities .

CDTI functions

The CDTI is governed by private law in its relations with third parties. This allows it to offer companies agility and flexibility in its support services for the development of R&D business projects, the international exploitation of technologies developed by the company and the making of offers for technological-industrial supplies to scientific and technological organizations. .

Consequently, the CDTI grants the company its own economic aid and facilitates access to that of third parties (Grants from the EU R&D Framework Program , for example) to carry out both national and international research and development projects.

Likewise, it provides support to the company to develop international cooperation, for which it offers aid for innovation and technology transfer projects, its foreign network and multilateral (Eureka and Iberoeka) and bilateral cooperation projects with Canada, Japan, China, South Korea, India and South Africa.

Additionally, the CDTI has been empowered as the competent body to issue binding reasoned reports on the projects to which it has granted aid in any of its lines (Royal Decree 2/2007). These documents will provide Spanish companies that have an approved project and with public aid granted by the CDTI, greater legal certainty when it comes to obtaining tax deductions for the expenses incurred in the R&D activities of said projects.  

Finally, the CDTI manages and supports the achievement, by Spanish companies, of industrial contracts with a high technological content generated by different national and European organizations, such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Laboratory for Particle Physics ( CERN), the European Synchrotron (ESRF), Hispasat and Eumetsat.