An internal ruling by Italy’s research ministry has simplified the rules around research spending at public universities below the threshold of €40,000.
According to a note signed off on 25 June by Giuseppe Valditara, the ministry’s chief of higher education, most spending below €40,000 will be exempt from the pan-Italian Mepa tendering procedure that applies to all public institutions.
Mepa stands for Mercato Elettronico della Pubblica Amministrazione, or electronic market for public administration. This procedure requires all vendors offering public contracts to undergo a cumbersome accreditation procedure. Universities have long complained that this damages their competitiveness and makes many smaller research projects financially unviable.
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