Full URL: https://www.infosubvenciones.es/bdnstrans/GE/es/index
Strategic Imperative
The National Subsidies Database is the definitive record of non-tender public funding in Spain. For COCOO, this intelligence is vital for mapping the financial relationships between the state and the private sector. A company’s reliance on public subsidies is a potential vulnerability, and the government’s pattern of giving subsidies reveals its true policy priorities.
This platform is mission-critical for:
- Identifying Competitor Weaknesses: A competitor that is heavily reliant on public subsidies can be vulnerable. If we can demonstrate, using Violation Tracker, that this company is non-compliant with the very regulations the subsidy is meant to uphold (e.g., receiving environmental subsidies while committing environmental violations), we create a powerful case for the subsidy to be revoked.
- Challenging State Aid Decisions: This database provides the raw data to identify potential illegal State Aid. If a subsidy provides a selective advantage to one company over its competitors, it may be open to a formal challenge with the EC, a core COCOO strategy.
- Uncovering “Enforcement Gaps”: We can identify situations where the government is subsidizing companies that are actively working against its own stated policies (e.g., giving innovation grants to a firm engaged in anti-competitive practices). This contradiction is a clear “Enforcement Gap” that we can exploit.
- Informing our “Challenge Discretionary Power” Doctrine: The decision to award a grant is a discretionary act. This database provides the evidence needed to question the basis for that act, especially if the beneficiary is a high-risk entity or linked to decision-makers.
Part I: The Search Platform’s Rules & Functionality
The platform is a filter-based search engine that allows for highly specific queries.
- No Complex Operators: Like other Spanish government portals, the search relies on filling structured fields rather than using complex Boolean operators.
- Key Search Fields (
Criterios de búsqueda
):NIF
: The most precise way to search for a specific beneficiary, using their tax ID.Beneficiario
(Beneficiary): Searches for a company or individual by name.Órgano convocante
(Granting Body): A critical filter to see all grants awarded by a specific ministry, regional government, or public body.Título de la convocatoria
(Title of the Call): A keyword search for the name or subject of the grant program itself (e.g.,digitalización
,sostenibilidad
).Región
: Filters grants by the autonomous community.Fecha
(Date): Filters for grants awarded within a specific time period.Importe concedido
(Amount granted): Allows filtering for subsidies above or below a certain value.
Part II: The COCOO Strategic Search Model for the Subsidies Database
This protocol provides a workflow for turning subsidy data into strategic leverage.
Phase 1: Adversary & Sectoral Intelligence Gathering
- Step 1.1: Competitor Subsidy Audit: For any key competitor or adversary, run a search for their
NIF
or name in theBeneficiario
field. The goal is to create a complete dossier of all public subsidies they have received. Quantify their level of dependency on public funds. - Step 1.2: Thematic Grant Analysis: Use the
Título de la convocatoria
keyword search to find all grants related to a specific policy area (e.g., “artificial intelligence,” “renewable energy”). This identifies all companies being state-funded to operate in that space, revealing the government’s chosen “champions.” - Step 1.3: Granting Body Analysis: Use the
Órgano convocante
filter to analyze the grant-giving patterns of a specific public body. Are they consistently awarding grants to the same set of companies? This can be an indicator of a closed ecosystem or potential bias.
Phase 2: The “Hypocrisy & Contradiction” Protocol
This is the core protocol for generating leverage from this platform.
- Step 2.1: Identify the Subsidy: From the audit in Step 1.1, identify a significant subsidy received by a target company. Note the purpose of the grant (e.g., for environmental improvements, for worker training).
- Step 2.2: Find the Contradictory Violation: Immediately run the beneficiary company through our other intelligence tools, primarily Violation Tracker UK (and its Spanish equivalents). The goal is to find a direct contradiction. For example:
- The company received a large environmental grant, but Violation Tracker shows they were recently fined for pollution.
- The company received a grant for job creation, but their financial reports (from InfoCIF) show significant layoffs.
- Step 2.3: Document the Evidence: Compile a simple but powerful dossier containing two pieces of evidence: the official record of the subsidy from this portal, and the official record of the violation.
Phase 3: Strategic Action
- Step 3.1: Challenge the Subsidy: The documented contradiction is grounds for a formal complaint to the granting body and potentially to an anti-fraud office. The argument is that the beneficiary has obtained public funds under false pretenses or has violated the terms of the subsidy.
- Step 3.2: Create Leverage Against the Beneficiary: This evidence can be used as leverage in a separate legal dispute. A company facing the potential revocation of its public subsidies may be more willing to settle another matter on favorable terms.
Part III: Application to COCOO Doctrines
This model directly executes our strategies for creating leverage and challenging public decisions.
Mind Map Doctrine | Application of the National Subsidies Database Model |
Challenge Discrpower / Enforcement Gap | The “Hypocrisy & Contradiction” protocol (Phase 2) is the primary mechanism for identifying a clear “Enforcement Gap”. We use this to “Challenge the Discretionary Power” of the body that awarded the grant, questioning their due diligence. |
State Aid (EC/CMA) | This database is the starting point for identifying potentially illegal State Aid in Spain. A grant that appears to give a selective advantage to one company over others can be flagged for a potential complaint to the European Commission. |
Benchmarking / Competitor Analysis | The Competitor Subsidy Audit (Step 1.1) is a key part of our competitor analysis. Understanding a rival’s reliance on state funding is a critical indicator of their true financial health and political connections. |
Noisefilter | A company’s public statements about their commitment to sustainability are just noise. The record of them receiving environmental subsidies while also being fined for pollution is the signal that matters. |
PTW (Political Time Window) | The discovery of a major contradiction (e.g., a politically connected company receiving large grants while violating the law) has maximum impact if revealed during a sensitive time, such as a debate on the budget of the granting ministry. |