The paper deals with the evaluation and financing of research and innovation projects. The paper analyzes and discusses the “Technological Vouchers and Cooperative Research” program in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy), as a program for financing R&D projects in a geographical area far behind in development. Three real cases of R&D projects are described. The program was effective as regards the stimulus to realizing R&D activities by Calabrian SMEs and furthermore in relation to the improvement of cooperation between SMEs, research centers, universities and technological laboratories. The weak points of the program mainly regard the evaluation phase that made it impossible to get a feedback useful for policy and for driving future agenda.