Purpose: To analyse the scientific production around public R&D&I funds in Spain, in a context in which policies to promote innovation and development are considered essential for the progress of developed countries and receive significant amounts of the public budget.Design/methodology: Systematic review of all the scientific contributions collected in the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus and Proquest until March 2021, in which mention is made of R&D&I grants in Spain.Findings: Scientific production indicates the positive impact of R&D&I aid on employment, private investment and cooperation. The list of topics which academic research deals with in this sense is, however, limited. Thus, aspects are identified in which there is still not enough scientific evidence, such as the effect of aid on the production of patents and utility models or the dissemination of the supported projects.