Choosing a Good Project for the EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument Phase 2) Posted on May 29, 2020October 9, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. While any type of industry or product is eligible for an EIC Accelerator application, the EU specifically seeks out innovative businesses that are providing high-risk and high-reward products or services. The evaluation criteria directly mention new market creation, market disruption as well as the establishment of new value-chains and, while these factors are not mandatory, they are a necessity to reach a score high enough for the step 1 threshold. In total, there are a number of requirements which are largely optional but will increase the chances of success significantly. The innovative nature of the project is the most central part of the proposal and, without it, the chances of success are minuscule. The following questions aim to assess the innovation of a product or service and the more of them can be answered with a ‘yes’, the better. Are there no close competitors in your niche who are providing almost the same product or service? Can you name at least one unique selling point (USP) of your product or service which, even compared to your closest competitors, sets you apart? Are your USP’s directly addressing the customer pain points without being mere peripheral features? Are you creating a new market or solve an existing problem in a new way (i.e. disrupt an existing market)? Is your product protected through a patent or otherwise difficult to copy? If a large company in your industry wanted to copy your product or service, would it take them more than a few years? This article was last modified on Oct 9, 2020 @ 11:16 These tips are not only useful for European startups, professional writers, consultants and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) but are generally recommended when writing a business plan or investor documents. Deadlines: Post-Horizon 2020, the EIC Accelerator accepts Step 1 submissions now while the deadlines for the full applications (Step 2) under Horizon Europe are: Step 1 (short proposal) open now Step 2 (business plan, closing 17:00 Brussels Time) 1st cut-off: - 2nd cut-off: - 3rd cut-off: - 4th cut-off: October 3rd 2024 Step 3 (interview) 1st cut-off: - 2nd cut-off: - 3rd cut-off: - 4th cut-off 2024: January 13th to 17th 2025 The Step 1 applications must be submitted weeks in advance of Step 2. The next EIC Accelerator cut-off for Step 2 (full proposal) can be found here. After Brexit, UK companies can still apply to the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe albeit with non-dilutive grant applications only - thereby excluding equity-financing. Contact: You can reach out to us via this contact form to work with a professional consultant. EU, UK & US Startups: Alternative financing options for EU, UK and US innovation startups are the EIC Pathfinder (combining Future and Emerging Technologies - FET Open & FET Proactive) with €4M per project, Thematic Priorities, European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), Innovate UK with £3M (for UK-companies only) as well as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants with $1M (for US-companies only). Any more questions? View the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Want to see all articles? They can be found here. For Updates: Join this Newsletter! by Stephan Segler, PhDProfessional Grant Consultant at Segler Consulting General information on the EIC Accelerator template, professional grant writing and how to prepare a successful application can be found in the following articles: A Quick FTO Guide for EIC Accelerator Applicants in a Rush 2023 Budget Allocations for EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator Developing the Unique Selling Points (USP) for the EIC Accelerator Explaining the Resubmission Process for the EIC Accelerator A Short but Comprehensive Explanation of the EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator Success Cases Deciding Between EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator A Winning Candidate for the EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator Interview Preparation Process: Scripting the Pitch (Part 1) EIC Accelerator Horizon 2020 Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator successIndustries & CompaniesSME Instrument Phase 2
EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument Phase 2) – Introduction and Blended Finance Posted on May 22, 2020October 9, 2020 Writing a successful EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument) application is always challenging due to the competitive nature of the grant and the 2 step evaluation process (i.e. written application and in-person interview). Success Rates Typical success rates range between 2% and 5% depending on the individual budget and the number of… Read More
Horizon 2020 Directly Applying for Phase 2 Posted on March 19, 2019March 18, 2020 I am talking to a lot of startups regarding EU funding and I frequently get asked if it is possible to apply to Phase 2 of the SME Instrument directly. The answer is: Yes. Technically you can but in reality, most startups do not have enough data (market, business… Read More
EIC Accelerator Using the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) to Improve Grant Proposal Writing (EIC Accelerator) Posted on March 20, 2020October 14, 2020 Every great grant application starts with a great project. It must be able to check all the necessary boxes from the innovation, the team, the commercialisation strategy over to the market impact but it is very common to forget how most of these factors are not directly evaluated by the… Read More