Visual Representation of an EIC Accelerator Proposal Narrative (SME Instrument Phase 2) – Part 1 Posted on October 24, 2020October 18, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. The EIC Accelerator grant and equity financing (formerly SME instrument Phase 2, with blended finance option) provides a springboard for startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) who are developing a disruptive innovation and seek additional financial support to complete their R&D from the prototype stage to a complete, commercial product (read: Budget: Grant vs. Blended Finance). Provided by the European Commission (EC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC), this grant funding program has recently grown in popularity with the number of applications doubling in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) as well as extensive advertising made in the European Union (EU) regarding the sustainability-themed deadlines which provided a dedicated EIC Accelerator Green Deal call for all projects with a strong environmental impact. With the EIC Accelerator quickly growing into a European instrument with strong mass-appeal, a significant number of first-time grant applicants are wondering how to successfully craft a proposal since the official EIC Accelerator grant template is highly simplified and can be cryptic at times (read: Hiring a Consultant or Writing Internally?). A professional writer or consultant is usually versed in identifying and creating a compelling narrative (read: Identifying a Broad Vision and Providing the Missing Link) but for newcomers, the following presents a guide in respect to the general proposal structure from a story-perspective. This guide is not a definite rulebook and it is by no means the only way of conceptualising a grant application but simply acts as a starting point for developing a well-written proposal draft: Each individual part of the graphic shows a simplified way of connecting key aspects of the innovation and the industry or policy context in order to provide strong and logically sound reasoning as to why the project needs funding by the EU (i.e. as requested by the official proposal template). In order to assure that an application has high success chances and receives positive evaluation results, it is beneficial to align the proposal with a strong narrative so that a submission or re-submission to the next deadline will have superior success chances. Editing a proposal in a connected way also has the benefit of further refining each individual section since some details that are well known by the applicant might have been omitted by accident but, by viewing the entire proposal as a narrative, they could be introduced to perfect the storytelling. Once again, the following method of connecting the dots is optional and should by no means be seen as the only way of thinking about an EIC Accelerator proposal but, since the annotated proposal template is not entirely detailed, this list can act as an additional resource. Continuation Part 2 of this article can be found under the provided link. This article was last modified on Oct 18, 2020 @ 11:14 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 Open now: Apply as soon as possible to be eligible for the next Step 2 submission deadline Step 2 (closing 17:00 Brussels Time) 1st cut-off 2025: - 2nd cut-off 2025: March 12th 2025 3rd cut-off 2025: - 4th cut-off 2025: October 1st 2025 Step 3 4th cut-off 2024: January 13th to 17th 2025 1st cut-off 2025: TBD 2nd cut-off 2025: TBD 3rd cut-off 2025: TBD 4th cut-off 2025: TBD 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 Europe Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator consultantEIC Accelerator deadlineEIC Accelerator equityEIC Accelerator financingEIC Accelerator grantEIC accelerator green dealEIC Accelerator hiringEIC Accelerator resultsEIC Accelerator submissionEIC Accelerator successEIC Accelerator templateEIC Accelerator writerIndustries & CompaniesInvestorsSME Instrument Phase 2TimelineWriting Tips
EIC Accelerator SME Instrument Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 (EIC Accelerator) Posted on October 12, 2019March 20, 2020 Since Phase 1 (€50,000) of the EUs start-up grant will be discontinued after September 2019 but Phase 2 (€2,500,000) will remain open, here is an overview of the main differences between the applications. While Phase 1 &2 proposals do follow almost the exact same template, there are important variations… Read More
EIC Accelerator Freelancers: The Other Side of the Consulting Industry (EIC Accelerator, SME Instrument) Posted on February 17, 2021February 14, 2021 The EIC Accelerator blended financing (formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, grant and equity financing) is a competitive funding program supported by a variety of consultancies and professional writers in the EU. Due to the high EU budgets and demand from Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) and startups, there are diverse… Read More
EIC Accelerator How To Identify a High Quality SME Instrument Project (EIC Accelerator) Posted on October 12, 2019March 20, 2020 If you are considering to apply for the start-up grant by the EU, here is the most important information on how to identify a high-quality project: (1) Hardware products: More than 60% of all funded projects are related to hardware manufacturing, followed by subscription services at only 16%. This… Read More