Writing the Abstract for the EIC Accelerator Grant (SME Instrument Phase 2) Posted on June 16, 2020October 9, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. The abstract for the EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument Phase 2) project will be the only part of the proposal that, if successful, is made public through the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) website. In general, it should contain a complete summary of the project, condensed into 2,000 characters, and be devoid of any confidential information. You should also consider that the information in this section could be associated with your company indefinitely so you should take care that all the figures, metrics and facts you present here are well researched. You might also want to avoid giving concrete revenue projections or financial data (i.e. professional writers or consultants should be extra diligent here). First Part (66% of the space) The structure of the abstract follows the general recommendations for a good narrative (see here) by first outlining the problem (i.e. market pain points, financial losses, health concerns, EU policies, etc.), then moving on to the current insufficiencies in addressing the problem (i.e. downsides of current methods, the inability of competitors, a lack of solutions, etc.) and then presenting the innovation (i.e. operating principle and key features). The narrative should seamlessly flow from one sentence to another and there should be no unnecessary information while making every word count. See information on the narrative here: EIC-Accelerator Writing: Providing the Missing Link (SME Instrument Phase 2) Second Part (33% of the space) Afterwards, the team, company, pilot customers and expected market impact should be presented to highlight the team’s competence and ability to execute the project. If applicable, industry changes, job creation, gender equality and other social issues should be addressed. In terms of traction, some information should be given regarding the number of customers, customer inquiries, active users or the access to resources that are key to the business model (i.e. European focus recommended). Conclusion The abstract follows no particular template or structure but it is a good rule of thumb to keep the first paragraph at two-thirds of the length and leave one third for the second paragraph. Reading the abstract should give the evaluator a sense of a high-impact innovation which is urgently needed and the applicant should appear competent enough to fully exploit the business opportunity. Examples for successful abstracts of funded projects can be found on the results page of the CORDIS database. This article was last modified on Oct 9, 2020 @ 11:09 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 a Step 2 submission Step 2 (closing 17:00 Brussels Time) 1st cut-off 2025: Approximately January or March 2025 2nd cut-off: - 3rd cut-off: - 4th cut-off: - Step 3 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 grantEIC Accelerator pilotEIC Accelerator resultsEIC Accelerator templateEIC Accelerator womenIndustries & CompaniesSME Instrument Phase 2Writing Tips
EIC Accelerator How to Interpret the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) of an EIC Accelerator Application (SME Instrument) – Part 1 Posted on October 27, 2020March 7, 2021 The Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) provides the EIC Accelerator blended financing applicant (formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, grant and equity financing) with feedback regarding the proposal quality. While separating and grading the central sections of Impact, Excellence and Implementation, it gives additional scores on selected subcriteria (read: Using the ESR). A… Read More
EIC Accelerator How to Prepare an EIC Accelerator Resubmission Posted on April 13, 2023April 6, 2023 The EIC Accelerator funding (grant and equity, with blended financing option) by the European Commission (EC) and European Innovation Council (EIC) provides startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) with detailed feedback for every stage of the evaluation process (see What is the EIC Accelerator). This feedback system is relatively… Read More
EIC Accelerator Designing Images for an EIC Accelerator Application (SME Instrument Phase 2) – Part 1 Posted on October 22, 2020October 18, 2020 The EIC Accelerator grant or blended finance program (incl. equity option, formerly SME Instrument Phase 2) is a highly competitive funding scheme by the European Union and the European Innovation Council (EIC). While the formatting and proposal design should not be the first thing to focus on, without it, the… Read More