SME Instrument Grant Writing Tips (EIC Accelerator) Posted on October 12, 2019October 9, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. I frequently get asked about the application process for the SME Instrument Funding by the EU, so here is a brief overview for every startup that wants to apply: Proposal writing is the most important part but I am covering this in another post Choosing an Acronym and Tagline: Each proposal has a short Acronym that is used as a project identifier and a tagline which gives a quick overview of the project. The Acronym does not actually need to have any meaning at all and you can be creative. Here is an example of a fictional health project (“ACRONYM – Tagline”): PATIENT NETWORK – Smart & Secure Software for Hospitals to Automate Essential Patient Data Processing and Create a Unified Patient Network in the EU Abstract: Next to the Acronym and Tagline, you will also need to provide an abstract which is 2000 characters long and should give a brief summary of the project. If funded, the Abstract, Acronym and Tagline will be published by the EU. Make sure that every sentence is packed with information and that all information given here counts. Follow the general way scientific work is presented: Problem > Market Pain Point & Competitors > Your Solution > Your Current State > Your Commercial & Market Impact > EU Benefits Keywords: When you create the draft for the submission, you will be asked to select up to 3 keywords with respective sub-keywords from a drop-down list. You can then also add some manual keywords to better describe your project. These keywords will determine the background of our 4 evaluators. Excluding Evaluators: The EU is regularly publishing a list of all evaluators for the SME Instrument and if you suspect a conflict of interest, you can exclude specific reviewers. There are many more small things to consider such as legal/financial data and the overall company registration but the points above cover most of the writing parts for the proposal submission. EIC Accelerator Horizon 2020 Phase 1 Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator grantEIC Accelerator submissionIndustries & CompaniesInvestorsSME Instrument Phase 1Softwaretip#12Writing Tips
EIC Accelerator Changes in the EIC Accelerator during 2019 Posted on January 13, 2020October 14, 2020 Since 2019 has come to an end, here is a summary of the main changes that have occurred regarding the EUs startup grant – the EIC Accelerator: 1. Equity Finance: The most significant change was the discontinuation of Phase 1 (€50,000 grant financing) and the introduction of the new blended financing… Read More
EIC Accelerator Developing the Unique Selling Points (USP) for the EIC Accelerator Posted on February 3, 2023April 25, 2023 The EIC Accelerator funding (grant and equity, with blended financing option) by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and European Commission (EC) has a clear focus on high-risk startups with high commercial potential. It is ideal for startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) since the funding per project can reach… Read More
EIC Accelerator The EIC Accelerator Budget: Grant vs. Blended Finance (Equity, SME Instrument) Posted on May 26, 2020October 9, 2020 The grant and the equity contribution for the EIC Accelerator are sourced from different funds (i.e. the EC and the EIC, respectively) which means that the budget is also separated into two components. The grant will need to be defined in a budget table in Part A of the administrative… Read More