How to Select an EU Grant Financing Program such as the EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument) – Part 3 Posted on December 28, 2020December 20, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. This article is a continuation of Part 2 and describes a list of considerations to be made by startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) that seek to raise grant financing from the European Union (EU). One of these options is the EIC Accelerator blended financing (formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, grant and equity) by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and European Commission (EC) which is highly suitable for innovative companies and has a strong support network of professional writers and expert consultancies (contact a professional writer here). 8. Country Restrictions Which countries can apply? Country restrictions have to be considered whenever they could be applicable. As an example, there are funding programs by the EU where only a certain country can apply while others are open to non-EU countries (i.e. Tunesia, Israel, Ukraine) such as most Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programs (read: Countries for the EIC Accelerator). There can also be specific restrictions imposed due to special circumstances such as Brexit. Since the United Kingdoms (UK) participation in Horizon Europe was unclear throughout 2020 and 2019, UK applicants were only allowed to apply for grant financing under the EIC Accelerator but not blended financing since the EIC did not want to take equity stakes in foreign entities. Such potential issues have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 9. Submission Process How is the submission process for the grant applicants? The requirements for grant applications can vary greatly and have to be assessed based on their submission types, evaluation process and document requirements. Such variations have to be explored for each case but the general scopes for grant application can be summarised as follows: Submission type: Online submissions (i.e. document uploads) are possible in many cases but the submission to local contact points or federal government institutes can be required as well. The EIC Accelerator uses the Funding &Tenders Portal for fully digitized submissions (read: Financing Timeline). Evaluation process: The evaluation process will vary depending on the type of evaluators, their numbers, backgrounds and general focus. The EIC Accelerator uses a remote pool of evaluators via the European Agency for SME’s (EASME) and in-person juries for the pitch interviews (read: Interview). Document types: The document types that are requested under a grant, as defined by the official proposal template, will vary but a normal PDF document like a business plan or a research plan are a must in almost all cases. The EIC Accelerator additionally requests financial spreadsheets, a short summary, a video pitch and a pitch deck (read: 2021 Application Proces). 10. Local Support Networks What local support is available for companies? Support on a national level is well organized in the EU due to an abundance of SME contact points in key European areas. These can provide a strong support network and can provide resources that help in future applications. Such help might not be available for all grant opportunities especially if the applicant does not classify as an SME which needs to be assessed beforehand. 11. Available Consultancies Are there many consultancies specialising in the filed? Lastly, it is useful to assess the number of consultancies or experienced writers that are available for a specific grant so that each prospect applicant is able to have a variety of options to choose from when hiring such supporters. It can also be beneficial to assess if the consultancies are working with multiple grants so that a more suitable option can be chosen instead of the original one in case of a rejection or if a more thorough assessment warrants such a transition. For the EIC Accelerator, there are a variety of available consultancies to choose from with varying business models and industry focus (read: Preparing an Application). To reach out to a professional writer or consultant, please use the following contact form. Summary When choosing an EU financing program, the following aspects should be considered: Budget: How much is the total available budget and the financing per application? Covered Costs: Are all costs covered or only a percentage? Competitiveness: How high is the success rate? Thematic Focus: What specific conditions do projects need to fulfil (i.e. innovation, Technology Readiness Levels, industry)? Local Alternatives: Are there national funding projects available with easier accessibility? Number of Submissions: How often can an applicant submit an application? Single Applicant or Consortium: Is it a single-applicant program or exclusively for consortia? Country Restrictions: What restrictions are imposed on applicants when it comes to their country of origin? Submission Process: Is an online submission possible or a complex federal process? Local Support Networks: Are there support networks available or resources for applicants (i.e. templates, proposal examples, annotated guidelines)? Available Consultancies: Are expert consultancies and professional grant writers available for hire? This article was last modified on Dec 20, 2020 @ 13:55 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 2020 Horizon Europe Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator 2021EIC Accelerator consultantEIC Accelerator equityEIC Accelerator financingEIC Accelerator grantEIC Accelerator helpEIC Accelerator hiringEIC Accelerator rejectionEIC Accelerator submissionEIC Accelerator successEIC Accelerator templateEIC Accelerator videoEIC Accelerator writerIndustries & CompaniesInvestorsSME Instrument Phase 2TimelineWriting Tips
Horizon 2020 My Proposal Has a High Score But Was Rejected, What Now? Posted on August 27, 2017March 20, 2019 The Score All proposals above a threshold of 13 receive the “Seal of Excellence” and are eligible for funding. Unfortunately, the budget of the SME Topics is limited and the higher the number of applicants, the lower the chances to receive funding. Usually, proposals will get funded starting at a score… 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 Deciding Between EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator Posted on January 27, 2023February 19, 2023 The EIC Accelerator funding (grant and equity, with blended financing option) by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and European Commission (EC) is one of the multiple programs available to Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) and startups. It awards up to €2.5 million in grant and €15 million in equity financing… Read More