What is Phase 1 for and What Comes Next? Posted on August 29, 2017October 13, 2017 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. The purpose of Horizon 2020s SME Instrument Schemes Phase 1 is a feasibility study for the project (lasting around 6 months depending on the specific topic) and is financed with a flat rate of €50,000. The feasibility study entails the development of a business plan and assesses the viability of the project. The EC also offers coaching services such as: Optional Innovation and Business Development Coaching is offered in parallel throughout phases 1 and 2 to help SMEs: enhance the company’s innovation capacity align the project to the identified business development strategy develop the commercial/economic impact and long term sustainability. Coaching is provided by experienced business coaches, selected through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). The result of the study will be a feasibility report (an example can be found here). This report will contain: 1. Technical report (1a. Publishable Summary; 1b. Feasibility Study) 2. the answer to a questionnaire on socio-economic implications 3. a financial report including the request for payment of the balance The feasibility study is optional but greatly increases the chances for Phase 2 of the project and is highly recommended. A more detailed description by the European Commission can be found here and here. Horizon 2020 Phase 1 Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator helpIndustries & CompaniesSME Instrument Phase 1SME Instrument Phase 2Timeline
Horizon 2020 How To Improve Your Chances of Getting Funded Posted on August 29, 2017May 23, 2020 To find out if your project is suitable for funding, please read What Types of Industries Receive Funding?. Three of the four evaluators that will review the proposal have a business background and only one will have a technical or scientific background. While it is impossible to know what the… Read More
EIC Accelerator How to Interpret the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) of an EIC Accelerator Application (SME Instrument) – Part 2 Posted on October 28, 2020October 18, 2020 This article is a continuation of Part 1 which can be found under the provided link. 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… Read More
EIC Accelerator The Biggest Mistakes When Applying to the EIC Accelerator (SME Instrument Phase 2) Posted on August 11, 2020February 19, 2023 Every once in a while, a company is reaching out to us with a rejected EIC Accelerator grant (SME Instrument Phase 2) application which they have prepared themselves but were unsuccessful with. Very rarely, such self-prepared applications are professionally written and reach a high score (i.e. above 13 out of… Read More