SME Instrument Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 (EIC Accelerator) Posted on October 12, 2019March 20, 2020 By Stephan Segler, Ph.D. 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 to consider: Feasibility vs Implementation: Phase 1 is granted for a feasibility study of the project while Phase 2 is for the implementation of all technical and commercial developments. Grant amount and competitiveness: Due to the higher grant amount, Phase 2 is more difficult to achieve than Phase 1 Funding threshold: The official threshold for funding is 13/15 for Phase 1 and 12/15 for Phase 2 Interview: Phase 2 requires an in-person interview before the grant is approved Proposal length and additional sections: The main document is 10 pages for Phase 1 while Phase 2 is 30 pages. Value for money of subcontracting is rated: The subcontracting in the proposed project must be described and justified according to its best value for money. EIC Accelerator Horizon 2020 Phase 1 Phase 2 SME Instrument / EIC Accelerator EIC Accelerator grantEIC Accelerator templateGrant AmountInvestorsSME Instrument Phase 1SME Instrument Phase 2
EIC Accelerator Proposed Application Process for the EIC Accelerator 2021 (SME Instrument Phase 2) Posted on December 11, 2020March 7, 2021 Attention: A new article is available detailing the changes for the 2021 EIC Accelerator Work Program. The EIC Accelerator blended financing (formerly SME Instrument Phase 2, grant and equity financing) will be reinstated in 2021 with a higher budget, a new structure and a different evaluation process. For startups and… Read More
EIC Accelerator Using the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) to Improve Grant Proposal Writing (EIC Accelerator) Posted on March 20, 2020October 14, 2020 Every great grant application starts with a great project. It must be able to check all the necessary boxes from the innovation, the team, the commercialisation strategy over to the market impact but it is very common to forget how most of these factors are not directly evaluated by the… Read More
EIC Accelerator Document Formatting Tips for the EIC Accelerator Grant pt.1 (SME Instrument Phase 2) Posted on June 10, 2020October 9, 2020 For the EIC Accelerator Grant (SME Instrument Phase 2), the design of the text, headers and pages are an important factor in making an overall positive impression on the evaluators of the proposal. As such, a clean and easy-to-read structure should always be prioritized over an overloaded block of text… Read More