SME Instrument in Horizon 2020 – An overview

Dr Jane Watkins

Horizon 2020 - summary1. Innovative projects (more support for innovation

activities)2. Projects address priorities identified by the Commission’s

Work Programme3. Projects must respond to a call for Proposals4. Involving partners from multiple countries5. Reimbursement up to 100 % of eligible costs6. Co-financed through a Grant Agreement with the

European Commission7. Simplified access, for all companies, universities, etc

• Sounds simple!!

Horizon 2020 - getting involved• Does H2020 meet your business needs?• What are the timescales?• Is there a likely ‘home’ for you project? • - Societal Challenges, SME instrument,

Eurostars, other EU programmes?• Are you ready to be the Coordinator? How

do you find partners?• What are the participation/funding rules?• How do I write and submit a proposal?• The participant portal is collapsed, where

can I get support?• What happens if I’m successful?

Targeted Approach• “We would like to apply for Europe Smart award. I note the

deadline is only 45 working days away. Please can you send me full details of how to apply ASAP.

• I looked at Eurostars but we cannot apply for it as the company has less than 5 full time researchers

• Just to double check, is there anything other than the following 3 calls we could apply for:

• H2020 ICT 37• H020 ICT16• UK SMART Programme”

Horizon 2020 is different• A strong challenge-based approach, allowing applicants to

have considerable freedom to come up with innovative solutions

• Emphasis on innovation, with continuing support for R&D • Less prescriptive topics, strong emphasis on expected

impact • A strategic approach, with two-year work programmes • Focus areas bring together different technologies, along

entire innovation chain

Horizon 2020 Priorities

Excellent Science

European Research Council

Future & Emerging Technologies

Marie Curie

Research Infrastructures

Industrial Leadership

Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

Access to risk finance

Research and innovation in SME's (SME Instrument)

Societal Challenges

Health, demographic change and wellbeing

Food security, sustainable agriculture and the bio-economy

Secure, clean and efficient energy

Smart, green and integrated transport

Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials

Inclusive, innovative and secure societies

SME Instrument – KEY FEATURES• Targeted at all types of innovative SMEs showing a strong ambition to grow

(and to develop and internationalize) • Only for profit SMEs allowed to apply for funding (single company support,

but collaboration is certainly advisable) • Competitive, EU dimension - only the best ideas pass • Market-oriented, close-to-market activities: 70% co-funding • Entrance in both Phase 1 and 2 • Embedded in societal challenges and key enabling technologies • Evaluators: market perspective • Time to grant*: 400 days in 2008 - > 150 days in 2014

Target Group• Innovative for-profit SMEs showing a strong ambition to develop, grow

and internationalise

• Single company support is possible or consortium of for-profit SMEs • Highly competitive, market-oriented, EU dimension

• Other partners (research providers like universities and research institutes, large companies etc.) can be involved as third parties (subcontractors)

• SMEs need to be established in the EU-member states or associated countries

SME instrument

?

IDEA continued support throughout the project MARKET

Concept & Feasibility

Assessment

DemonstrationMarket Replication

R&D Commercialisation

Idea to concept, risk assessment, technological &

commercial feasibility

Demonstration, prototyping, testing ,

market replication, scaling up, miniaturisation,

research

Quality label for successful projects,

access to risk finance, indirect

support

SME window EU financial facilities

Phase 1: Concept and feasibility assessment

Phase 2: R&D, demonstration,

market replication

Input: Idea/Concept: "Business Plan 1"

(~ 10 pages)

Activities:Feasibility of concept

Risk assessmentIP regime

Partner searchDesign study

Pilot applicationetc.

Output: elaborated "Business plan 2"

Input: "Business plan 2" plus description of

activities under Phase 2 (~ 30 pages)

Activities:Development,

prototyping, testing, piloting, miniaturisation,

scaling-up, market replication,

research

Output: "investor-ready Business plan 3"

Lump sum: 50.000 €

~ 6 months No direct funding

Phase 3: Commercialisation

1-3 (5) M€ EC funding

~ 12 to 24 months

Promote instrument as quality label for successful

projects

Facilitate access to risk finance

Support via networking , training, information,

addressing i.a. IP management, knowledge

sharing, dissemination

SME window in the EU financial facilities (debt

facility and equity facility)

Possible connection to PPC (and PPI?)

Evaluating SME instrument activities

There has to be a market

Easy to use/producefor the customer

and the firm

Technical solution possible and betterthan existing ones

Excellence in innovation

Commercialisation potential and economic impact

Company's potential to achieve the envisaged results

Plus: EU added value

SME Instrument – Phase 1 - Submission1st Cut-off date 18 June 2014:• 2662 proposals

• 2503 single company applications. 119 consortia with 2 SMEs. 34 with 3 SMEs. 6 with 4 SMEs

• Italy was the country with the highest number of proposals submitted (436), closely followed by Spain (420), UK (232) and Germany (188), France (167) and Hungary (166)

• The Open Disruptive Innovation (ODI) topic attracted by far the highest number of applications with 885. followed by low carbon energy systems (372). nanotechnologies (305) and eco-innovation/raw materials (241)

SME Instrument – Phase 1 – First Cut-Off Date– 2602 eligible applications received, 317 (12%) were evaluated above threshold.– Based on the positively evaluated applications per topic 155 projects could be funded

(6%).– 49% of applications above threshold will be funded every second "good" proposal is

funded.– 105 out of 155 (68%) of the SMEs reportedly are newcomers to Framework

Programmes.– Countries with highest success rate are: Ireland (20%), Austria (15%), UK (11%), Israel

(10%) and Spain (9%)Company statistics:• 58% of funded SMEs have between 6 to 50 employees, 30% of SMEs micro-companies

with up to 5 employees, and 11% have more than 50 employees.

• 25% of funded SMEs are consolidated companies with more than 11 trading years, 39% with 4 to 10 years, and 36% with up to 36%.

• 36% of funded SMEs have a turnover higher than €1M, 35% between €100K-€1M, 28% less than €100K.

SME Instrument – Phase 1 - Submission

2nd Cut-off date 24 September 2014:• 1944 proposals

• Italy in the lead in terms of number of applications (351). followed by Spain (283), United Kingdom (149), Germany (128), France (93) and Hungary (91)

• Open Disruptive Innovation (ODI) attracted again the biggest number of proposals (608), also followed by low carbon energy systems (268), nanotechnologies (234) and eco-innovation/raw materials (199)

• No further information yet on applicants

H2020 SME Instrument – Lesson Learned

Most of the non-selected proposals were:1. Too much focused on the project and not enough on the business

opportunity;2. Not convincing when describing the company (you have to explain

why your company will succeed and not your competitor);3. Not providing enough information on competing solutions;4. Having a too low level of innovation, planning to develop a

product that already exists on the market;5. Proposing just an idea without any concept for its

commercialisation;6. Just trying their luck (the SME Instrument is not a lottery!).

EUREKA Eurostars

The Eurostars Programme is the first European funding and support programme to be specifically dedicated to R&D performing SMEs.

Short lead-time (14 WEEKS from cut-off date to funding decision)

Projects funded by the respective partners national funding bodies UK – InnovateUK

EUREKA Eurostars

• Consortium leader is an R&D-performing SME

• At least 2 partners from 2 different Eurostars participating countries

• Project duration is no more than 36 months

• Market introduction is foreseen within 2 years after project ends.

• Research-performing SMEs undertake minimum 50% of total R&D cost

• No single country or project partner is responsible for more than 75% of the project costs

• No restriction on thematic area [except military] and project managed from the bottom up

• Partners in a Consortium must be separate legal entities

Fast Track to Innovation pilot Horizon 2020

• Open to any legal entity - consortia of no more than 5 participants • Funding of innovation actions (close-to-market) • Proposals relating to any technology field under LEITs and Societal

Challenges (bottom-up-driven logic) • Grant up to € 3 million (but no comitology) • •Permanently open call with three cut-off-dates per year • •Impact criterion given a higher weighting in evaluations • •Time-to- grant 6 months• Open for applications as of January 6 2015

National Contact Point Support

• National Contact Points will give impartial advice regarding European funding, tailored to each individual business and organisation. The services include:

• Guidance on choosing relevant H2020 topics and types of action• Advice on administrative procedures and contractual issues• Assistance on proposal pre-screening• Distribution of documentation (forms, guidelines, manuals etc.)

Contact detailsDr Jane WatkinsUK Horizon 2020 National Contact Point for SMEsEmail:NCP-SME@innovateuk.gov.uk

• Tel: +44(0)7500051146

• IF YOU WISH TO BE KEPT INFORMED ABOUT EUROPEAN HORIZON 2020 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST ON www.h2020uk.org