SME Participation in Horizon 2020SME Instrument

Dr Jane Watkins

Horizon 2020 - summary

1. Innovative projects (more support for innovation activities)

2. Projects address priorities identified by the Commission’s Work Programme

3. Projects must respond to a call for Proposals

4. Involving partners from multiple countries

5. Reimbursement up to 100 % of eligible costs

6. Co-financed through a Grant Agreement with the European Commission

7. 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

• H2020 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&DCommercialisation

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 monthsNo 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?)

Specific Calls• BG-12-2015-1: Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication

of innovative solutions for blue growth

• BIOTEC-5b-2015-1: SME boosting biotechnology-based industrial processes driving competitiveness and sustainability

• DRS-17-2015-1: Critical infrastructure protection topic 7: SME instrument topic: Protection of Urban soft targets and critical infrastructures

• ICT-37-2015-1: Open Disruptive Innovation Scheme (implemented through the SME instrument)

• INSO-10-2015-1: SME business model innovation

• INSO-9-2015-1: Innovative mobile e-government applications by SMEs

• IT-1-2015-1: Small business innovation research for Transport

• NMP-25-2015-1: Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs

• PHC-12-2015-1: Clinical research for the validation of biomarkers and/or diagnostic medical devices

• SC5-20-2015-1: Boosting the potential of small businesses for eco-innovation and a sustainable supply of raw materials

• SFS-08-2015-1: Resource-efficient eco-innovative food production and processing

• SIE-01-2015-1: Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon energy system

• Space-SME-2015-1: SME Instrument

Submission Dates

• Rolling programme so no fixed deadline•17th December 2014

•18th March 2015

•17th June 2015

•17th September 2015

•16th December 2015

• Evaluation begins at submission, not closing date, so submit early to get a less stressed evaluator

–80% of submissions to first call were in last 48 hours

Evaluation

• Three Criteria–Excellence–Impact (1.5. times weighted for SME Instrument)–Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

• Scores out of 5• Phase 1 –At least 4 out of 5 for each criteria–Threshold is at least a total of 13 points

• Phase 2–Impact must be at least 4 out of 5 (and is assessed first)–Threshold is at least a total of 12 points

Evaluator’s Perspective

• Tell a gripping story–First two pages are critical, difficult to recover from a bad first

impression

• Demonstrate that you know your user–Why are they going to buy (i.e. pay real cash) your product?–What is going to make them change the way they do things

now?

• Show you have the business expertise not just technical–It’s not a mechanism to fund a hobby–Include the CVs of sales manager types

• How is this going to make money?–This is a business plan not a research proposal, think of it as

Dragon’s Den

First Phase 1 Submission June 14 cut off

• 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 were funded due to budget constraints

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

• Countries with highest success rate were:

– Ireland (20%), Austria (15%), UK (11%), Israel (10%) and Spain (9%)

• The Commission received 1,944 proposals by the second cut-off date of Phase 1.

• 237 received an evaluation score above the application threshold and 75% have been selected for funding.

• Together with the first selection round earlier this year, Spanish SMEs have been particularly successful in Phase 1 with 71 beneficiaries in total accepted for funding, followed by firms from Italy (58) and the UK (46).

SME Instrument Phase 1 September 24th 2014 cut off

SME Instrument Phase 2 October 9th 2014 cut off

The Commission received 580 project proposals involving 785 SMEs by the first cut-off date of Horizon 2020’s SME Instrument programme Phase 2 (9 October 2014).

Evaluation by independent experts showed that 132 of the proposals met the evaluation standard. 60 (45.45%) have been selected for funding.

UK companies (10 participants) on track to receive over €17 million. They are closely followed by France, the Netherlands and Spain, which actually has the biggest number of single beneficiaries (12).

The biggest number of proposals came from Italy - 70, followed by Spain –69 and United Kingdom with 61 proposals.

Of the applications received, 78% were submitted by a single company. In total 785 SMEs are participating in this cut-off.

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!).

Contact details

Dr Jane WatkinsUK Horizon 2020 National Contact Point for SMEs

Email: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