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European Association of Innovation Consultants'

Code of Conduct




The present Code of Conduct is a cornerstone of the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) where mutual respect, compliance with competition rules, integrity in client service, and adherence to the rules set by funding authorities are actively upheld among Innovation Consultants. 
The key missions of the EAIC are:
  • to create synergies between European consulting companies specialised in R&I (Research, Development and Innovation) financing and management.
  • to enhance the recognition of the added value innovation consultants’ expertise and professionalism brings to R&I collaborations and to the European research community.
  • to promote the impact of innovation to European competitiveness, resilience and sovereignty.

All members of EAIC are committed to the following principles, aiming that European Clients, institutions, stakeholders and society have confidence in and recognition towards European Innovation Consultants.   

1. Trust & Integrity

The EAIC members shall:
  • Act at all times in the legitimate interest of their client.
  • Provide all services with integrity and in accordance with the principles of good faith, legality and the rules of good professional practice.
  • Not fail their client's trust nor serve interests that are in conflict with those of the client in the development of a project or service.
  • Maintain an honest and diligent relationship with the companies in the sector, the clients, the EU institutions, the European Commission, any European, national or regional R&I funding Agencies, National Contact Points, and all those entities with which they have professional contact, keeping confidential everything they know about third parties in the exercise of their activities.
​2. Responsibility

The EAIC members shall:
  • Be committed to providing service to the client, and to communicate, respecting the conditions of confidentiality, all the information that they consider could have an impact on the choices and decisions of the client.
  • Advise their clients on the limits of the services acquired, specifically the chances of success of a given grant proposal and represent truthfully the client input when developing a grant proposal.
  • Advise that their total support fees charged for advisory services to develop new R&I projects are not charged to the project post Grant Agreement and to do best efforts to encourage their clients to adopt the same good behaviour.
  • In their capacity as specialists, undertake to constantly maintain the knowledge and skills of their teams at the required level, considering the evolution of applicable regulations.
  • Ensure compliance with the rules on intellectual property and data protection.
  • Respect the confidentiality of the information provided by their client.
  • Ensure that their public claims are truthful, not misleading, and clearly contextualised. 
3. Fairness to other members

Members of the EAIC shall:
  • Refrain from any actions, either through negligence or intent, that could harm the reputation of other EAIC members.
  • Avoid overtly or covertly attempting to replace another consultancy that has been validly engaged for a particular mission
  • In case of two or more consultants are working with same client or case, avoid interfering the other consultant’s work negatively.
  • Guarantee that all personnel and subcontractors (including freelancers) adhere to the Code of Conduct.
4. Impartiality

To avoid conflicts of interest, the EAIC members shall:
  • Preserve their independence against all kinds of interference and against their own interests or that may affect impartiality and professional judgement.
  • Inform the client of any potential conflict of interest that might arise in the performance of services to the client.
  • Ensure that none of their staff and independent contractors supporting project proposal development act as evaluator during the selection process.
  • Document the capabilities of the project, their team and partners in truthful manner.
  • Not accept remuneration which prejudices honest judgement.
5. Use of Artificial Intelligence

EAIC members shall promote ethical and responsible use of AI, including:
  • Explaining to their clients the framework for using AI in their company. This includes attention to data management, compliance with GDPR, alignment with funding programmes guidelines and prevention of data leakage.
  • Verifying the accuracy and originality of generative AI results.
6. Compliance

The principles of the compliance process for both members and externals are:
Ensuring the confidentiality of the process but not anonymity (need to know/need for evidence basis)
Ensuring the proportionality of the actions / sanctions considering intent, impact, and repeat nature of the violation.

The compliance process is an annexe to the present Code of Conduct. It is maintained and supervised by the EAIC Board.

7. Validity of this Code of Conduct
The respect of the present Code of Conduct is mandatory for all the EAIC members and is a condition to obtain and maintain membership in the Association. In addition, EAIC has the willingness to work with funding authorities on codes of conduct (or equivalents) for specific programmes. As to date, EAIC endorses the“Code of Conduct for consultants offering services to applicants to European Innovation Council calls” (November 2023). Members of the EAIC shall respect the provision of the Code when working on EIC calls.

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FAQs
Q: My company is proposing support for the setting-up of EIC Pathfinder projects. One of the consultants of the company is also evaluator for the Pathfinder, but is not working directly on that kind of projects. Is it a conflict of Interest?
A: Yes, your staff should not be involved in the evaluation of projects in the same call.
Q: I know that one of my competitors is in financial difficulty. Is it a breach of the Code of Conduct if I give the information to a company that hesitates between their offer and mine?
A: Indeed, it is. You can tell the potential client about your own financial solidity, however.
Q: There is a suspected breach of the Code of Conduct by a subcontractor working for my company.
A: Regarding the compliance mechanism, you are responsible for the actions of your subcontractors, including freelancers. The conditions of the breach, and whether you knew — or ignored — it, could be considered in the procedure.
Q: What do you consider as ethical and responsible use of AI?
A: EAIC members will be considered ethical and responsible in using AI when they:
  • Clearly explain to their clients the framework for using generative AI in their company. This includes particular attention to data management, ensuring compliance with GDPR, alignment with funding program guidelines, and the prevention of data leakage.
  • Ensure that their generative AI is used to enhance rather than diminish the value of expertise provided to their clients.
  • Verify the accuracy and originality of generative AI results by checking information and remaining vigilant about potential AI-generated hallucinations.
  • Consider the environmental impact of generative AI, in alignment with broader sustainability goals.
  • Be aware that generative AI is likely to reproduce discriminatory biases, and take the necessary measures to identify, mitigate and avoid such biases.