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 We're pleased to welcome two of our newest members:
Artica+i (Spain) is a technical consulting and engineering service company with over 25 years of experience, reinforced by a staff of over 45 professionals. Artica+i provides continuous engineering solutions for the improvement of different processes, working on specific aspects of industrial companies: process technology and productivity, digitalisation and 4.0, energy efficiency and renewables, to name a few. CRIDO Business & Innovation Consulting (Poland) cooperates with companies from different sectors, such as Life Science, ICT, Automotive & aviation; Chemistry; Manufacturing; Food and Agriculture; Environment; Transport & Logistics. CRIDO offers support services at the stage of project implementation and settlement, linked to innovation or high-risk research and development. View our full list of members here.
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Today, the European Association of Innovation Consultants is releasing its first collective report “A Guide to Next Generation EU for industry to better understand and seize its opportunities.”
The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to an unprecedented health and economic crisis in our society. Companies of all sizes and entire sectors have been impacted by the pandemic. To overcome this crisis, strengthen and transform our economy, making it greener, more digital and more resilient, creating new opportunities and more jobs, the Commission has launched a temporary instrument, called “Next Generation EU,” which raises the European Union's budget to €2.018 trillion in current prices, the largest economic stimulus ever funded by the EU.  Women make up about half of the population and voters in the EU, but they are still under-represented in high-level positions, whether in elections, public administration, corporate boards or academia. The European Commission has committed itself to promote gender equality in research and innovation (R&I). Horizon 2020 was the first framework programme to make gender a cross-cutting issue, and one of the key objectives was to integrate the gender dimension into R&I content. With Horizon Europe, the Commission has promised to reaffirm its commitment to gender equality in R&I.
Horizon Europe sets gender equality as a crosscutting principle and aims to eliminate gender inequality and intersecting socio-economic inequalities throughout R&I systems, including by addressing unconscious bias and systemic structural barriers. By considering sex and gender dimension in the whole research & innovation process we can prevent for example gender or racially biased AI products due to a lack of diversity in the AI training data. Anne Pépin, Senior Policy Officer from European Commission presented the key aspects and novelties regarding gender equality in Horizon Europe in a webinar on 21 April 2021. There are three levels with three different aspects that should be taken into account when preparing a proposal for Horizon Europe.
When sex, gender and intersecting factors are all considered in the design and delivery of R&I, it can leads to added value of research in terms of excellence, societal relevance, creativity and business opportunities. It creates in-depth understanding of all people’s needs, behaviours, and attitudes, and with this understanding it is easier to make goods and services that are better suited to the needs of all people. “In business, politics and society as a whole, we can only reach our full potential if we use all of our talent and diversity. Gender equality brings more jobs and higher productivity – a potential which needs to be realised as we embrace the green and digital transitions and face up to our demographic challenges.” – EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 Article courtesy of EAIC member, Spinverse.  Horizon Europe, the long-awaited successor to Horizon 2020, and the world’s largest transnational research and innovation programme, is finally ready to take off! The programme is designed to support European competitiveness by creating new growth and jobs based on scientific knowledge and technological development, all the while tackling societal challenges and helping to sustain European socio-economic models and values. So, how does it work concretely? The programme has been built on three main Pillars, each of them having a different objective:
 Source: EC  Beyond accumulating new knowledge, developing new technologies or increasing European competitiveness, Horizon Europe aims to achieve tangible benefits for European citizens related to the main challenges addressed by the programme (Digital transition, Ecological transition (Green Deal), Health resilience, Economic resilience and recovery). Horizon Europe is evolving into an impact-driven framework programme, based on a new holistic monitoring approach. This new Horizon Europe programme will be monitored as a virtuous circle to design (Intervention logic at the level of clusters, destinations, missions), implement (at the level of strategic Plan, Work Programme Proposal template, Project reporting) and assess the programme’s impacts (through Monitoring Key Impact Pathways, Management & Implementation Data, Interim and ex-post evaluation). For maximising impact at the level of the programme, new features have been introduced, among them, enlarged international cooperation, an in-depth open science policy, missions orientation and citizens’ involvement, to name a few. The Horizon Europe Legislation has defined 3 types of impacts, tracked with key Impact Pathways (KIP). The impact logic of the programme is framed by Key Impact Pathways (KIP) detailed in the figure below and defined by Horizon Europe legislation.  Figure 1: HORIZON EUROPE Legislation defines three types of impact, tracked with Key Impact Pathways, from "Paving the Pathways to Impact," European Commission, DG Research & Innovation (Angelica Marino, DG R&I-G2)  The Research and Innovation days will open tomorrow, marking the long-awaited launch of the first Horizon Europe 2021 calls. Thousands of companies, research centres and SMEs with existing experience in collaborative European Research and Innovation (R&I) projects, as well as other applicants, new to this programme, are in the starting blocks. European Innovation Consultants as well.
This week will see the opening of the first calls under Pillar II of the Horizon Europe Programme. Horizon Europe’s total budget for the next 7 years amounts to the record amount of €95.5 bn, of which half will address global challenges and European industrial competitiveness. Over 700 topics (collaborative projects to be funded by the European Commission) will be published in the next 2 years, funding thousands of projects involving various partners (industrial partners, research centres, SMEs, or non--profit organisations, etc.) for several years. Each project will require excellent coordination and management skills to ensure public funds provided by the Commission are spent efficiently to develop novel solutions. From a maturity point of view, projects will span from basic research to applied innovation, ready to be commercialised when the project is finalised. Ambitious exploitation strategies (i.e. what will happen with the research and innovation beyond the project lifetime) will have to be included in funding applications to convince evaluators. In 2019, Innovation Consultants across Europe decided to strengthen their collaboration through EAIC, the European Association of Innovation Consultants. The purpose of the association is to allow for better recognition of their work and contribution to the support of many actors, such as industry and research organisations, who are willing to be part of EU projects to develop breakthrough innovations but have limited expertise and/or time to access these funding instruments. Consultants advise them on how to develop their innovation process as well as on how to access public funding needed to bring their innovation to market. With the new Horizon Europe collaborative calls now opening, Innovation Consultants are ready to support projects based on their previous experience and track records with the previous framework programme. EAIC now includes more than 40 members across the EU with a vast experience in R&I programmes but also in alternative funding opportunities for the private and public sectors in Europe. Under Horizon 2020, the predecessor of Horizon Europe for (2014-2020), the average success rate of 11% has decreased in the last years of the programme as budgets ran out and consortia competed for the remainder of the funding. Many companies and research centres have used the support of innovation consultants, to increase their chances of success , to drive the proposal writing process under time pressure, to find the right partner and support them in the professional management of projects when approved. The members of EAIC have decided to sign a code of conduct which is a prerequisite to be part of the association, which ensures that they respect deontological principles, such as impartiality, e.g. they cannot write proposals and be part of the evaluation committee at the same time. On 21st June, EAIC elected a new board of members composed of 12 company representatives; you can find the composition of the new board here: https://www.eaic.eu/about-eaic.html Consult the full list of EAIC members here: https://www.eaic.eu/members.html View the Horizon Europe calls that have already been announced through the official Work Programmes of the EC here. About EAIC The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) gathers active Innovation Consultants in the field of European research and innovation projects. The group aims to facilitate the exchange and promotion of best practices and success stories, as well as to uphold professional skills and expertise in European RDI projects. Today, the group gathers 46 members, active in more than 24 countries around Europe. www.eaic.eu  The Horizon 2020 oversubscription issue and the low overall success rate is having an important impact in terms of costs for the brave players that accept the challenge of preparing a collaborative proposal. Unfortunately, Horizon Europe is not proposing adequate solutions to this issue. The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) is preparing an assessment about the impact of the low success rates of H2020 for potential beneficiaries. In order to have an estimation of the impact of the oversubscription issue in terms of time - effort, the EAIC invites you to answer the survey in the link below. It will only take a few minutes and your feedback will be very valuable for our study.
The European Union’s (EU) Green Deal is the EU’s main new growth strategy to transition the EU economy toward a sustainable economic model. The proposed financing of the EU Green Deal is set out in the EU Green Deal Investment Plan. Several funding mechanisms were created to facilitate the EU Green Deal, totalling over €1 trillion. Over 50% of the budget, €528 billion, will come directly from the EU budget and the EU Emissions Trading System. The rest will be sourced through the InvestEU programme, which combines €279 billion from public and private sectors to 2030 and €114 billion from national co-financing. It will provide an EU budget guarantee to allow the EIB Group and others to invest in higher-risk projects, enabling private investment.  Source: EC Website  During the Horizon Europe Virtual Summit, 31 May - 4 June, EAIC Members, Louis Papaemmanuel (My EU Consulting), Silver Toomla (Invent Baltics), Nadège Grabowski, Xavier Aubry (Zaz Ventures) and Lucie Guilloteau (Euronovia) shared their expertise through speeches on creating winning EIC Accelerator, Pathfinder and Transition applications, as well as tips and best practices for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.
More about the event The Horizon Europe Virtual Summit is an online event featuring world-class experts in European Research & Innovation. The free event aims to increase the success rate of the Horizon Europe proposals and is organised over 5 days, with 30+ Masterclasses, Interviews and Training Sessions from top Horizon Europe experts. Read more about the event here.  We are delighted to announce that the European Association of Innovation Consultants continues to grow, with BOR&BAR (Germany) having joined us this month.
BOR&BAR offers a wide array of consulting services to help clients optimise their strategic engagement with grant funding programmes. We know its expertise will be invaluable in meeting the association's objectives and we're excited about this new chapter. - Welcome to the EAIC! Expand your networks and check out our full list of members here.  We are offering a part-time Secretary General position with a freelance status or equivalent. The mission will last 6 months. We expect to extend the mission beyond this period in case of successful collaboration, and to increase the position to a full-time role in the future. Deadline for applications: 20 June 2021 Please send your application to the following address: jobs@eaic.eu Download the PDF below for the full job description. 
 We are pleased to announce that the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) is a partner of the SMARTSPEND project’s high-level online conference and matchmaking event on “Access to Risk Finance for Clean Energy Technologies” that will be held on 25-27 May, 2021.
This conference will showcase the EU’s funding and financing offers for clean energy demonstration projects and will allow private financing providers to present their involvement in new energy technologies. It will also provide matchmaking opportunities to clean energy technology developers, investors and funding experts. Who should attend the conference?
The conference’s 4 main sessions include the following topics, amongst others:
For more information and registration, visit this link.  In its 10th edition, the EU Prize for Women Innovators celebrates the women entrepreneurs behind game-changing innovations. In doing so, the EU seeks to raise awareness of the need for more female innovators, and create role models for women and girls everywhere.
The prize is awarded to the most talented women entrepreneurs from across the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe, who have founded a successful company and brought innovation to the market. The prize is managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, and the winners are chosen by an independent expert jury.  The European Innovation Council (EIC) is a key novelty of Horizon Europe and is a European innovation initiative with a budget of approximately €10 billion for the period 2021-2027. The EIC is the result of lessons and achievements from its pilot phase during the period 2018-2021. It combines research on emerging technologies with an accelerator programme and a dedicated equity fund, the European Innovation Council Fund, to scale up innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Around €3 billion of the EIC’s budget will go towards the EIC Fund. In the infographic below, prepared by EAIC member, Lira, we detail the EIC's funding opportunities (Accelerator, Transition and Pathfinder), taking into account the different deadlines and challenge topics.
 Are you looking to submit a project proposal to the EIC Accelerator? In the infographic below, prepared by EAIC member, Lira, we explain how and when to submit your proposal, detailing the process from A to Z.
Read our Position Paper on the EIC Accelerator, which summarizes the most important changes, their expected impacts and ideas for improving the programme.  Meet our newest member, Accelopment, based in Germany and Switzerland. Accelopment is specialised in proposal writing and project management for Horizon Europe, EIC Pathfinders, MSCA Doctoral Networks, Heath, Energy, Eurostars, as well as other EU and national funding programmes. Among its other activities and services, Accelopment offers grant advice, writing, preparation and finance support, strategic grant planning and the communication, dissemination and exploitation of projects. Its team has over 25 years of experience assisting clients from all over Europe, but also in other parts of the world such as North America and Iceland. Welcome to the European Association of Innovation Consultants! We are pleased to have you join us with your new, innovative ideas, expertise, and professionalism.  This week, we are pleased to welcome Exeq and Lira, our newest members:
Exeq, Poland Exeq assists clients in obtaining public and private funding for research, development and innovation projects and technologies in every stage of development. Its team of consultants has in-depth knowledge of potential sources of funding in Poland and throughout Europe, with a clear focus of expertise: science and technology related funding, as well as the knowledge and competence of domain experts upon which Exeq relies. It has clients active in the areas of ICT, computer science, medicine, biotechnology, energy and environment. Lira, Ireland, England, Croatia, Italy Founded in 2018, Lira is redefining the way high potential start-ups and scaleups raise funding through a combination of grants, equity and debt financing. Lira’s team of experts is specialised in the following sectors: Fintech, Aerospace, Medtech, Greentech, AI, Manufacturing, Biotech and Agritech. We look forward to getting acquainted with them in our monthly meeting today and are glad to have them join us. Great start from the European Commission – it is time for cooperation between Member States to enable Europe-wide industry participation.  The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) welcomes the recovery and resilience facility which will allow faster recovery from the pandemic and renew Europe for better competitiveness. However, we suggest acting in a more coordinated way between Member States to ensure the funds allocated will be properly and efficiently spent. As experts around Europe on innovation funding, EAIC offers its support in advising how to improve national innovation policies to maximise industrial investments, find best partners and balance competence gaps between Member States and Regions.  We are pleased to announce that the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) is a partner of the Science|Business public annual conference “R&I in recovery: what can Horizon Europe deliver?” to be held on February 22-23, 2021.
“It is our pleasure to support Science|Business in bringing industry together with policy-makers and the research community," said Pekka Koponen, President of the EAIC, "More innovation is needed for European recovery, and members of the European Association of Innovation Consultants are happy to join to increase industrial innovation, applied research, international co-operation and professional project management.” This virtual conference will address some of the following questions, among many others:
During this event, Margrethe Vestager (Executive Vice President of the EC), Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Youth, Education and Culture) and Martin Kern (EIT Director) will deliver speeches, along with many other key R&I figures. Other partners of the event include the EIT, Sanofi, the ATTRACT project, the TRESCA project and the EIB. About Science|Business The Science|Business Network is one of universities, companies, and research and policy organisations, and acts as a forum for driving innovation forward. Reaching Europe's most influential innovators and policymakers, Science|Business' expertise and knowledge of European policy making contributes to making a difference. Read more about the conference here. Read more about Science|Business here.  For this third edition of the European Research and Innovation Days, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation has announced that the event will be held virtually on 23 and 24 June 2021. As seen throughout the past year, cooperation in research and innovation is essential for Europe’s recovery; the annual flagship event, which coincides with Horizon Europe’s launch, will have a special focus on new initiatives to strengthen the European Research Area. With the aim to foster collaboration and encourage the debate among policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and the general public, the European R&I Days also intend to pave the way to a greener and more digital future. Last year’s edition gathered over 35 000 registered participants from 188 countries. We expect this year's edition to be instrumental in facing the challenges of tomorrow. Read more here.   We are thrilled to announce that 3 new members have joined our team. We look forward to getting to know them better in our upcoming General Assembly, scheduled next week.
iplus | F, France & Spain iplus | F offers services related to public financing, European public R&D funding, tax deductions and innovation strategy. Its team of economists, engineers, physicists, and experts in innovation and finance has vast experience at both national and international levels. KiNNO, Greece KiNNO offers knowledge and innovation support services that aim to strengthen the innovation capacity of SMEs, private firms and Research & Technology Organisations (RTOs) and also supports industry players, investors, business actors and public bodies seeking to exploit new technologies, systems and ideas, bridging the gap between research and innovation. OECON, Greece & Bulgaria OECON, established in 2003, is specialised in providing Business Development Consulting Services that concern a wide range of activities, from Export Management and International Business Relations to National Funding programmes. At EAIC, we are excited about this new collaboration and we are pleased to know that they share our vision of innovation. Are you interested in joining our team of Innovation Consultants? Check out our membership application form.  To mark the beginning of this new year, we are celebrating the arrival of 2 new members:
DORUCON, Germany DORCUN offers services related to economic and technical topics, supports H2020 application processes, as well as tech funding and innovation consulting. Its team is composed of technical and innovation enthusiasts: physicians, engineers and business economists. Project Management Solution (PMS), Romania PMS provides professional information and consultancy about financing opportunities from Romanian and European sources, through complete management solutions. Its mission is to bring added-value to clients' projects and activities to obtain visible changes in the economic environment in the region. We are pleased to have them on board - welcome to EAIC! View our full list of members here.  We are pleased to announce that 7 members have joined us this month! We would like to introduce you to
Like all EAIC members, they have committed to our Code of Conduct, which aims to promote best practices, mutual respect and basic competition rules among EU Innovation Consultants. We currently count over 178 Manifesto signatures and 49 members from over 19 European countries. Looking forward Now that 2021 EU budget negotiations have progressed, we are hopeful that R&I funding programmes will be launched in a timely manner, and we particularly look forward to the launch of Horizon Europe. The next couple of weeks will be decisive for the EU’s long-term budget 2021-2027 and recovery package, which we will be monitoring closely. Despite the uncertainty we face, 2020 has us convinced, more than ever, of the importance of R&I, particularly in addressing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and in the EU’s socio-economic recovery.  This month, a new member has joined us: IDConsortium.
IDConsortium was founded in Spain, in 2009 with the aim of helping researchers and businesses to internationalise and showcase their R&D by joining international consortiums to pursue different lines of research, development, and innovation. IDConsortium provides strategic advice in the following areas: Industrial Biotechnology, Advanced production systems in Agriculture, Livestock and Aquaculture based on Industry 4.0., and Innovative systems while promoting active, healthy, and sustainable aging. We are delighted to have IDConsortium's expertise as a part of our team of European Innovation Consultants. Press Release "New Association kicks off to boost European research and innovation investments"6/11/2020  The most relevant European companies in innovation consultancy join efforts to boost the competitiveness in the research and innovation ecosystem. On Thursday, 5 November, 2020, the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) was launched. Created at the initiative of the French Association of Innovation Consultants (ACI) as an informal gathering in a working group back in September 2019, the creation of the EAIC was formalised yesterday by its 42 members active across Europe. A board of 8 members as well as a president was elected.
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