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 The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) expresses its appreciation for EIC Board's introduction of the Code of Conduct for Consultants. This initiative reflects a commendable dedication to transparency, fairness, and ethical practices in European Innovation Council. In its public statement released today in response to the dedicated public consultation, EAIC highlights the facts that:
EAIC offers additional written comments on the EIC Code text and recommends to:
 EAIC strengthens its leadership team and elects three dynamic Vice-Presidents. These outstanding individuals will work hand-in-hand with EAIC President, Luc Ragon, and Executive Board to drive innovation and growth in innovation consulting industry.
Join us in welcoming our new Vice-Presidents:
Their expertise and passion will play a pivotal role in shaping our association's future and advocating for our members' interests.  The EIC Accelerator is the most impactful and coveted funding instrument that the EC has at its disposal to fund high-risk deep-tech innovation. The funding decisions made by the EIC in the coming years will durably shape the future of European deeptech, with €7 billion currently allocated to the EIC Accelerator to fuel the next European champions in strategic domains such as quantum, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, cybersecurity, cleantech, healthcare, etc.
As part of the revamp of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) presented in June by the European Commission, the EIC is now in line for an extra €2.6 billion for the Accelerator programme to provide, via the EIC Fund, additional equity funding of €15-50 million to support scale-up of companies in three strategic areas: deeptech, cleantech and biotech. The EAIC commends the European Commission for this proposed reallocation of budget as access to sufficient capital post-initial funding will allow the selected scale-ups to continue their R&D efforts, scale their operations, and maintain a steady growth trajectory without resorting to non-European investors. However, early-stage startups are not targeted by this new EIC Fund compartment: they will have to rely on the normal EIC Accelerator budget, which will see a significant decrease in 2024, from €1.09 billion in 2023, to €563 million in 2024 available for new EIC Accelerator laureates.  We are pleased to announce the election of our new Executive Board during the Annual General Meeting held on 26-27 June 2023. The elected board members will play a pivotal role in guiding the association's strategic direction, representing the interests of its members, and driving initiatives to foster growth and innovation within the industry.
The newly elected Board comprises accomplished professionals with diverse backgrounds and extensive experience in Innovation Consulting. EAIC congratulates the following individuals on their election:
The newly elected Executive Board members will collaborate closely with the association's secretariat to increase awareness of the benefits that EAIC members deliver to the European research and innovation ecosystem and advance the innovation consulting industry in Europe. The Executive Board would also like to express gratitude to the outgoing President, Pekka Koponen, and members for their significant contributions and tireless efforts in advancing the goals of EAIC. Their commitment has been instrumental in positioning the association as a prominent voice within the industry. 20230626_eaic_event_ai_ri_programme_final_public_doc7.pdf20230626_eaic_event_ai_ri_programme_final_public_doc7.pdfOn Monday 26 June 2023 (14.30-17.00 CET), the EAIC organises an event entitled "How does AI impact R&I project design, proposal evaluation and project management?". The event will raise awareness and inform a discussion about the short and medium-term use of artificial intelligence-based tools in support of EU funded research and innovation projects (see programme). Today, some AI-based tools, such as translation tools, are already being used in the context of EU funded projects. However, the growing use of such tools for content creation and data analysis prompts a reflection on their incorporation throughout the project value chain - from identifying funding opportunities, writing and evaluating proposals to managing and implementing projects. There is a need to assess the opportunities and challenges that these tools are bringing and will continue bringing to the R&I ecosystem. The event will address the impacts that AI based tools have on innovation consulting services, on their business models, on required new skills and competences for the workforce. It will also aim to explore the boundary conditions – and especially ethical concerns. The EAIC objective is to initiate, inform, and feed the ongoing discussions on these matters with the R&I stakeholders. The proposed focus is on the following three main segments:
EAIC working group on Horizon Europe collaborative calls is celebrating its 1-year anniversary this month!
 EAIC is excited to announce its attendance at the upcoming EARMA conference, held in Prague from 24-26 April. We are sending the co-leader of our Project Management working group, Virginie Robin, to take part in a session dedicated to professional project management on Tuesday 25 April.
Virginie’s presentation will emphasise the added value professional project management brings to European research and innovation collaborative projects. At EAIC, we firmly believe that professional project management is vital to the success of any project, particularly those that involve complex collaborations across different institutions, countries, and disciplines. That's why we're committed to sharing our insights on this important topic at the EARMA conference. We invite all attendees to join us and learn more about the importance of professional project management for successful collaborative projects.  Today the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) releases its response to the European Commission Consultation on the Past, Present and Future Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
EAIC sets out key challenges that applicants and beneficiaries frequently encounter when preparing a proposal and running a project under the current Framework Programme, Horizon Europe (2021-2027). These challenges relate to the following four themes:
“EAIC Members support thousands of beneficary organisations, many of whom are new comers to the Framework Programme”, says EAIC President, Pekka Koponen, “Today, we share this wealth of experience to improve Horizon Europe implementation and lay the ground for the preparation of its successor.” Main recommendations - EAIC calls on the European Commission to:
 We are pleased to welcome our newest member:
Vindsubsidies is a Dutch based consultancy company that provides services regarding national and European funding applications. Founded in 1997 we have over 25 years of experience. With approximately 100 employees we provide services to commercial companies (high-tech SME and corporates), public organizations, public-private partnerships and knowledge institutes (e.g. universities). To add value to projects and applications, we combine thorough knowledge of European funding schemes with in-depth knowledge of different domains (e.g. Life Sciences, Chemistry, Food, IT, Energy and Public Policy & Governance), provided by consultants with a specific backgrounds (MSc/PhD). To maintain high-quality service regarding EU funding Vindsubsidies has a dedicated consultancy team specialized in European funding. The main services they offer are:
View our full list of members here.  Today, the European Association of Innovation Consultants releases the third update of its flagship report: “NextGenerationEU Guide, for the industry to better understand and seize its opportunities”. In this report, you will find:
The following EAIC Members have contributed to the preparation of this edition: FI Group (coordination and contribution), Euro-Funding, EVM, Exeq, Fonduri Structurale.ro, Invent Baltics, Schuman Associates, Sistem VVE, Soros Gabinete, Spinverse.
 In 2023, the EU Commission will be allocating close to 1 B€ to the most promising European defence development and research projects. The call texts are due to be published in the spring of 2023, but now is the time for companies and research entities to start making plans for EDF 2023.
In only two consecutive years, the European Defence Fund (EDF) has established its footing as a crucial instrument for fostering cross-border European defence innovation and collaboration. Historically speaking joint EU-funded defence cooperation and strengthening of the European defence industry has only received prioritization in the last five years. The EDF’s precursor programmes, the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) and the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) programmes ran in partly overlapping stages between 2017 and 2020, building the foundation into what is now the EDF, an 8 B€ defence fund dedicated solely to strengthen the EU’s defence industrial base for the years 2021 to 2027. In 2021 the EDF awarded 61 projects out of 142 submitted project proposals to support European defence innovation and collaboration. For EDF 2022 the number of submitted proposals was significant albeit slightly less – 134 proposals. These project proposals are now under review and the results will then be released most likely before the end of summer 2023. While the call texts for EDF 2023 will most likely officially be released during early spring/ summer 2023 it does not hinder companies and research entities from proactively begin deliberating on possible project or consortium ideas in advance. Now is the right time to start thinking ahead. We know from previous calls that strategic themes for the past years have included materials and components, sensors, disruptive technologies in the digital and information domains, ground, naval and air combat capabilities, force protection and mobility. In addition, there are non-thematic calls dedicated to SMEs and Research Organisations (RO). The selection is wide, but so are the opportunities. The current security environment in Europe highlights the need to develop and strengthen innovative capabilities and research in Europe. In research projects the EU usually covers the funding completely, but in capability development projects co-financing is required and having the support of your Ministry of Defence is therefore imperative. Article courtesy of EAIC Member Spinverse. EAIC Mutual Learning Webinar: Freelancers, Lump sums & Carbon Neutrality in Horizon Europe Projects9/12/2022  On Friday 16 December, EAIC organises a webinar in the context of its work on Project Management. EAIC Members will share knowledge on HEU related matters such as freelancers in projects, lump sums projects, carbon neutral projects etc.
When? Friday 16 December 2022 (15.00 - 16.00 CET) By whom? This event is organised by EAIC Member Polite and Neovia. For whom? This workshop is reserved to EAIC members. Interested? Write to info@eaic.eu  The European Commission published the drafts of the majority of the work programmes under Horizon Europe for the 2023 – 2024. These drafts have not been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission, but they were published to provide potential participants with the currently expected main lines of this work programme.
According to the European Commission, actions included in these work programmes will help accelerate the clean energy transition in line with the REPowerEU Plan, improve food security, cybersecurity, help ensure open strategic autonomy and reduce dependencies on critical raw materials, and accelerate delivery of the Green Deal. For example, a package of actions across the ‘Climate, Energy and Mobility’, ‘Digital, Industry and Space’ and ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment’ clusters in particular will aim to speed up the clean energy transition. In addition, this work programme includes targeted actions to support Ukraine such as reinforcing Ukrainian researchers’ access to European research infrastructures while the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities will support a number of Ukrainian cities in integrating the principles of climate neutrality in their reconstruction. With the 2023 – 2024 Horizon Europe work programme, the EU will invest around €13.5 billion in research and innovation. The published drafts include the work programmes for:
Download the drafts here. Source: The European Commission  Ahead of today's EU Innovation Fund Info Days 'Third call for large-scale projects', the European Association of Innovation Consultants welcomes the recent changes made to the instrument.
EAIC Members have supported several of the selected Innovation Fund projects under both Large- and Small Scale calls, across multiple countries. Through their services provided to applicants, EAIC Members benefit from first-hand experience with the features of the Fund, its technicalities, the effort required by the applicants as well as their expectations and reactions after the selection process. Find out more here.  How important is professional project management to your project?
You have until 30 November to make your voice heard here on the matter! EAIC has launched a survey to collect insights with regards to management of EU-funded projects, collaboration with professional project management organisations, and project implementation processes. The survey can be completed in 15 minutes, comprising multiple-choice questions and free text spaces to add comments and insights regarding any ongoing, recent or past R&I Framework Programme collaborative projects you have participated in (Horizon 2020 and/or Horizon Europe). With your feedback, you will help European innovation professionals be better prepared to support you in future EU projects and advocate for improved framework conditions for EC-funded research and innovation projects. The survey is freely accessible here.  On Thursday 17 November, EAIC organises the second event in its Webinar Series on Horizon Europe Collaborative Calls. EAIC Members will fist discuss common challenges and best practices related to the preparation of a robust Dissemination Strategy at proposal stage. Then, GrantXpert’s Social Media/Marketing Manager will share with participants her insights and experience through implementing the dissemination activities of EU funded projects.
When? Thursday 17 November (9.00 - 10.00 CET) By whom? This event is organised by EAIC Member GrantXpert Consulting For whom? This workshop is reserved to EAIC members. Interested? Write to info@eaic.eu  The webinar will help us explore how to describe Open Science practices (part 1 - Excellence) and avoid redundancy with Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication measures (part 2 – Impact) when using the Horizon Europe template for collaborative calls.
When? Thursday 27 October (9.30 - 12.00 CET) By whom? This event is organised by EAIC Member Neovia Innovation For whom? This workshop is reserved to EAIC members. Interested? Write to info@eaic.eu  The Interreg programme is the main European instrument to promote territorial cooperation between regions and countries. The total budget of the new Interreg 2021-2027 amount to 10 billion euros for 7 years. Interreg is made up of almost 100 programmes across Europe’s internal and external borders. They are organised along 4 levels or “strands” of Interreg programmes: 1. Cross-border With a budget of 6.5 billion EUR over 7 years, there are 73 different programmes to ensure cross-border barriers and challenges within and at External borders of the EU are addressed, i.e.
2. Trans-national This strand allows for cooperation over larger transnational territories or around sea basins. The total budget is 1.5 billion Euros between 2021 and 2027, you can see in the picture below the 14 various Trans-national Interreg co-operation programmes:   3. Interregional
It aims at boosting the effectiveness of cohesion policy by promoting exchange of experiences, innovative approaches, and capacity building between regions, 550 million Euro budget has been allocated to interregional cooperation. There are four interregional cooperation programmes within this strand:
4. Outermost regions’ cooperation This 4th strand which has a 208 million euro budget covers the following Outermost regions:
The programmes although they are managed independently are aiming to contribute to 7 policy objectives of EU’s cohesion policy:
Who can apply ? Consortia with various profiles can apply. The lead entities are often public authorities at local , regional or higher level, non for profit entities are usually welcome, however depending from an Interreg programme to another , a call to another, private for profit entities may also be involved, e.g for the testing of some pilots. Where to get more information? Understand better and identify all Interreg programmes : https://interreg.eu/ Consultants can help you identify an Interreg call that suit your need and help you apply to a future call, find out about the best EU consultancies specialised in EU programmes: http://www.eaic.eu/all-members.html Courtesy of EAIC member Euro-Funding  Horizon Europe (HE) Cluster 3 Work Programme[1] (WP) addresses the issues brought on by ongoing security threats, “including cybercrime, as well as natural and man-made disasters”. It also aims to draw lessons from the COVID-19 crisis in terms of “prevention, mitigation, preparedness and capacity building”. A key aspect of the desired solutions is the cross-sectoral approach.  Figure 1 The six destinations of Cluster 3 Destination 1: Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism
 We're pleased to welcome our newest member:
Smart Revolution is a consultancy firm based in Italy supporting companies in funding their R&D and business development projects. Experienced and multi-disciplinary shareholders and staff carefully analyze customers’ needs and match them with possible funding and incentive measures at EU, national and regional level. Clients are followed step-by-step from the finalization of the concept till project management and reporting. Smart Revolution is a trusted partner for applying for Horizon Europe (especially EIC Accelerator), Erasmus +, LIFE, EU territorial cooperation calls for proposal. We offer a human-centered approach as a boutique consulting firm in which we value our clients’ needs and enhance their potential by working in close collaboration. The main services they offer:
View our full list of members here.  Maud Evrard has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC). She replaces Marie Latour, who has led EAIC Secretariat since the association foundation.
“I am thrilled to bring my passion, experience, and knowledge of membership based organisations to EAIC,” Maud Evrard said. “I look forward to working with EIAC Executive Board, Members and external stakeholders to promote the role of Innovation Consultants in the European R&I ecosystem. Maud has extensive experience with international association management in the realm of European Research and Innovation. She was previously Head of Policy Affairs of Science Europe, the association representing major public research funding and performing organisations in Europe. There, she was in charge of both fostering mutual learning amongst member organisations and representing their collective interest towards the EU Institutions. “Working with EAIC Executive Board member, Maud will co-develop and implement EAIC strategic plan with a focus on growing the association and delivering greater impact for our members” said EAIC President Pekka Koponen. “We are delighted to have her on board!” Marie Latour was among the team of consultants who laid the ground for the foundation of EAIC, starting in 2019. First Member of Board in charge of communications, Marie was then selected as the first Secretary General of EAIC. Her legacy notably includes the Association’s fast-growing reputation.  We're pleased to welcome our newest member:
ERINN is a young dynamic Irish SME established in 2017. The team believes that increasing and releasing Europe’s potential for research-based innovation is one of the key requirements for solving the challenges facing society today, while developing sustainable growth and global competitiveness. Our experts are committed to playing a role in finding solutions and creating value from research. We help our clients, including both individuals and teams from SMEs to larger corporations, research institutes and universities, navigate a complex EU funding landscape, securing funding for and ensuring impact from innovative projects. The main services they offer:
View our full list of members here.  We're pleased to welcome our newest member:
Upperion facilitate the innovation. Innovation is often a complex process that upsets organizations. However, innovation is the key to competitiveness and successful adaptation to future challenges. Its experience in supporting innovation covers both start-ups and existing companies wishing to reinvent themselves. The main services they offer:
View our full list of members here.  Horizon Europe (HE) Cluster 4 supports the EU’s strategic objectives through activities in the areas of Digital, Industry and Space, adhering to the AI, Data and Robotics Partnership. Activities of this Work Programme will contribute to “Destination 4: Digital and Emerging Technologies for Competitiveness and Fit for the Green Deal” with the Key Strategic Orientations (KSOs) A and C, and to the “Destination 6: A Human-centred and Ethical Development of Digital and Industrial Technologies” with the KSO D, these are:
KSO A has the most direct contribution with impact areas (1) competitive and secure data economy and (2) high-quality digital services for all. As expected impacts (1) unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society and (2) maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive health-related industry. Next, an overview of the themes and current calls of Cluster 4: A) Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics, including “tomorrow’s deployable robots”: The objective of this theme is to “ensure autonomy for Europe in AI, data and robotics in developing world-class technologies serving the needs of all types of European industries” it considers numerous sectors such as “manufacturing to healthcare, public sector, utilities, retail, finance, insurance, transport, agriculture, energy, telecommunications, environmental monitoring, construction, media, creative and cultural industries, fashion, tourism, etc.”. It is expected that to “provide top-performing solutions that industries will trust and adopt to maintain their competitiveness and maximize their contribution to environmental and resources sustainability”. Moreover, it aims to “ensure autonomy for Europe in robotics, leading the way in research, development and deployment of world-class technologies”. Three topics are related to such themes: HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-05 / -06 / -07. A few notes about the calls:
B) Graphene: This theme aims “to strengthen and accelerate the technology developments that support a strong European supply and value chain in graphene and related materials and provide first-mover market advantages of scale”. Furthermore, “activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realize the expected impacts: testing, experimentation, demonstration, and support for take-up using the capacities, infrastructures, and European Digital Innovation Hubs made available under the Digital Europe Programme”. There are five topics related to such themes: HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17 / -18 / -19 / -20 / -22. A few notes about the calls:
 C) Leadership in AI based on trust: The objective of this theme is to “ensure autonomy for Europe in AI, leading the way in research, development and deployment of world-class technologies that are beneficial to humans individually, organizationally and societally, and that adhere to European values, such as the principles reflected in our fundamental rights and environmental sustainability”. Moreover, the technologies need to be “developed that industries and citizens will trust, so and that they could be applied in a wide range of applications and industrial sectors”. As for the prioritized sectors, key applications would be (but not limited to) “healthcare or in diverse critical infrastructures such as energy and transportation”. Lastly, “proposals are encouraged to link with relevant European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), in particular, the EIT Digital”. Two topics related to this theme: HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-01 / 02 A few notes about the calls:
 Are you planning to apply to any of these calls? EAIC members are experts in accompanying consortia from small to very large sizes. They are acting in line with our code of conduct which guarantees qualitative and professional behaviour at all times. Are you interested to get support from a consultant? Indicate here the type of service you are needing and we will get back to you very shortly! Article Courtesy of EAIC Member FI Group.  After over 15 months of experience with Horizon Europe for both individual and collaborative calls, EAIC, the European Association of Innovation Consultants can provide some constructive feed-back on the new Horizon Europe Programme and its application process which has slightly evolved since the previous Framework Programme H2020.
With a view to contributing to the European Commission’s current interim review of Horizon Europe programme, a synthesis of EAIC member recommendations is provided below. Oversubscription and excellence:
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