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President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union placed European competitiveness and economic independence firmly at the centre of the EU’s agenda. For EAIC, this must go hand in hand with a stronger and more explicit commitment to research and innovation as strategic European priorities. Innovation is not only a driver of economic growth. It is essential to Europe’s ability to improve productivity, develop strategic technologies, strengthen industrial competitiveness and reduce critical dependencies. The EU’s ambitions for greater competitiveness and independence will therefore only succeed if they are underpinned by sustained investment in research, development and innovation. This requires ambition in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The Commission’s proposal for new own resources to support the MFF is an important part of the debate. EAIC has consistently called for stronger investment in European research and innovation, and increasing the resources available to the EU budget should be considered in this context. Europe cannot pursue greater competitiveness and technological independence while underinvesting in the knowledge, technologies and companies that will deliver them. Funding, however, is only part of the equation. EU programmes must also provide a clear pathway from research and discovery through innovation, deployment and scale-up, while remaining accessible, predictable and legally certain. As highlighted in EAIC’s recent position on FP10 and the European Competitiveness Fund, simplification must mean clear and consistently applied rules, not simply fewer rules. AI is another area where Europe needs to combine ambition with appropriate safeguards. President von der Leyen highlighted both the opportunities and risks associated with AI. EAIC’s recent work makes a complementary point from the perspective of European innovation funding: AI can transform how funding applications are developed and evaluated, but it does not replace the expertise, evidence and strategic judgement required to develop genuinely strong innovation projects. As AI makes the production of polished applications increasingly accessible, funding systems will need to place even greater emphasis on the quality and substance of the underlying project, while ensuring transparency, confidentiality and fairness in the use of AI in evaluation. EAIC has called for responsible and governed use of AI in proposal evaluation and greater transparency around AI-assisted proposal generation and the claims made by AI grant-writing tools. For EAIC, the message is clear: Europe’s competitiveness and independence require a strong R&I foundation, ambitious and sustainable investment, effective pathways from research to market, and funding programmes that are predictable, accessible and fit for the age of AI. Europe has the talent, knowledge and industrial capabilities to lead. The next EU budget and the design of FP10 must ensure that Europe invests sufficiently — and intelligently — in turning these strengths into innovation, growth and long-term European competitiveness. EAIC Webinar: EIC STEP: The Evolution of EU Growth Capital Building on the ERC and the EIC, STEP has introduced growth-stage investment into the EU innovation ecosystem, and the Scaleup Europe Fund - now under EQT management - is set to extend that continuum to large late-stage rounds. One year after its launch, STEP provides the first hard evidence on demand, processes, and portfolio composition, while the Scaleup Europe Fund is moving from design to first investments. Rather than revisiting the policy debate, this webinar is a knowledge-sharing session: what the first year of STEP Scale Up has actually shown (results, processes, lessons learned), and how the Scaleup Europe Fund will work in practice, told by the people running the instruments. Objectives The webinar will:
 EAIC Webinar: AI in EU Grant Evaluation Processes Date: Tuesday, 19th May 2026 Time: 14:00 - 15:00 CET View the webinar recording below. Objective As Artificial Intelligence continues to develop rapidly, questions are emerging about its place in sensitive processes such as EU proposal evaluation. While evaluation remains a fundamentally expert-driven and human-led activity, recent discussions at EU level highlight the need to clarify how AI should—and should not—interact with these processes. In this context, ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and fairness of evaluations is essential. Clear rules, shared understanding, and appropriate safeguards are becoming increasingly important to maintain trust in EU funding programmes. What Will We Cover
 EAIC Webinar: 28th Regime and a Harmonised Single Market Date: Tuesday, 31st March 2026 Time: 11:00 - 12:00 CET View the webinar recording below. The European Commission aims to announce a proposal for a “28th legal regime” by Q1 2026. A well-designed 28th regime could simplify advisory work, reduce legal complexity, and unlock new opportunities for cross-border innovation. However, legal optionality alone does not guarantee success. Its impact will depend on institutional design, stakeholder alignment, and political feasibility. Objectives
 EAIC Webinar: What Is 'ARPA-able’? Applying the ARPA Model in Europe Date: Friday, 21st November 2025 Time: 15:00 Brussels Time View the webinar recording below. Objective Lift the conversation from programme mechanics to the core logic of the ARPA model and where it truly fits. We will examine the model’s defining features and ask when a European ARPA-style approach is appropriate, drawing on the MIT/NBER synthesis by Azoulay, Fuchs, Goldstein, and Kearney. Speakers:
Link to register.  EAIC Statement on the European Commission’s MFF Proposal for 2028–2034 and Horizon Europe Successor Programme (FP10)18/7/2025 The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) welcomes the European Commission’s proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the next iteration of Horizon Europe as a clear reaffirmation of Europe’s strategic ambition in research, development, and innovation. With a proposed €175 billion for the successor to Horizon Europe (FP10), the Commission has sent a strong signal that innovation will remain a cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness, sustainability, and technological sovereignty. We are especially encouraged by the continued emphasis on:
These developments show that the Commission has listened to many of the sector’s calls — including those highlighted in the « Align, act accelerate » report from Manuel Heitor — by advancing proposals for efficiency, user orientation, shorter time-to-grant, and a more integrated funding environment. However, important questions remain, and EAIC looks forward to working with the institutions to address the following points: Governance and steer: The relationship between the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) and FP10 still lacks clarity. The proposed “integrated work programmes” and the creation of a “Competitiveness Coordination Tool” and consultative board require more detail, especially regarding the autonomy of FP10 decision-making, particularly for Pillar 2 and the EIC. Budget safeguards: While collaborative projects have been kept in Pillar 2, how will the budget distribution be made with Moonshots as well as Missions and with the priority windows of the Competitiveness Fund? Instrument design: EAIC acknowledges the intent to include lump sum fundings by default, but the operational specifics — including rules on technical audits — must be carefully developed to maintain trust in the system. EIC evolution: Clarity is still needed on the continuation of grant-only options for the EIC Accelerator, the functioning of blended-finance, the Transition projects without calls for proposals and the implementation of new tools for deep tech scale-up. The EIC Accelerator has committed €3.45 billion in equity over its first 4½ years, yet only €1.76 billion in term sheets have been signed and just €758 million actually disbursed—meaning only 22 % of committed funding (and 43 % of signed term‑sheet amounts) has reached laureate startups. This shortfall stems from the EIC Fund’s current practice of “drip‑feeding” capital: it won’t deploy its equity until a private lead investor is in place, often scales back original commitments to preserve dry powder, and cannot recycle unspent allocations or exit proceeds into new investments once the current Framework Programme ends. To address these issues, we strongly support the EIC Board recommendations for the next Framework Programme. First, transform the EIC Fund into an evergreen vehicle so that returns and unused allocations from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe can be reinvested continuously, avoiding a hard budgetary cutoff. Second, empower the Fund to act as a lead investor—especially in strategic technology areas with sparse private markets—enabling it to set terms, close rounds more swiftly, and anchor syndicates that attract additional private capital. These changes would boost deployment rates, strengthen follow‑on financing, and sustain Europe’s deep‑tech start-ups and scale‑ups. Finally, we note that EIC Transition grants may be awarded to companies outside the usual call for proposals; greater transparency in this mechanism is therefore essential to prevent any politicisation of grant decisions. MSCA and directionality: It remains to be seen how directionality will be applied without compromising the excellence-based model. Valorisation mechanisms: EAIC supports the intention to accelerate research uptake and welcomes the proposed “dedicated support instruments,” but further detail is needed on their design and operation. In sum, EAIC strongly supports the Commission’s proposals, particularly the efforts to simplify access, enhance coherence, and double down on Europe’s innovation capacity. But the work ahead must focus on securing transparency, clarity and predictability — not only for public authorities but for the thousands of research organisations, SMEs, and innovators who rely on Europe’s RD&I ecosystem to deliver impact. EAIC will continue to advocate for a meaningful role for innovation consultants in the co-design and implementation of these programmes. Our members stand ready to help organisations navigate the new framework, unlock funding, and accelerate breakthrough innovation across Europe. #EAIC #HorizonEurope #FP10 #EUbudget #RDandI #InnovationConsulting #DeepTech #EIC #StrategicAutonomy #SimplifiedAccess #InnovationForEurope EAIC Webinar: Dual-Use Technologies: Balancing Innovation, Ethics, and StrategyThere has been growing support for dual-use technologies in Europe. This raises concerns about ethical commitments, strategic priorities, and investment policies. While some argue that such a shift could conflict with EU ESG goals, others see an opportunity to expand innovation in sectors like quantum computing, AI, and advanced materials Speakers:
The Key Takeaways:
 EAIC Webinar: Why Collaborative Projects Matter - Apr 28, 2025 03:00 PM22/4/2025 Collaborative projects are at the core of Europe’s strategy to drive innovation, tackle global challenges, and enhance industrial leadership. But what makes them so critical for researchers, innovators, and businesses? The panel will explore how collaborative projects support groundbreaking research, enable cross-sector collaboration, and strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness. Speakers:
The Key Takeaways:
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