EAIC responds to the EIC Work Programme 2025

The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) welcomes the 2025 EIC Work Programme, which enhances Europe’s ambition to foster breakthrough innovations. The increase in funding to over €1.4 billion, alongside the launch of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), reflects a positive shift toward empowering deep tech and other critical technologies within Europe. However, it is unfortunate that the EIC’s overall funding has not been more dramatically increased, as many high-quality projects remain unfunded. 

Limited Support for Startups in the EIC Pathfinder programme 

One of the main issues is that the Work Programme falls short in its support for startups, which are underrepresented among beneficiaries. Of the 45 projects selected under the 2024 EIC Pathfinder Open call, only 22% of participants were SMEs, compared to 46% from higher education institutions and over 20% from research organizations. This distribution suggests a structural limitation, as a core EIC objective is to scale market-ready innovations from startups and SMEs with disruptive potential.  

Recommendation: Enhancing Early-Stage Support in FP10 

As the EAIC pointed out in its recent position paper, developing a market-access-oriented deep tech ecosystem is vital to Europe’s ambitions for industrial leadership and its net-zero transition goals. However, Europe’s funding gap for deep tech, compared to global peers, remains a challenge. Future Framework Programmes could play an essential role in addressing this by increasing early-stage funding opportunities, blending grants and equity to support innovations from inception to scale. 

While STEP’s focus on scale-ups is valuable, a more balanced approach that includes robust support for early-stage ventures would further solidify Europe’s innovation base. We encourage the European Commission to consider additional funding for startups, with clearer, sector-specific guidelines on technology readiness levels (TRLs) and expectations. This alignment would enhance the EIC’s appeal as a funding source that accommodates the unique needs of early-stage ventures, fostering growth across the innovation spectrum. 

Commitment to Ethical Standards and the Role of Consultants 

The EAIC is committed to ethical standards and effective support within the European R&I landscape. We have actively contributed to the EIC’s code of conduct and continue to promote high standards within our own. We welcome ongoing dialogue with the EIC to ensure that consultants contribute constructively to the programme’s evolution, in line with both organizations’ codes of conduct. 
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The EAIC stands ready to work with the EIC to address these challenges and advance an ecosystem where startups and SMEs are positioned to make Europe a leader in competitive, sustainable technology markets.