sme instrument phase i - mita · sme instrument 2018-2020 •european funding programme dedicated...

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SME Instrument Phase IMokslo, Inovacijų ir Technologijų Agentūra

Vilnius, 7th of November 2018

Vassilis Stamatopoulos PhD, PMP

[email protected]

Fraud Line IKE, Vassilis Stamatopoulos, [email protected]

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About me

• Have worked in public sector, private sector, academia, NGO

• Have been a Transport, Security and Space H2020 NCP for 6 years

• Have 10 years experience in Technology Transfer and Innovation Management

• Have co-founded Fraud Line IKE in 2016


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mailto:[email protected]

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SME Instrument 2018-2020

• European funding programme dedicated to high growth, highly innovative, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with European and global ambitions.

• There are no set topics. Negative impacts on climate and the environment should be avoided.

• Funded by the European Innovation Council EIC, part of Horizon 2020.


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Goal

• Developing and bringing to market: New products, services and business models that could drive economic growth.

• Phase 1• Formulation of a solid, high-potential innovation project with

a European or global growth-oriented strategy.

• Phase 2• A market-ready product, service or process aligned with the

company's growth strategy.

• Phase 3• Benefit from additional EU support such as training, links to

investors, partnering and networking with other SME clients and larger firms and services to help access international markets.


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Eligibility

• For-profit SMEs, including young companies and start-ups, from any sector.

• Legally established in the EU-28 or in a country associated to Horizon 2020.

• Other partners, such as research providers or larger companies, can be involved as third parties, usually in a subcontracting relationship.


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Financial Support

• Phase1: Funding of EUR 50 000 (Reimbursement rate 70 % thus total costs EUR 71 429).

• Phase2: EU contribution between EUR 0.5 and EUR 2.5 million. Reimbursement 70 % of total project costs.


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What else to consider

• If a proposal has been accepted for funding, it is not possible to submit a further proposal for the duration of the initial project.

• The page limit for phase 1 is up to 10 pages and for phase 2 up to 30 pages.


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The Funding & Tenders Portal

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home


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https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home

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Key points


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Writing for investors


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The WOW effect


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The company and not only the project


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Business over technology


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European and International dimension


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Form and content


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Visuals


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Using links


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As many eyes as possible


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Telling a story


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For re-submissions


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A good proposal is to the point


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Completeness


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Why proposals fail ?

• Too much focus on technology rather than business opportunity

• Not enough/ convincing info on USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

• Not convincing about its market potential• Missing market analysis to assess competition• Innovation dimension is too low, rather incremental

improvement• Mainly ideas, with little effort on commercialisation

concept• Weak team- not balanced in terms of experience and

abilities

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Proposal Evaluation

• Fully remote

• Panel of four independent experts with commercial and financial expertise!

• Evaluators are mostly: private investors, finance experts, experienced and serial entrepreneurs, business and management consultants, senior managers

• Median of 4 evaluators


Companies evaluators are looking for

• Highly innovative SMEs with groundbreaking concepts

• Capacity to shape new markets or disrupting existing ones

• High-growth potential with European and global ambitions


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Evaluation Criteria- Excellence

Potential to create new market or significantly impact existing ones Right timing

• Innovation aims at exploring new market opportunities addressing EU/global challenges

• Realistic description of the current stage of development; added value of innovation; understanding of competing solutions

• Good comparison with known commercial solutions or includes plans for achieving this information

• Approach and activities to be developed are consistent with the expected impact of the project

• Expected performances of the innovation are convincing and have a relevant commercial potential; potentially better than alternatives

• Good understanding of both risks and opportunities related to a successful market introduction of the innovation, both from a technical, commercial point of view


Evaluation Criteria- Impact

Solid business model and commercialisation strategy. Sound financial planning

• Convincing description that there will be a market for the innovation

• Targeted users are well described

• Good understanding of market conditions, growth rate, competitive solutions and key stakeholders, or includes a plan for achieving this

• Realistic description how the innovation has the potential to boost the growth of the applying company

• Demonstration of alignment with the overall company strategy; commercial and management experience; requirements for commercial exploitation

• Initial commercialisation plan is outlined and explains how it will be further developed

• Clear European dimension

• Realistic description of status and strategy of knowledge protection


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Evaluation Criteria-ImplementationCapability and motivation to bring the innovation to the market

• The proposal demonstrates that the project has the relevant resources (personal, facilities, networks, etc.) to develop its activities in the most suitable conditions

• If relevant, describes in a realistic way how key stakeholders /partners /subcontractors could be involved

• The proposal includes a realistic time frame and a comprehensive description of work

• The team has relevant technical/scientific knowledge/management experience, including a good understanding of the relevant market aspects for the particular innovation. If relevant the proposal includes a plan to acquire missing competences.


Key Points- Summary

• Disruptive solution

• TRL 6

• Innovation activities instead of R&D

• Big and accessible market

• Superiority to competitors in terms of;• technology• commercialization strategy• implementation capacity

• Measurable indicators

• Strong European dimension

• High growth on turnover and employment of consortium members

• Strong company profile, sufficient infrastructure and intangible resources, balanced human resources and relevant experiences


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Why proposals fail ?

• Too much focus on technology rather than business opportunity

• Not enough/ convincing info on USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

• Not convincing about its market potential• Missing market analysis to assess competition• Innovation dimension is too low, rather incremental

improvement• Mainly ideas, with little effort on commercialisation

concept• Weak team- not balanced in terms of experience and

abilities


Deconstructing a proposal

• Excellence • What do you want to do?

• What’s the innovation?

• What’s the breakthrough?

• Can you prove it?

• Impact • How are you going to change the world?

• How are you going to change your company?

• Implementation • What is your plan?

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Executive summary I

• Keep it short and simple

• Start with a bang

• Problem, solution & opportunity should be the ‘meat’ of your summary

• You may include a very brief financial summary

• Sell, don’t tell

Fraud Line Ike, [email protected] 1

Executive summary II

• Emphasize your strong parts

• Ask for what you need

• Ask for what you need – what amount will help you get to the next milestone, and what is that milestone?

• Provide an excellent description of the market opportunity

• Describe the team in short but powerful sentences.

Fraud Line Ike, [email protected] 2

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When to write the Executive summary• At the end?

• At the beginning?

• At the beginning and then revise at the end or throughout the proposal preparation

Fraud Line Ike, Vassilis Stamatopoulos, [email protected]

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Excellence

• Present your technology and innovation

• Difference between innovation and disruption

• Do not be too technical

1Fraud Line IKE, Vassilis Stamatopoulos,

[email protected]

Challenge And Solution

Describe the identified customer pain point? What is the business need, technological challenge or market opportunity?

What is your innovation?

High-risk/high-potential innovation idea that has something that nobody else has. It should be better and/or significantly different to any alternative. Game-changing ideas or breakthrough innovations are particularly sought after. Its high degree of novelty comes with a high chance of either success or failure.

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• Explain how your solution or product solves the stated problem and avails of the business opportunity.

• Make sure to define a value proposition.

• Identify and explain the first & secondary market application.

• Show that the pain point is such that a solution is a ‘must-have’ and not a ‘nice-to-have’.

• What do you do that was never done before – why wasn’t it done before and why can you do it now.



What is the market's state-of-the-art? How would your innovation compare with available solutions, practices or products (e.g. performance, costs, ease-of-use, gender dimension1, climate change or environmental aspects, benefits to society)?

Highly innovative solution that goes beyond the state of the art in comparison with existing or competing solutions, including on the basis of costs, ease of use and other relevant features as well as issues related to climate change or the environment, the gender dimension, any other benefits for society, or includes plans for obtaining this information.


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• Compare alternative technologies/products explicitly, don’t compare companies here. Competitor analysis should be detailed in section 2.

• Appropriate use of graphical elements is recommended. Again – a picture is worth a thousand words.

• Know & address the European Union’s challenges and policies – meeting more than one challenge is great! (For instance meeting both the energy and housing challenges…). Adding references to these challenges can help, but don’t send the reader to additional reading outside of the proposal. Know the European Union’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs).

• Further information on climate action and sustainable development can be found under the H2020 online Manual.

• Gender issues must be addressed. Ensuring an equality policy upon recruitment in the company can help. Further guidance on this can be found in the H2020 Online Manual.



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Approach

What is unique in your approach, compared to those of other companies?• Clearly explain what your competitive advantage is

Why now? Explain the historical evolution of your category and define recent trends that make your solution possible.

What is the current development stage of your innovation? (e.g. prototype, early field trials, pilot studies)? Refer to Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) or something analogous for non-technological innovations (see General Annex G of the Work Programme).

realistic description of current stage of development (Trl 6, or something analogous for non-technological innovations), and clear outline of steps planned to take this innovation to market.


• It is recommended that you include graphics that illustrate the milestones, TRLs, already achieved.

• TRL: The TRL should be 6 (prototype/demo of the technology in a relevant environment) or above. Note that the SME instrument is not a tool for company creation!

• You may include results from early field trials, prototype development, reference site installations, etc.

• The technology should have been demonstrated working in a relevant environment, make sure to refer to that.

• The definitions of the different TRLs can be found here.


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TRL 1 – basic principles observed TRL 2 – technology concept formulated TRL 3 – experimental proof of concept TRL 4 – technology validated in lab TRL 5 – technology validated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies) TRL 6 – technology demonstrated in relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies) TRL 7 – system prototype demonstration in operational environment TRL 8 – system complete and qualified TRL 9 – actual system proven in operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies; or in space)


Feasibility study objectives and methodology What do you plan to achieve in the feasibility study? Explain the

methodology distinguishing the activities to assess the technological / technical / practical feasibility and economic viability of your innovation.

What are the further stages and activities needed to commercialize your innovation

Objectives for the feasibility study and the approach and activities to be developed are consistent with the expected impact of the project.

You need to have very good understanding of both risks and opportunities related to successful market introduction of the innovation from both technical and commercial points of view or includes convincing plans for obtaining this information.

What are the further stages and activities needed to commercialize your innovation and which of these activities do you intend to perform in this project? The activities foreseen should match the expected outcome.


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Success indicators

• What are the expected outcomes of this project and the related success criteria?• objectives for the feasibility study and the approach and

activities to be developed are consistent with the expected impact of the project

How to measure success and performance = Key Performance Indicator (KPI). A good KPI should act as a compass, helping you and your team understand whether you’re taking the right path toward your strategic goals. KPIs should be quantifiable.

To what extent the above elements are coherent and plausible.


Practice EXCELLENCE Objectives Describe the specific objectives for the project, which should be clear, measurable, realistic and achievable within the duration of the project. Objectives should be consistent with the expected exploitation and impact of the project.

Objective Success indicator

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Concept and methodology

Explain how your innovative solution will solve the problem and/or use the business opportunity.

Problem Solution


Maturity level

• Describe the current stage of development of the innovation. Where appropriate, mention key milestones that led to the current stage

• Describe the positioning of the business innovation project, e.g. where it is situated in the spectrum from ‘idea to application’, or from ‘lab to market’.

TRL TRL description Your Milestone

1 basic principles observed

2 technology concept formulated

3 experimental proof of concept

4 technology validated in lab

5 technology validated in relevant environment

6 technology demonstrated in relevant environment


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Methodology

• Describe what you want to achieve in the feasibility assessment. Explain the methodology, distinguishing, as appropriate, activities linked to assess the technological/technical/practical feasibility and economic viability (e.g. market studies, customer survey, etc.).

Activity Purpose (to assess technical/ economic or practical feasibility)

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Methodology

Describe how your project intends to develop something new to Europe that addresses EU-wide/global challenges

High-level European policies or European policies with regional focus


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Ambition

Explain the novelty of your innovation business project. What do you envisage as key market application of the innovation project result?

What is NEW and DISRUPTIVE


Ambition

Explain the envisaged solution (products, processes, services etc.) and highlight the advantage of your (expected) solution with respect to competing solutions; how does it provide more added value to potential customers? Provide a preliminary comparison with alternatives solving the same or similar problems. If appropriate, compare to state-of-the-art research and known commercial initiatives. This could include costs, environmental benefits, ease-of-use or other features.

Disadvantages of the State of the Art Advantages of your solution


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Impact

This is the most important section, as it has the highest weight in calculating the final score. Make sure that all questions are answered in an appropriate manner. This is not a research proposal (or an R&D proposal). The clear focus should be on the business side of things.


Entering the market - users

Who are the targeted users and/or customers and why will they want to buy your product/ service (unique selling point)? Are they new or already part of your customer base? What is your relation with them (e.g. market survey, testing/feedback, letters of intent)?

Convincing description of targeted users or customers of the innovation, how their needs have been addressed, why the users or customers identified will want to use or buy the product, service or business model, including compared to what is currently available if anything at all

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What to do• Identify and prioritize user needs and detail user profile(s).

• Identify and quantify client segments.

• Explain why are you so sure that the customers will be willing to pay for your product, given its competitive advantage. Example: if you develop a speech recognition software that may reach 98% accuracy, and your competitors are currently reaching only 90%, are you sure that the added accuracy is worth the added price for the customers?

• If you already have ‘market connections’ or relationships with potential customers/distributors, show it by adding (as annexes, and reference here) letters of intent, memorandums of understanding, even contracts/agreements. If you already have paying customers, don’t forget to mention them – this might be one of the most important factors in the evaluation.

• Demonstrate the need. Know your market. Show how your solution answers these market needs.

• Any element showing demand for your solution/product gives you extra points. If you already have paying customers that’s great, but in the absence of that, LOIs or even successful meetings with potential clients and partners should be mentioned explicitly.


Entering the market – market segmentationWhat is the market in terms of type (e.g. niche,

/high volume, new/mature, growth rate), size (e.g. volume, value, geographical scope) and growth? What is your targeted market share?

Convincing description of substantial demand (including willingness to pay) for the innovation; demand generated by new ideas, with the potential to create new markets, is particularly sought after.

Total market size envisaged.


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What to do

• Research the global marketplace. Do not narrow your research to a few national markets, if possible. In particular avoid talking only about your own country, even if it’s a large market in itself. Demonstrating international expansion is crucial.

• Note that a market sizing exercise needs to be performed bottom up and not top down. Keep in mind that your total addressable market (TAM) is only a subset of the overall industry market and can often be only a fraction of it.

• If your solution requires market education, make sure to mention how you plan on doing that. If possible, try to avoid a solution which requires market education, as this is an extremely difficult feat to perform.

• Narrow your export markets – which international markets would be targeted first? Consider how you will communicate with buyers. You may need a distributor that can close the language and culture gap between your product and the client. Make sure to look at the countries’ taxes and legal fees, as some countries may be less costly than others.

• If you need actual presence (a subsidiary of your company – not just a local distributor) in some geographies in order to sell there, show how you create that presence.

• Explain the market conditions and the current trends, and the evolution of the competition.


Entering the market - competition

Who are your main direct and indirect competitors? (Competitors, substitutes and alternatives).

Good understanding of need for a realistic and relevant analysis of market conditions, total potential market size and growth-rate, competitors and competitive offerings, key stakeholders, clear identification of opportunities for market introduction: potential for market creation is particularly sought after.

• Make sure to include an in-depth competitor analysis, as this is one of the most important parts of the “impact” section. Show that you know your competitors (as well as your competitive advantage – why you are better than them). The statement “we have no competition” is never true – don’t forget that indirect competitors are also relevant. Any product that competes with you on the client’s money/attention is a competitor. Example: one of the competitors of an electronic car navigation system is a paper roadmap.

• You may use any graphical element to illustrate competitors’ analysis.


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Entering the market - barriers

Which are the barriers to entry? How do you intend to overcome them?

Alignment of proposal with overall strategy of applicant SME (or SMEs) and commitment of the team behind them. Demonstration of need for commercial and management experience, including understanding of the financial and organisational requirements for commercial exploitation and scaling up as well as key third parties needed.

• Types of barriers to market entry could be capital costs, economies of scale, legal barriers, vertical integration, predatory pricing, etc...


Business model –strategy and value chainHow does this innovation fit with your company's

overall business strategy?

Describe your value chain. Identify which of these or other stakeholders should be involved to ensure successful commercial exploitation. Define the nature of your current relation with them.


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What to do

• Outline your business model, including the revenue model and your commercialization plan with an approximate time-to-market or deployment.

• Outline of initial commercialisation plan and how this will be developed further (inhousedevelopment, licensing strategy, etc.)


Business model –strategy and value chain What will be your business model, including the revenue

model? How do you plan to commercialize?

What to do• Explain how you make money. Do you sell your product? Do

you provide it for free but make money from advertising and/or for selling data you’ve gathered? If you don’t sell directly to end users, do you intend to use licensing or other business models? Are post-sale services a money making element too?

• If you make money from sales – what is your pricing model and how did you choose it?

• If relevant, what post-sale assistance services will be required?

• You may also include a Business model canvas/lean canvas.


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Business model - scalability

Why is your model scalable? How do you intend to scale-up and reach European and/or global markets?


What to include• Realistic and relevant description of how the innovation has the potential to scale-up the

applicant company (or companies). This should be underpinned by a convincing business plan with a clear timeline, and complemented, where possible, by a track-record that includes financial data.

• European/global dimension of innovation with respect to both commercialisation and assessment of competitors and competitive offerings.

• This part should focuses specifically on scaling and there is no need to repeat what was written earlier.

• In how many countries do you already have presence with clients/ distributors/ staff/ offices?

• Are you commercializing with your own sale force/ Distributors/ partners/ the internet?

• Consider using different commercial channels for the different geographical areas in order to accelerate market penetration.

• You may need to have a separate approach per market segment/country.

• Know the different countries’ export regulation and licensing laws. Do not forget about foreign import regulations. Get export counseling.

• If there may be a need to localize the product – make sure to explain how it will be changed to meet local conditions.


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Financing – funding requirements

What is the company's ownership and capital structure?

What is the expected growth potential of your solution in terms of turnover, profit and jobs?

What are the further stages and activities needed to commercialize your innovation


What to include

• Indicate the estimated funding requirements to reach the commercialization stage of your innovation. What are your plans to ensure the subsequent financing of your innovation (applying for a SME phase 2 grant, next rounds, top-up financing, etc.)?

• What is the expected growth potential of your solution in terms of turnover, profit and jobs?

• Provide a graphic showing the company’s funding requirements over the next few years and the milestones reached with that financing. Show that each fundraising round gets you to a fundable stage.

• How do you plan to co-fund the 30% of the SME instrument grant? What additional financing is needed to reach the market apart from the SME instrument funding (time & budget)? How will you get it? Prove you have the relevant resources to execute the project. Show that you know you will need to raise money and that you have experience in doing so.


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Intellectual Property Right (IPR) and legal frameworkDescribe the legal and regulatory requirements to be fulfilled for

the exploitation of your innovation and whether it is incorporated in or compliant with standards relevant to the technology.

What are your IPR assets? Describe the key knowledge items and who owns them and who else may have rights to use them; patents (applied/granted) or other ways of protection.

What is your strategy for knowledge management and protection?

What are your measures to ensure commercial exploitation ('freedom to operate')?

Realistic and relevant description of knowledge protection status and strategy, need for ‘freedom to operate’ (i.e., possibility of commercial exploitation), and current IPR situation or a plan for obtaining this information. Where relevant, description of potential regulatory requirements.


Please provide

• Which kind of IP applies to the product/service?

• Highlight the conclusions of your Freedom-to-Operate analysis.

• If you depend on standard certifications (like CE etc.) – make sure to describe why you are confident that you will receive the certification.

• For phase 1 – make sure to conduct an FTO; do not write you will only do it in Phase 2.


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IP Relevance in Businesss Planning


IPR: IP protection vs. vs. no protection


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Intangibles Show your awareness

• Freedom-to-operate

• Competition: IP search/protection (i.e., patent, trade mark, trade secret, design, copyright), unfair competition

• Regulations: Certificates, permits, licenses, standards, trade laws, EU Directives IP capitalization

• selling, renting, subscription, partnerships

• permenant transfer of IP ownership

• licensing, franchising, distributorship, Joint Ventures, Spin-offs


Impact practiceGrowth Projections • SME Instrument is all about business growth and job

creation. You should first be able to create a sustainable and profitable business. This is the main determinant of your project success. Now, let us try to quantify your growth forecasts in below table.

• Please add as many indicators of your choice as you need to monitor your business growth. Though it is advisable to share the most critical 4-7 measures in your proposal. You may disregard the default indicators below if they do not apply to your business.

• Below table is just for practice. You had better develop your own communication style and visual to best highlight your growth.


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Phase 1 Phase 2 After the Project

current start end start end year 1 year 2 year 3

revenue €

profit €

# of jobs created

# of customers

# of products sold

# of markets served


Elaborate on your break-even point in terms of sales quantity, revenue, and time

• (Reminder: Break-Even Quantity = (R&I Costs + Fixed Costs) / (Sales Price - Variable Costs)

• Ex: 100K ea. (or €5M as revenue) = €2M + €300K / €50 - €27)


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Return on Investment (ROI) expected from your project? When would that happen?• (Reminder: ROI (%) = Total Revenue - Total Costs /

Total Costs

• Ex: If 200K ea. sold => 30% = €10M - €7,7M / €7,7M


Competition Analysis

• A comparative analysis is key (1) to understand the value of your innovation from the customers’ standpoint and (2) to decide how to position it in the market.

• Today, companies are exposed to both direct and indirect competition. Your target customers may even be approached by brands operating entirely in different industries. When the time and money you think saved for your product is spent for a supposedly unrelated consumption, you understand whom or what you are actually competing with!

• The first line of the below table is an example of competitor identification. In this process, you should consider the entire life (or business processes) of your customers (or business customers). Then, you need (1) to list the most attractive 4-7 attributes of your value proposition and (2) to emphasize on the market opportunities and your strengths. This study will guide your commercialization plan where you explain how to best capture value.

• Below table is just aimed to develop your understanding. You had better develop your own communication style and visual to best highlight your competitive positioning. Enjoy!


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(same product category)

your

innovation

similar offerings different offerings alternative solutions almost non-

consumption

time and budget

competition

Tesla model 3 Nissan leaf, Chevy

Bolt

Subaru forester taxi, bus, metro,

car sharing,

rent a car

walking, bicycle,

hitchhiking,

no commuting

pay your debt,

go for an MBA,

invest in Forex

(above example assumes that you are a car manufacturer solving transportation needs.)

Innovation

Attribute 1

Attribute 2

Attribute 3

Attribute 4

Attribute 5

Attribute 6

Attribute 7Fraud Line IKE, [email protected] 29

(same product category)

innovation similar offerings different offerings alternative solutions almost non-

consumption

time and budget

competition

Tesla model 3 Nissan leaf, Chevy

Bolt

Subaru forester taxi, bus, metro,

car sharing,

rent a car

walking, bicycle,

hitchhiking,

no commuting

pay your debt,

go for an MBA,

invest in ForexEco friendly,

speed,

convenience,

prestige,

economy

your innovation

Attributes

1

2

3

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Implementation

TeamDescribe your team and their achievements and experience in

relation to the approach you will be taking.

Describe the roles of the team within your project. What is the role of the company's owner(s)? What are the main strengths and weaknesses of the team?

If your project is to be implemented by a consortium, describe how the partners complement each other.

Technical/business experience of the team, including management capacity to lead a growing team

If relevant, the proposal includes a plan to acquire missing competences.


Implementation - team

• The industry experience of the management team has to be convincing. Make sure to show that you have relevant experience in all fields: technology, marketing, staffing, fundraising etc.

• When describing the company’s abilities, you can mention you will use the coaching that is provided to perform actions that are currently beyond the company’s capabilities.

• Properly present your key people in the management structure.

• Keep in mind that you will be required to provide further information on your company and its operational capacity in Section 4.


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Work packages, deliverables, Milestones, risks

• Present a detailed project plan comprising: i. one work package: feasibility study ii. one deliverable: feasibility report including a business plan

• Work package means a major sub-division of the proposed project.

• Deliverable means a distinct output of the project, meaningful in terms of the project’s overall objective. It can be a report, a document, a technical diagram, a piece of software etc.

• Milestones are control points to help to chart your progress. Milestones may correspond to the completion of a key deliverable. They may also correspond to other inputs, allowing the next phase to begin, to decide on further steps or to take corrective measures.

• Make sure the work plan describes how you fill the existing gaps you mentioned in the ‘market’ section and will overcome the barriers specified.


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Single Aim & Objective

• Aim: Validate your Assumptions through research

• Objective: Draft comprehensive

• Business Plan (incl. risk assessment, commercial, financial, resource plan, for full implementation)


Consortium as a whole

• Describe the consortium

• How will it match the project’s objectives, and bring together the necessary expertise?

• How do the members complement one another (and cover the value chain, where appropriate)?

• In what way does each of them contribute to the project?

• Show that each has a valid role, and adequate resources in the project to fulfil that role

• If applicable, describe the industrial/commercial involvement in the project to ensure exploitation of the results and explain why this is consistent with and will help to achieve the specific measures which are proposed for exploitation of the results of the project.


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One WP but many Tasks


Risk Management

• Have you considered the risks that could hinder your success?

• Example: if you develop a speech recognition machine where your competitors reach 90% accuracy and you claim to reach 98%, detail what might prevent you from reaching that level of accuracy.

• Risk analysis – very important to take this section seriously. Also reflect the mitigation measures in your task action plan.


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Company

Please provide for each participant, the following:

a description of the legal entity and its main tasks, with an explanation of how its profile matches the tasks in the proposal;

a curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the persons , including their gender, who will be primarily responsible for carrying out the proposed activities;

a brief description of relevant products, services (including widely used datasets or software) or other achievements (which may also include previous projects or activities connected to the subject of the proposal);

a description of significant infrastructure and/or any major items of technical equipment relevant to the proposed work;

a description of any third parties that are not represented as project partners but who will nonetheless be contributing towards the work, for example by providing facilities or computing resources.• Do you plan to subcontract any tasks? If yes, describe and justify the tasks to be

subcontracted


Company

• Although there is no page limit for this section – try not to be too lengthy.

• Generally speaking, you will need to convince the evaluator that your company has the operational capacity and capability to execute the project at hand. Don’t forget that, as well as describing technical competence, you’ll also need to provide information on commercial competence.

• Implementation – team – Make sure to describe the team’s technological knowledge and good understanding of market. Prove the team has expertise in all the relevant aspects.

• Describe the resources that are available to the company – the facilities, manpower.

• If your company is working on other projects/products in parallel, make sure to show that the one at hand has ample resources devoted to it.

• The CVs provided should be short, but must include information on previous work experience, activities and publications that are relevant to the proposed project.


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Ethics

• If you have entered any ethics issues in the ethical issue table in the administrative proposal forms, you must submit an ethics self-assessment, which:

• Describes how the proposal meets the national legal and ethical requirements of the country / countries where the tasks raising ethical issues are to be carried out;

• Explains in detail how you intend to address the ethical issues table: • Research objectives (e.g. study of vulnerable populations, dual use, etc.);• Research methodology (e.g. clinical trials, involvement of children and

related consent procedures, protection of any data collected, etc.); • Potential impact of the research (e.g. dual use issues, environmental

damage, stigmatisation of particular social groups, political or financial retaliation, benefit-sharing, misuse, etc.);

• Provide the documents that you need under national law (if you already have them) e.g.:

• An ethics committee opinion; • The document notifying activities raising ethical issues or authorising such activities

3Fraud Line IKE, Vassilis Stamatopoulos,

[email protected]

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Acknowledgements

The content of the presentation is informative and the author can not be held responsible for any damages or adverse effects on third parties caused by the information contained in this presentation.

References

• Project Access 4 SMEs, www.access4smes.eu

• Turkey in Horizon 2020, turkeyinh2020.eu

• SME Instument, EASME, ec.europa.eu/easme/en/sme-instrument

http://www.access4smes.eu/

https://turkeyinh2020.eu/

https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/sme-instrument

sme instrument phase i - mita · sme instrument 2018-2020 •european funding programme dedicated...

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