Saturday 30 August 2014

Grant funding for innovation ... the SME Instrument

So... the first round of SME grants have been awarded... worth the hassle?


The SME Instrument offers a 50,000 Euro cash grant for a feasibility study into an innovative project.

It has 4 application deadlines in the year... and 26 UK projects were awarded the grant in the June round...


Good news for them... 50,000 Euros in cash... almost no strings (and the 30% 'funding' the company themselves has to chuck in can be 'in kind' = their time..). They also get themselves onto the inside track for further (much chunkier) funding opportunities as the project develops.

Good news for the UK too... only Spain had more successful applications

Problem is... there were 232 applications from the UK... for just 26 successes... a 90% fail rate

That's alot of effort and energy for nothing... 

... so what's to be done?

The EU themselves say : "The applications process is easy but only the very best projects can expect to receive funding"

So how do you be the best..?

Well... you can be the best... or be the best prepared... ?

Do the standard stuff ... read all about the instrument... read the FAQs... then... 

Do the right stuff... get on the phone to your regional Enterprise Europe Network ... they have people who really are waiting to help the UK get a better result than a '90% fail'... and they know how the Euro funding game is played... 

You can get other people on your side too... there are grant getters in the space like Pera... but I'm told the application process really is easy (certainly compared to previous Euro grants) ... and if they knock you back... you get to pick yourself up and go again...

Overall though... a 90% fail rate isn't really acceptable... it's slightly outrageous that government schemes are wasting so much time of so many busy applicants... the very people they're supposed to help... (if bankers turned down 90% of SME funding applications there'd be uproar... & rightly so)

The application deadline for the next Phase 1 round is 24th September 2014...


Sources:
EU press machine
EASME (Executive Agency for SMEs)
FAQs : SME Instrument


Here's a quick cut & paste .... Feasibility assessment (phase 1) 
Funding is available for: exploring and assessing the technical feasibility and commercial potential of a breakthrough innovation that a company wants to exploit and commercialize.
Activities funded could be: risk assessment, design or market studies, intellectual property exploration; the ultimate goal is to put a new product, service or process in the market, possibly through an innovative application of existing technologies, methodologies, or business processes.
The project should be aligned to the business strategy, helping internal growth or targeting a transnational business opportunity.
Amount of funding: lump sum of €50,000 (per project, not per participating business).
Duration: typically around 6 months
Outcome: The outcome of a phase 1 project is a feasibility study (technical and commercial), including a business plan.

Should the conclusion of the study be that the innovative concept has the potential to be developed to the level of investment readiness/market maturity, but requires additional funding in view of commercialisation, the SME can apply for Phase 2 support.









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