Does your idea fit the EIC Accelerator?
The EIC Accelerator is not for average ideas. The proposed idea must be truly new and unknown. It must be a breakthrough, disruptive innovation emerging from deep tech, especially in the areas of strategic digital and health technologies, as well as in green deal innovations, where competition is fierce. However, it is not only about the innovative character in developing an idea, but also about in the stage of promoting and selling it. Applicants must find new and innovative ways to enter and succeed in their new markets. This means, they also must find new approaches and be innovative when selling their products. The EIC Accelerator is looking for new strategies in this area and EU grant money will be awarded to most scalable business models only.
What is to consider while preparing the EIC Accelerator application?
Important parameters when writing your proposal for the EIC Accelerator are:
- Innovative character of the idea - the idea must be at the very top to be considered as a worthy contender for the EIC Accelerator,
- Be sure to communicate your personal conviction in the idea and show off your courage across to the evaluators,
- Entangle benefits for the EU, the society and for our bright future throughout in the application,
- Protect your IP and know-how - the EU expects from applicants to protect their IP, as it is highly invested in protecting EU knowledge against other continents to retain its competitive position,
- Any project, even if not submitted under the Challenges, will benefit from connecting its impacts with the Green Deal goals in the EIC accelerator evaluation phase,
- The EIC Accelerator project must be scalable in large dimensions and contribute to the growth of the applicant's company. This truly is a Series A funding instrument.
- Gender dimension - female CEOs are specifically supported in the EIC Accelerator.
New evaluation process for the EIC Accelerator
On the AI platform, the first thing an EIC Accelerator evaluator sees is the submitted pitch deck and the video, followed by the written application. Of course, these materials and parameters are closely related, however the video gives a first impression and is a great tool to pitch the idea to EIC Accelerator experts. Evaluators can take only two decisions when it comes to scoring the proposal, a "go" or a "no go." An important difference from previous calls is that they are not evaluating each individual criterion, but are making the decision for the project in general. This means that they have more freedom and it is also more beneficial for the applicants. Of course, we are talking here about the first, short stage of submission for the EIC Accelerator.
Should you go for the EIC accelerator as EU grant money for your Series A funding?
The EIC Accelerator is a very popular EIC funding program. More and more proposals are submitted at each deadline, meaning the criteria are just getting tougher. So, the winning idea has to be truly exceptional and the project has to be prepared in a highly professional way. In most cases, the EIC Accelerator applications are prepared by EU funding consultants. Submissions that contain the above parameters and go far beyond the average, could be selected for EIC funding within the EIC Accelerator call.
Written by Tanja Tajnik, PhD
EU funding consultant at Tiko Pro