The Eurostars funding instrument is making a comeback with a wider scope, thus offering growth opportunities to a wider group of applying companies and organisations. This time around, not only R&D-performing SMEs, larger companies, research organisations and universities will be eligible to apply for Eurostars funding, but innovative SMEs are also welcome to send in their application as the company to lead an EU funded project with its partners. Get ready, as the first call of the new Eurostars programme will open soon and it is time to act now!
The Eureka Eurostars funding programme comes with a host of improvements to accelerate the application process and access to funding for successful project proposals. There are also less criteria for defining the eligibility: an SME with no previous R&D experience will still be eligible for funding if they have the ambition and capabilities to develop new products, processes and services.
Overview
Eurostars is dedicated to SMEs with R&D or innovations at their core. The new product, process or service developed has to be released to the market within two years after the project completion. In the case of biotechnology, biomedical or medical projects, the start of clinical trials is planned to occur within two years after project completion.
With its bottom-up approach, Eurostars stimulates international collaborative research and innovation projects that will be rapidly commercialized. A Eurostars project must have a civilian purpose and be aimed at the development of a new product, process or service.
An average of 1-2 M€ in grants
Funding rate depends on national rules and type of participating organizations. The average grant size per project is 1-2 M€. The duration of the project should be 12-36 months.
Projects must be submitted by consortia of 2-4 independent legal entities established in at least two different EU or associated countries. At least one partner should be a research-intensive or innovative SME, having at least 10% of its employees or budget dedicated to R&D. The research-intensive SME(s) must take up minimum 50 percent of the project budget.
Get ready - autumn 2021 call for proposals is published soon!
The call for proposals is published within four to six weeks in advance, and we expect the call for this autumn to be public soon, with the application deadline coming in well before the end of 2021. We advise to start planning today to get your project proposal ready in time!
Are you an innovative and/or R&D-performing small or mid-sized enterprise (SME)? Could public funding boost your future projects? Start planning now – our funding experts are here for you to help you plan your strategy, find potential partners and increase your chances for a winning funding proposal in the Eurostars funding call. Do not wait until the last moment but contact us today!
Janne Kaukojärvi
Consultant, M.Sc. (Eng.)
Tel. +46 70 844 9760 (SWE), +358 50 528 6197 (FIN)
janne.kaukojärvi@spinverse.com