EIC and NO-FEAR bring startup solutions to emergency medical challenges

On 22 July 2021 the European Innovation Council organised an ePitching event in partnership with the Horizon 2020 NO-FEAR project. Ten EIC-backed companies presented innovations aimed at pressing needs in emergency medical services. Organisers positioned the online event as particularly timely following damaging floods in Western Europe and framed the pitches as responses to gaps identified by NO-FEAR partners.

Why the event matters

The European Innovation Council supports European small and medium sized enterprises and works with procurers of innovation to move technologies from demonstration towards uptake. By pairing EIC companies with a network of practitioners and public sector partners in NO-FEAR, the event was intended to accelerate the alignment between developer capability and operational needs in crises. The format used short pitches to surface potential rapid deployments, procurement opportunities and further testing partnerships.

Event format and practical details

The ePitching session ran live on 22 July 2021 from 12:00 to 14:00 Central European Summer Time. Ten companies each delivered concise presentations aimed at practitioners in the NO-FEAR network. The organisers invited a live audience to follow the event through the EIC channels.

Needs highlighted by practitioners

NO-FEAR partners distilled multiple operational challenges. The organisers identified two headline issues for the ePitching session. First, how to increase the decisiveness of emergency responders at the scene of disasters and crises. Second, how to support and facilitate public health mitigation strategies during pandemics and in future health emergencies. Presentations were meant to illustrate how new technologies and services can help address these problems.

Critical context and what the announcement does not say

The EIC and NO-FEAR event highlights the important practice of matching innovators to practitioner needs. At the same time announcements of pitches often do not resolve the harder problems of procurement, large scale validation and sustained operational funding. Technologies that work in a demo environment can fail when scaled into chaotic disaster settings. There is also limited public detail in the event notice about which companies pitched, the specific technologies presented or the pathways to procurement and field trials.

Implications for startups, procurers and policy

For EIC supported startups this type of exposure can open doors to procurement conversations and pilot opportunities. For procurers it offers a structured view of what is available and which vendors may be worth testing. For EU policy makers the event underscores ongoing efforts to connect Horizon projects and EIC instruments with operational users. The critical next steps are clear. Practitioners must evaluate candidate solutions through field trials. Funders should create clearer procurement pathways. Regulators need to define certification routes that are proportionate to emergency contexts.

How to follow the event and next steps

Organisers invited interested parties to follow the live ePitching session on 22 July 2021 between 12:00 and 14:00 CEST via the EIC channels. Attendees and viewers were encouraged to track subsequent announcements from the EIC and from NO-FEAR for information about pilot opportunities and further engagement. Independent observers should expect follow up material if pilots are contracted and results published.

The ePitching session represents a useful convening of innovators and practitioners. Its practical value will be determined by the degree to which the event produces testable field trials, procurement commitments and transparent evaluations. That outcome will determine whether the event was more than a showcase and actually helped move life saving technologies into routine use.