EIC Board calls for tighter national and regional synergies to boost deep tech funding

The European Innovation Council Board is urging EU Member States and regions to align their own funding instruments with EIC support to unlock more capital for high potential startups and SMEs. The appeal targets the persistent funding gap facing deep tech firms in areas such as digital technologies, life sciences and clean technologies. The Board frames this as a practical route for governments to leverage EU guidance on combining cohesion funds with Horizon Europe and to turn a pipeline of strong but unfunded proposals into investable projects.

Since 2021 the EIC has assessed more than 10,000 companies through its instruments and developed a system for identifying high potential deep tech innovators. Yet limited central budgets mean many promising proposals are left without EIC funding. The Board’s message is blunt. Member States already have tools and precedents to act and should use them rather than wait for larger EU envelopes.

Why this matters now

The call echoes the Draghi competitiveness report which warned that Europe risks falling behind in strategic technologies without faster scaling of innovation champions. In practice that means bridging from EU level identification to national level co-funding. The timing is tight. Both Horizon Europe and current cohesion policy programmes run to 2027 and reprogramming takes time. Countries that act in 2025 to 2026 are most likely to deliver impact before the current cycle ends.

Three models the EIC Board says are already working

The Board identifies three routes for national and regional authorities to channel resources quickly to high potential innovators by leveraging existing EU frameworks. These are framed as proven models with real world examples and specific benefits, though their replicability will depend on local administrative capacity and state aid compliance.

Model 1: Transfer ERDF funds to the EIC for direct management

Authorities can transfer part of their ERDF allocations to the EIC to fund companies from their jurisdiction under EIC direct management. Lithuania is cited as a success case, enabling five additional Lithuanian SMEs to receive EIC grants. Reported advantages include implementation in roughly two to three months from EIC call results, equal treatment with EIC backed peers, full access to Business Acceleration Services, and no need for Seal of Excellence companies to reapply nationally. The Board argues this can help widening countries and regions with historically low success rates in Horizon Europe increase participation.

Caveat. The two to three month timeline is an indicative best case. Transfers require legal and administrative steps at managing authority level. Authorities must still ensure eligibility, procurement and audit readiness under cohesion policy rules. Not all regions will be able to execute within a single quarter.

Model 2: Direct funding of Seal of Excellence recipients

Countries can finance Seal of Excellence projects directly through ERDF, the Recovery and Resilience Facility or national programmes without re-evaluating proposals. Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain are named as examples. As of 25 March 2025 the Board reports 1663 Seal of Excellence proposals overall, including 126 from widening countries, 152 from Spain and 91 from Italy. Benefits include bringing more deep tech projects to market, providing an incentive to apply to the EIC Accelerator, simplified national procedures by avoiding rewritten applications and making companies more attractive to private investors when the Seal is flagged on platforms such as the InvestEU portal. Access to some Business Acceleration Services may be possible though priority goes to funded EIC beneficiaries.

Caveat. While the statement highlights the possibility to fund without additional evaluation and state aid notification, practical implementation still varies by country. Managing authorities must align with their operational programmes and ensure additionality, avoid double funding and observe national state aid frameworks. Grant terms, co-financing rates and payment schedules can differ markedly and may dilute perceived equivalence with EIC awards.

Model 3: The EIC Plug-In scheme

Under Plug-In, accredited national or regional programmes identify top performing companies and nominate them directly to the EIC Accelerator full application stage. Over 40 programmes took part in the pilot. The Board claims benefits such as tighter alignment between national selection and EIC processes, the option to tap EIC evaluators for feedback, a shorter route to funding and free EIC coaching for nominated champions together with access to other acceleration services.

Caveat. Plug-In is a fast track to evaluation, not a funding guarantee. Programmes must meet EIC process and quality criteria, and applicants still face competitive EIC panels. There is also a governance question. Strong transparency and conflict of interest management are required to ensure fair pre-selection at national level.

Numbers and scope

The EIC pipeline is large but selective. More than 10,000 companies have been evaluated since 2021. Many strong proposals in digital, life sciences and clean technologies are not funded centrally. The Board highlights the Seal of Excellence pool as a ready-made source of quality projects for national funders that want to move quickly.

Policy guardrails and implementation risks

The models the Board promotes rest on existing legal bases. The Commission’s notice on synergies between ERDF and Horizon Europe sets out how to combine instruments. That said, execution quality is decisive. Authorities need to ensure additionality rather than substitution of EU level funds, maintain clear audit trails and avoid overlap between grants and investments when EIC equity is involved. Companies should also expect variance in timing, reporting and service access when funded nationally compared to full EIC awards. Anti-fraud and data protection obligations continue to apply across actors including EISMEA, the EIC Fund and intermediaries.

What the Board is asking stakeholders to do

Member States and regions are urged to adopt one or more of the three models and to share results and lessons learned with the European Commission. The Board also asks the Commission to continue facilitating exchange of best practices and to help identify further synergies. Companies and ecosystem actors are encouraged to use the available channels such as the EIC Seal of Excellence Community of Practice and feedback platforms to surface operational hurdles early.

Reading the fine print

The Board’s statement presents pragmatic routes to channel funding to strong projects without inventing new instruments. The examples are real but still limited in number and geography. Authorities that move fast will likely be those with experienced managing authorities, mature innovation agencies and established processes with the EIC. Others may struggle to reprogram budgets or certify Plug-In pipelines within the remaining programme window. In short the tools exist but delivery will determine whether this becomes a Europe wide practice or remains a patchwork of isolated success stories.