Library FAQ
What timeframe must awarded procurement practices relate to?
They must relate to completed or ongoing initiatives started by 1 January 2017.
Who can apply to the Social Innovation Competition challenge prize?
Legal entities (including single persons or groups of legal entities, excluding public administrations) located in EU Member States or Associated Countries; applicants may be for-profit or non-profit and at any maturity level.
Who is eligible to apply for the Innovation Procurement Awards?
Any public and/or private procurer, as well as individuals/natural persons, located in an EU Member State or an Associated Country, with the procurement practice carried out in such a country.
Who is ineligible to apply for the iCapital awards?
Winners of former iCapital editions and runners-up of the edition organised one year prior to the current edition are not eligible; previous finalist cities remain eligible.
Who manages and selects winners of the EU Prize for Women Innovators?
The prize is launched and managed by the European Innovation Council and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency; winners are chosen by an independent expert jury.
Are proposals required to focus on civil or military applications?
Applications under the EIC Transition funding scheme must focus exclusively on civil applications.
Are Technology Transfer Offices or business schools encouraged to participate?
Yes. Technology Transfer Offices or business schools are encouraged to actively participate as they can support researchers in development and commercialisation of results.
Are there eligibility restrictions related to consortia size?
Consortia of more than five eligible entities will be deemed ineligible.
How do the award criteria differ at the jury interview (second step)?
At the jury interview the criteria are judged GO/NO GO and focus on Excellence, Impact and Quality and efficiency of implementation with emphasis on scale-up potential, soundness of the business model, market identification, investment plans, risk assessment a...
How many members compose the EIC Jury at the interview?
The EIC Jury will be composed of between four and six members and may additionally include one EIC Programme Manager as observer.
What are the award criteria at the first evaluation step?
Proposals are assessed on Excellence (threshold 4/5), Impact (threshold 4/5), and Quality and efficiency of the implementation (threshold 3/5).
What are the expected outcomes of an EIC Transition project?
a) A technology demonstrated to be effective for its intended application, and b) A validated business model and a business plan. Intellectual property generated should be adequately protected.
What decisions can the EIC Jury make about a proposal?
The EIC Jury will recommend your proposal for funding (GO), place it on a reserve list (GO Reserve), or not recommend it (NO GO).
What investment readiness aspects will the jury examine?
The jury will examine whether activities make the technology and team investment ready (including IP protection and market validation), whether there is a well-defined go-to-market strategy and pathway, and plans for subsequent financing and regulatory approva...
What is assessed under Excellence at the first step?
Technological breakthrough (novelty and commercial potential), the credibility and feasibility of objectives and KPIs for technology and business development, and methodology including timing, minimum TRL and unique selling points.
What is assessed under Impact at the first step?
Credibility of expected commercial impacts, economic and societal benefits including scale-up and market creation potential, and investment readiness including IP protection, market validation and a convincing go-to-market strategy.
What is assessed under Quality and efficiency of implementation at the first step?
Quality and motivation of the team, presence and relevance of KPIs and milestones with risk identification and mitigation, and appropriateness of workplan and allocation of resources between work packages and partners.
What is the Seal of Excellence and when is it awarded?
If you meet all evaluation criteria thresholds at the first step but are not selected for funding, you will be awarded a Seal of Excellence. For consortia, the Seal is awarded to the coordinator listing the other participating legal entities.
What should I be ready to do at the end of an EIC Transition project?
You should be ready to apply for EIC Accelerator (if you are an SME), seek other investors or funding, enter licensing or collaboration agreements, or pursue other routes to market deployment.
What Technology Readiness Level (TRL) requirements apply to EIC Transition proposals?
Applications must have completed all elements of TRL 3 at submission. Projects should increase maturity toward TRL 5 to 6 by the end of the project.
What types of activities must EIC Transition proposals include?
Activities must include further technology development on results from a previous project, user-centric validation (prototyping, models, user testing), market and business development (market research, value proposition, refine business plan and validate busin...
Which kinds of pathways does EIC Transition support?
Illustrative pathways include a focused collaborative multi-beneficiary project to develop technologies toward applications, an individual SME applying results via licensing, and entrepreneurial researcher teams creating a start-up or spin-off to commercialise...
Who can represent my proposal at the EIC jury interview?
A maximum of five persons may represent your proposal. Only individuals mentioned in the proposal and involved in the future project implementation can represent it.
Will I receive feedback on the evaluation?
You will receive an Evaluation Summary Report from the first evaluation step. If you are invited for an interview, you will also receive feedback from the jury.