Library FAQ
How are applicants prioritised if interview capacity is limited?
Priority is given to women-led companies until 40% of invited companies is reached; remaining places are prioritised by the date and time of short proposal submission.
How are interviews organised and who participates?
Interviews are organised about three to four weeks after the remote evaluation result. A panel of up to six jury members assesses you. EIC Programme Managers and EIB representatives may attend as observers but do not take part in jury deliberations.
How do I submit a short proposal and when can I start submitting?
You may submit a short proposal at any time from 1 January 2024 via the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal.
How is the full proposal evaluated and how long does it take?
Three EIC expert evaluators assess the full proposal remotely against award criteria. You will be informed of the remote evaluation result in approximately six weeks and, if successful, invited to an interview with an EIC jury.
How long does evaluation of a short proposal take and how many evaluators assess it?
Approximately 4–6 weeks. Four EIC expert evaluators matched to your technology and market will assess the short proposal.
What are the main award criteria for short and full proposals?
Short proposals are assessed on excellence (company vision, novelty, TRL, timing), impact (competitiveness, market development, broader impact), and team/risk (team capability and plans to acquire missing competencies, including gender representation). Full pr...
What are the possible outcomes of the remote evaluation for a full proposal?
If all three evaluators give a GO for all evaluation elements, you are invited to interview. If two evaluators give a GO for all elements, a consensus meeting will decide. If two or more evaluators give a NO GO on any element, the proposal is rejected.
What are the short-proposal success and failure criteria?
If at least three of the four evaluators give a GO, the short proposal is successful. If at least two of the four evaluators give a NO GO, it is considered unsuccessful.
What can cause the EIC Fund to delay or reject an investment?
Due diligence may find the company or innovation not mature, leading to recommendation to start with the grant and attach milestones to the investment. The investment may be rejected due to due diligence findings, compliance checks, irregularities, misrepresen...
What does a full proposal include and when can I submit it?
A full proposal includes a full business plan, company finances and structure, proposed milestones, a pitch-deck (PDF) and a video pitch up to three minutes. For 2024, full proposals from successful short applications can be submitted to cut-offs on 13 March 2...
What does a short proposal consist of?
A short form summarising the proposal and questions on company/team, innovation and market; a pitch-deck of up to ten slides in PDF; and a video pitch up to three minutes with up to three core team members.
What happens if my project is selected for grant or blended finance?
For grant only, you will be invited to negotiate and sign a grant agreement and receive a pre-financing payment. For blended finance, a single award decision covers grant and investment; after grant preparations you sign the grant, and the EIC Fund/EIB start c...
What happens if no investment is taken during or within one year after the grant period?
You may subsequently apply for equity-only support.
What is EIC Accelerator Open and are there specific thematic restrictions?
EIC Accelerator Open has no predefined thematic priorities and is open to proposals in any field. However, applications in AI, quantum, semiconductors and biotechnology may have specific investment safeguards, and funding for challenge topics is subject to the...
What is the TRL requirement for EIC Accelerator applications?
The technology must have been tested and validated at least to Technology Readiness Level 5 (tested in the relevant environment) or higher.
What support is available if my short proposal is successful?
If successful, you will be invited to prepare a full proposal and will be entitled to optional coaching support from an EIC Business Acceleration Services business coach to develop your business plan and pitch.
Can applications request an investment component above EUR 15 million?
Yes — applications in certain areas (e.g., emerging semiconductor or quantum technology components and customer-driven space technologies) may request investment components above EUR 15 million in duly justified cases, subject to conditions.
Do resubmission rules apply across stages or separately?
These rules apply separately for each stage of the process; Challenge call resubmissions may be made to the Open call if the Challenge is not continued in a future Work Programme.
How does the EIC consider the risk level of an investment?
The EIC assesses whether the risk profile justifies EU support and looks for evidence of market actors’ willingness to invest.
If a full proposal is rejected once at remote evaluation, can I resubmit?
Yes — you may resubmit directly to the remote evaluation of the full proposal at a subsequent cut-off within 12 months from the first full proposal submission but will be expected to have made improvements.
If a short proposal is rejected once at remote evaluation, when can I resubmit?
You may resubmit to the short application stage at any time but will be expected to have made improvements.
If rejected after a face-to-face interview but the jury sees potential with targeted improvements, can I resubmit?
You may be invited to resubmit directly to one of the next interviews within 12 months with a rebuttal and updated pitch deck (only once).
What areas do Emerging semiconductor or quantum technology components cover?
They focus on critical technologies supporting the Chips Act, including hardware for fault-tolerant quantum computing, quantum sensors for real environments, quantum communication devices, and innovative analogue/digital chip design to strengthen Europe’s fabl...
What are the rules after a second rejection of a full proposal at remote evaluation?
You will not be allowed to submit another proposal for 12 months from the date of submission of your revised full proposal; after that you may only submit a significantly different new proposal to the short application stage.