Deadline: 25 May 2020
EIT Manufacturing has launched a dedicated Call, responding to the COVID-19 crisis, including the following two actions:
- Venture support instrument to provide targeted support to high impact and growth potential scale-ups and SMEs to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and adapt/accelerate to post crisis economic reality;
- Pandemic response activities to generate and implement short-term response activities addressing directly the COVID-19 crisis with the potential to make a significant impact addressing manufacturing related callenges.
Manufacturing is among the business activities to be most negatively affected by the evolving crisis caused by COVID-19. The pandemic is heavily disrupting both the demand behaviour as well as the supply and the capability of the companies to produce and deliver goods to the market. Within this situation, EIT Manufacturing will be at the forefront of supporting the manufacturing community in Europe.
EIT is looking for:
- Applications from scale-ups and SMEs for venture support in the second half of 2020 for up to EUR 500000
- Proposals for innovation activities to be funded and executed in the second half of 2020, for up to EUR 300000
Principles and Thematic Areas
Venture Support
- Highlights:
- open to scale-ups and SMEs in the area of manufacturing that are based in the EU
- up to 500k€ of support per scale-up/SME available.
- Main background/mission: Scale-ups and SMEs are badly hit by the current COVID-19 situation, both when it comes to investment rounds and to customer segments as they will not engage with product purchase in the short term. Private funds are slowing down investments into new targets (“portfolio first” approach). Significant risk of a long-lasting harm of the European Manufacturing Entrepreneurship scene exists, as highly innovative ventures will not survive beyond the crisis. EIT Manufacturing will help them through the crisis and accelerate their post crisis growth and make an impact both on the societal challenge and economic recovery.
- Specific Objective(s) 2020: EIT Manufacturing intends to support ventures with high impact and growth potential in order to adapt/accelerate to post crisis economic reality.
- Operational Model / Specific Conditions:
- Target group (beneficiaries of the support) and type of support: time sensitive support of highly innovative scale-ups (>200k€ revenue) and SMEs (as defined in the EU) in the area of manufacturing affected by COVID-19 crisis to survive during the crisis and adapt/accelerate to post crisis economic reality.
- Support is open for EIT Manufacturing portfolio ventures but also to any start-up, scale-up, SME not yet working with or supported by the EIT Manufacturing.
Pandemic Response Activities
- Highlights:
- Focus on Innovation Activites creating tangible results until the end of the year
- Non-EIT partner organisations can participate
- EIT funding can be up to 300k€
- Reduced co-funding requirement at KAVA level of 15%
- Main background/ mission: The COVID-19 crisis could not be foreseen when developing the KIC’s 2020 Business Plan. EIT Manufacturing aims to mobilize its partnership and external organizations to address the crisis impact.
- Specific Objective(s) 2020: Implement fast track projects to address the COVID-19 crisis with clear solution (product/service/business model) and make a significant impact.
- Operational Model / Specific Conditions:
- New Activities responding directly to the specific objective and contributing to significant impact made.
- Target group (beneficiaries of the support) and type of support: existing EIT Manufacturing Partners and non-Partner organizations who can implement fast track projects to address the COVID-19 crisis with clear solution (product/service/business model) and make a significant impact.
- Duration and cost eligibility: in order to ensure fast response to the COVID19 crisis, the support to the selected Activities will start in July. The related costs are eligible as from the date of this invitation until 31 December 2020 (end of the Specific Grant Agreement).
- The form of financing is reimbursement of eligible costs incurred by EIT Manufacturing Members and linked third parties, EIT Manufacturing Activity Partners and non-Partner organizations. In case of financial support to third parties, the usual limit of 60,000 EUR shall apply, unless justified otherwise by the KIC.
- Other specific conditions to be incorporated in the application:
- Eligibility criterion related to EU dimension: at least two partners from two different countries, at least one partner from industry
- Innovation principles: the Activities must have clear outputs, commercialization strategy, and communication and dissemination plans. Having a nature of addressing pandemic situation, the new Activities have a reduced co-funding requirement of 15%.
- Financial sustainability mechanism: it is not obligatory however it is recommended.
- Expected outputs by end of 2020: The Activities must deliver clear outputs by the end of 2020 – clear product, services, solution, ready to be put on the market. Studies, project plans, analysis or similar are not considered as product, services or solutions. Clear output shall be defined.
- KPIs: the projects shall contribute to the EIT Core KPIs in the area of innovation:
- EITN03 – # Products (goods or services) or processes launched on the market
- EITN04 – # Start-ups created as a result of innovation projects
- Deliverables: project reports (including brief summary, achievements etc.) and business canvas.
For more information, visit https://eit.europa.eu/our-activities/opportunities/eit-manufacturing-new-call-proposals-response-covid-19-crisis