1. HORIZON 2020 SME Instrument ŠTA TREBA ZNATI
EASME Portal:
Haris Hadžialić and Jasna Malkoč

2. Najčešće postavljanja pitanja
Who can apply?
Only a single for-profit SME or a consortium of for-profit SMEs can apply for funding under the SME instrument. Other partners like research providers or larger companies can be involved as third parties, in general in a subcontracting relationship.
Can I apply as single entity?
If you are a for-profit SME, yes.
For-profit SMEs’ means micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, that are not 'non-profit legal entities' as defined in Article 2 of the Rules for Participation and Dissemination (‘legal entity which by its legal form is non-profit-making or which has a legal or statutory obligation not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members’)..

3. Can SMEs from third countries participate?
Only applications from a single SME or a consortium of SMEs, that are all established in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon 2020 are eligible for funding. In principle, SMEs established in third countries could be involved as third parties, for example in a subcontracting relationship.
Is there a limitation to participation of beneficiaries to a maximum number of applications/projects at any time regarding the SME instrument?
The rule is: no concurrent submission or implementation with another phase 1 or phase 2 project, be it as lead (even single) applicant or partner in an SME consortium.
In case the applicant or any of the members of the consortium would have submitted another application for SME instrument Phase 1 or Phase 2, it is not possible to submit a proposal until the moment an applicant receives the information that the submitted proposal will not be funded. If a proposal has been accepted for funding and for the duration of the project, it is also impossible to submit a proposal since it would be ineligible.

4. Horizon 2020 as a single programme
Horizon 2020 is a single programme combining
The Frame Programme 7,
the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and
the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).
It is a one-stop shop for acquiring European project funding.

5. Simplified set of financial rules
The EU contribution is
up to 100% of the total eligible costs for R&D projects
and up to 70% for innovation projects.
In all cases indirect costs will be covered by a flat rate of 25% of the direct costs.

6. “SMEs in the driver seat”
TARGET SHIFT
PROMJENA ODREĐENJA
from
SCIENCE with SMEs
towards
SMEs with SCIENCE
“SMEs in the driver seat”

7. SCOPE SHIFT PROMJENA OBLIKA
from
TECHNOLOGY segmentation
towards
CHALLENGE oriented segmentation
“Market driven, bottom-up”

8. SYSTEM SHIFT PROMJENA SISTEMA
from
Specialised programme structures
towards
INTEGRATIVE architecture
“Synergies of support measures”

9. Industrial Leadership
Horizon 2020
Societal Challenges
Health, demographic change and well-being
Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research, and the bio-economy
Secure, clean and efficient energy
Smart, green and integrated transport
Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials
Inclusive, innovative and secure societies
EIT M€*
Industrial Leadership
Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (LEITs)
Access to risk finance
Innovation in SMEs
17938 M€*
Excellent Science
European Research Council (ERC)
Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
Marie Curie Actions
Research infrastructure
24598 M€*

11. Strategic positioning
Horizon 2020
Collaborative Research
Target: R&D topics
Eurostars
Target: R&D intensive SME
Horizon 2020
SME instrument
Target: Business innovation motivated SMEs
emerging or established firms. typical bottlnecks
key challenges in emerging firms:
SEED stage with main focus on product/service innovation and UPSCALING stage with main focus of collaborative projects on industrialisation and distribution.
Additional support options should target the financing and competence gap
key challenges in established firms:
RENEWAL stage with focus of collaborative projects on product / process innovation.
Additional support options should target the competence gap.
it should be along these kind of real life business challenges and key transitions that the EU should position its support programmes. why not programmes that are particularly funding projects addressing one or more of these challenges?
R&D driven projects
Market opportunity driven projects 11

12. Coaching and EEN support
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
EEN
Initial Assessment
Regional HR …
Facilitation and Moderation
SME Instrument
Coaching (not part of EEN)
Support for Application
Support for EU project Management
Support for Access to Finance

13. HORIZON 2020 Fast track to Innovation Topic
Under the Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) pilot, proposals for innovation actions linked to any technology field are covered, on the basis of a continuously open call (with its first cut-off date in 2015) and a bottom- up-driven logic. FTI allows small innovative projects to be funded at any time.
Collaborative projects
Collaborative projects are a major part and the core activity of European research funding. Research and development in Public Private Partnerships is promoted. Projects are carried out by consortia with participants from different countries and with different activity types, such as higher education institutions, research centres and industry, including SMEs. A number of topics have a special focus on SMEs by setting apart a major part of the budget for R&D activities for SMEs. The size, scope and internal organisation of projects are defined in the various Work Programmes.

14. HORIZON 2020
Eurostars
Research-intensive SMEs are addressed by Eurostars 2, the follow-up of the successful Eurostars programme. Eurostars aims to support R&D performing SMEs by co- financing market- oriented innovation activities with a bottom-up approach. The budget of the programme will be significantly higher than its predecessor. With streamlined and improved procedures, Eurostars 2 will promote technological progress and business development, whilst boosting employment and export for European small businesses.

15. Access to risk finance
Access to risk finance aims to leverage private Research & Innovation investments, including venture capital investments for innovative, high-tech companies - in particular SMEs. Horizon 2020 allocates a budget of € 2.84 billion for financial instrument facilities and accompanying measures for Research & Innovation. At least one-third of this amount is likely to be dedicated to SMEs and small mid-caps.
Two financing facilities will be available:
A debt facility providing loans, guarantees and other forms of debt finance to entities of all forms and sizes, including research and innovation-driven SMEs;
An equity facility providing finance for early-stage and growth-stage investments, with a particular focus on early-stage SMEs with the potential to carry out innovation and grow rapidly.
Access to risk finance is implemented via the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund and/or other financial institutions of comparable stature.

16. Platforms (Associations,
The organisation of a mentoring scheme
Network of
innovation
Agencies
(e.g. TAFTIE)
Investors
Networks
(e.g. EBAN,
EVCA)
Industry
Sector
Platforms (Associations,
Clusters)
Specialist support
for SMEs
Coaching/
Mentoring Networks
Coaching «strategic innovation»
Coaching «financing»
EEN
SME/
Start-up
Central EC
management
(e.g. Exec. Agency)
Coaching «technological innovation»

17. Horizon 2020 Phase 3+coaching  2% budget
Phase 1: Concept and feasibility assessment
Phase 2: R&D, demonstration, market replication
Phase 3: Commercialisation
Input: "Business plan 2" plus description of activities under Phase 2 (~ 30 pages)
88% budget
Development, prototyping, testing
Piloting innovative processes, products and services
Miniaturisation/design of products
Planning & developing scaling-up (market segments, process etc.)
Market replication
Business plan III
Input: Idea/Concept: "Business Plan 1"
(~ 10 pages)
10% budget
Feasibility of concept
Risk assessment
IP regime
Partner search
Design study
Pilot application intention
Business plan II
No direct funding
Quality label for successful projects
Facilitate access to private finance
Support via networking , training, coaching, information, addressing i.a. IP management, knowledge sharing, dissemination
SME window in the EU financial facilities (debt facility and equity facility)
Idea/Concept = Business plan I
30-50% success
10% success
Lump sum: around €
~ 6 months
Cost reimbursement:
0.5 to 2.5 M€ EC funding
12 to 24 months

18. Demand
Based on various surveys (EVCA, EIM, NESTA), it is estimated that about 1% to 6 % of all SMEs belong to the target group, i.e. 200,000 to 1.2 million SMEs.
Without restrictions it is estimated to receive 10,000 to 15,000 SME applications for Phase 1 every year.
This number is limited in case of topic oriented calls
Measures to "reduce" applications:
Only one application per company (in both phases)
This implies: no possibility to apply for Phase 1 during the submission and/or implementation of a Phase 2 project and vice versa.
Advice by the support network(s)
SMEs should be encouraged to enter the scheme in Phase 1

19. Volumes and funding (overall ~2,8 B€ over 2014-2020)
5,200 Phase 1 projects
1,700 Phase 2 projects*
Phase 3 projects
2% coaching
88%
10%
Access to risk finance
0,5 to 2,5 M€
50 k€ lump sum
23 miliona SME je baza
iz koje svake godine konkuriše
minimalno firmi za grantove
*Average size of 1.5 M€ Or 2550 projects of 1 M€, 1250 of 2 M€…

20. Main features
Targeted at all types of innovative SMEs showing a strong ambition to develop, grow and internationalise (EU dimension)
Combination of demonstration and market replication encouraging the involvement of end users/potential clients, research as appropriate
Only SMEs allowed to apply for funding
Single company support possible 20

21. Main features (2) Simple rules and procedures
Continuous open call with 3-4 cut-off dates per year
No obligation for applicants to sequentially cover all three phases; Each phase open to all SMEs; however SME strongly encouraged to go in phase1
Bottom-up approach, each SC & LEIT themes defines a broad topic
Central implementation through Executive Agency 21

22. Evaluation Remote evaluation whole process
Suggestion to abandon consensus meetings
Long feedback loops ("ESRs") slow down the process
Evaluation criteria focus :
Excellence
Impact
Quality and efficiency of the implementation
Competences of evaluators is important

23. Award Criteria - DRAFT Excellence: Impact:
Soundness of the concept, including trans- disciplinary considerations;
Progress beyond the state of the art.
Impact:
Enhancing innovation capacity and integration of new knowledge;
Strengthening the competitiveness and growth of companies by developing innovations meeting the needs of European and global markets;
Effectiveness of the proposed measures to communicate the project, disseminate and/or exploit the project results, and appropriate management of IPR.
Quality of the implementation:
Competences, experience and complementarity of the individual participants, as well as of the consortium as a whole;
Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk management.

24. Nacrt tema Area Topics &Budget LEIT ICT
Open Disruptive Innovation Scheme; 45 M€ per year,
Estimated projects per year: 90 phase 1, 26 phase 2
LEIT Nanotechnology
LEIT Advanced materials &processing
LEIT Advanced manufacturing
Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs
21.8 M€ (2014), 23.8 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 43 phase 1 , 13 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 47 phase 1, 14 phase 2 (2015)
LEIT Biotech
SME boosting biotechnology-based industrial processes driving competitiveness and sustainability; 3.80 M€ (2014), 2.40 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 7 phase 1, 3 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 5 phase 1, 1 phase 2 (2015)
LEIT Space
SME innovation in space applications, 8.5 M€ (2014), 8.75 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 17 phase 1, 5 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 18 phase 1, 5 phase 2 (2015) 

25. Nacrt tema Area Topics &Budget SC2 Bio-economy
Resource-efficient eco-innovative food production and processing 9 M€ (2014), 17 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 18 phase 1, 5 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 34 phase 1, 10 phase 2 (2015)
Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication
of innovative solutions for blue growth 6.8 M€ (2014), 7.4 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 13 phase 1, 4 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 15 phase 1, 4 phase 2 (2015)
SC3 Energy
Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs in a low carbon and efficient energy system
33.95 M€ (2014), M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 67 phase 1, 20 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 74 phase 1, 22 phase 2 (2015
SC4 Transport
Small business innovation research for Transport M€ (2014), M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 72 phase 1, 21 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 78 phase 1, 23 phase 2 (2015)
SC5 Climate
Boosting the potential of small businesses for eco-innovation and a sustainable supply
of raw materials; 17M€ (2014), 19 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 34 phase 1, 10 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 38 phase 1, 11 phase 2 (2015)

26. Nacrt tema Area Topics &Budget SC6 IIIS no topic in 2014
Innovative mobile e-government applications by SMEs, 4M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 8 phase 1, 2 phase 2
SME business model innovation, 11 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 22 phase 1, 6 phase 2
SC7 Security
Protection of urban soft targets and urban critical infrastructures 7 M€ (2014), 7.4 M€ (2015)
Estimated projects: 14 phase 1, 4 phase 2 (2014)
Estimated projects: 15 phase 1, 4 phase 2 (2015)
Total
M€ (2014)
M€ (2015)

27. Raspored dešavanja - preliminarno
2014
2015
Phase 1
18/06/2014
24/09/2014
17/12/2014
Phase 2
09/10/2014
18/03/2015
17/06/2015
17/09/2015
16/12/2015