Open calls

Call summary and aims

This action proposes to bring together potential public buyers, suppliers of innovation (with a special focus on SMEs and start-ups), and potential investors and researchers, with a view to determine projects suitable for public procurement of innovation.

The purpose is to:

• Determine the emerging needs of the public sector (i.e. large buyers) in strategically selected technologies
• Provide network with stakeholders, such as scientists and other suppliers of knowledge (e.g. start-ups) in strategic fields
• Provide for the engagement of funding partners: public funds (such as EU funding opportunities), private funds and large enterprises willing to provide funding at various stages of commercialization of innovation
• Allow for the brokering funding opportunities, technological and business aspects between all stakeholders

Pilot projects will be identified in order to help them developing a proof of concept.

Programme funding would include the following activities:

• A Facilitator for networking activities and stakeholders management;
• Logistics, including travelling costs of participants
• The proof of concepts of selected projects
• Stakeholders' costs relating to the participation in the process (the cost of procurement of the relevant goods or services is excluded from this funding).

The facilitator would engage with large buyers and/or aggregators of public procurement to identify a small number of needs (problems). Subsequently, the facilitator would engage the "sources of innovation" (i.e. start-ups, innovative SMEs) through its network and asked them to provide solutions for the identified need. A small number of those solutions would receive funding to develop their competitive ideas to a proof of concept that the enterprises could pitch to the buyers for potential procurement at a later stage.

The action would involve parties coming potentially from any EU MS. This new approach will be tested for further wider application at EU level.

There is also a clear focus on the promotion of SMEs and start-up companies, who could become involved through pilot projects to provide innovation through this programme.

Please note that the deadline for this call has been extended until 4 January 2018.

Specific Challenge:

This call aims to:

• help innovative SMEs and start-ups grow and develop by allowing them to address public demands through the use of public procurement;
• create adequate links between government, research institutions and the private sector by adding the buying potential of large buyers or other aggregators of public procurement to the mix. This should open up opportunities to participating SMEs and start-ups to develop new products, services and to grow or scale up their operations;
• contribute to the creation of an innovation-friendly business environment and the overall competitiveness of the European economy.

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Call summary and aims

This action builds upon the 2014 "Clusters Go International" call (COS-CLUSTER-2014-3-03) that contributed to launch the first round of projects in January 2016 encouraging cluster organisations across Europe to establish 'European Strategic Cluster Partnerships-Going International' (ESCP-4i) and work concretely together to exploit synergies as well as to develop a joint internationalisation strategy for the benefit of their SMEs. This 1st call has supported the establishment of up to 26 Partnerships (ESCP-4i) including 15 co-funded projects gathering about 150 cluster organisations across 23 European countries and reaching out to more than 17000 SMEs across Europe. The Partnerships are active in various industrial and cross-sectoral areas including health, aerospace, mobility and logistics, agrifood, energy, marine and environment, packaging, materials and photonics, ICT, construction and sports. The partnerships target cooperation with third countries' economies, of which the main ones include Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico and USA. This action aims at establishing the first European Strategic Cluster Partnerships-Going International in the defence and security sector.

Scope:

The initiative shall support European defence and security-related clusters and business network organisations to intensify collaboration across borders with other non-defence industrial clusters and to develop and implement joint strategies in the areas of dual use technologies, products and services towards non-EU countries.

Expected Impact:

The consortium members are expected to develop and submit a joint internationalisation strategy defining a joint ‘European’ strategic vision with a global perspective and common goals and actions towards specific third markets as well as an implementation roadmap in the European Defence & Security Sector. This way the cluster and business network collaboration will be intensified across the EU Member States and also across sectoral boundaries and the establishment of European Strategic Cluster Partnerships will be supported in order to lead international cluster cooperation in fields of strategic interest towards third countries beyond Europe and notably in support of the development of emerging industries.

Budget Information:

• The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 800,000.
• The maximum grant per project will be EUR 200,000.
• EASME expects to fund four proposals.
• The grant is limited to a maximum reimbursement rate of 75% of eligible costs.
• EASME reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

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