FP7UK Horizon 2020 - SME Instrument PAS 600 launch event - London 12 th December 2013 Steve Bradley - EU National Contact Point for SME's
Strategic positioning: Transnational cooperation logic Horizon 2020 Collaborative Research Target: R&D topics Eurostars 2 Target: R&D intensive SME Horizon 2020 SME instrument Target: Business innovation motivated SMEs R&D driven projects National & regional programs Market opportunity driven projects Cooperation logic at regional or national level
Outcome of impact assessments Less than 50% of industrial partners use the publicly funded applied research projects strategically Only about 22% of SMEs participating in EU research programs are strategic innovators Most academics engage with industry to further their research rather than to commercialise their knowledge Results are not exploited because projects were not designed for exploitation There is a strong relationship between internationalisation and innovation, but SMEs are not aware of internationalisation support programmes. The information environment of (European) R&D programmes is unattractive and off-putting to SMEs
Activities for SMEs in Horizon 2020 All forms of R&D and all forms of innovation, towards exploitation and commercialisation SME participation in collaborative R&D or innovation projects (all three priorities) SME instrument(budget from all societal challenges as well as from the Leading Enabling Industrial Technologies LEITs) Innovation in start-ups, spin-offs and young companies (Eurostars and other measures) Access to risk finance (debt and equity facility) Exchange and mobility of researchers involving SMEs (Marie Curie actions))
SME instrument main features Targeted at all types of innovative SMEs Only SMEs allowed to apply for funding (single company support possible) Competitive Market-oriented, EU dimension Bottom-up while addressing societal challenges and/or key enabling technologies Grant-based staged funding
SME instrument? Concept & Feasibility Assessment Demonstration Market Replication R&D Commercialisation SME window EU financial facilities Idea to concept, risk assessment, technological & commercial feasibility Demonstration, prototyping, testing, market replication, scaling up, miniaturisation, research Quality label for successful projects, access to risk finance, indirect support IDEA continued support throughout the project MARKET
Phase 3 & coaching = 2% budget Phase 1: Concept and feasibility assessment Input: Idea/Concept: "Business Plan 1" (~ 10 pages) 10% budget Activities: Feasibility of concept Risk assessment IP regime Partner search Design study Pilot application etc. 10-15% success 40-50% success Output: elaborated "Business plan 2" Lump sum: 50.000 Phase 2: R&D, demonstration, market replication Input: "Business plan 2" plus description of activities under Phase 2 (~ 30 pages) 90% budget Activities: Development, prototyping, testing, piloting, miniaturisation, scaling-up, market replication, research Output: "investorready Business plan 3" 1-3 (5) M EC funding Phase 3: Commercialisation Promote instrument as quality label for successful projects Facilitate access to risk finance Support via networking, training, information, addressing i.a. IP management, knowledge sharing, dissemination SME window in the EU financial facilities (debt facility and equity facility) Possible connection to PPC (and PPI?) ~ 6 months ~ 12 to 24 months No direct funding
Evaluating SME instrument activities Commercialisation potential and economic impact There has to be a market Excellence in innovation Company's potential to achieve the envisaged results Easy to use/produce for the customer and the firm Technical solution possible and better than existing ones Plus: EU added value
Coaching and EEN support Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 EEN Initial Assessment Regional HR SME Instrument Facilitation and Moderation Coaching Support for Application Support for EU project Management Support for Access to Finance
What does "Access to risk finance" mean in the Horizon 2020 context? Using part of the Horizon 2020 budget to stimulate more investment in research and innovation not through grants but in the form of Financial Instruments: o Debt finance Loan finance, i.e. risk-sharing loans to companies and for innovative projects introducing new technologies Guarantees to financial intermediaries (commercial and development banks) that provide loans to research- and innovation-driven SMEs and small mid-caps o Equity finance Equity, i.e. venture capital for newly created companies exploiting R&D results
Next steps.. Sept /Nov: informal consultation of Member States Draft work programmes agreed(wp) End Nov: EU Parliament 18 21 Nov complete negotiations on EU budget 2014-20 (including overall budget for Horizon 2020) Dec 2013: adoption of WP & publication of first calls 11 th December call deadlines mid 2014 1/1/2014: Horizon 2020 starts..
Further information: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm Europe 2020 is the European Union s ten-year growth strategy. It is about more than just overcoming the crisis which continues to afflict many of our economies.. http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm Europe' s future economic growth and jobs will increasingly have to come from innovation in products, services and business models.. www.ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020 Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness. http://ec.europa.eu/resource-efficient-europe/ The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy supports the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth. http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/ the Participant Portal is the entry point for electronic administration of EU-funded research and innovation projects, and hosts the services for managing proposals and projects throughout their lifecycle.
National Contact Point: Steve Bradley: steve.bradley@betatechnology.co.uk Steve.Bradley@tsb.gov.uk Beta Technology: 01302 322633