The document provides information about the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument which provides funding for innovative small-to-medium enterprises. It details the application and evaluation process, highlighting the focus on commercial impact. Key dates and funding amounts for different phases are included, along with tips for successful proposals and statistics on application success rates.

1. SME Participation in Horizon 2020
SME Instrument
Dr Jane Watkins

2. Horizon 2020 - summary
1. Innovative projects (more support for innovation
activities)
2. Projects address priorities identified by the Commission’s
Work Programme
3. Projects must respond to a call for Proposals
4. Involving partners from multiple countries
5. Reimbursement up to 100 % of eligible costs
6. Co-financed through a Grant Agreement with the
European Commission
7. Simplified access, for all companies, universities, etc
• Sounds simple!!

3. Horizon 2020 - getting involved
• Does H2020 meet your business needs?
• What are the timescales?
• Is there a likely ‘home’ for you project?
• - Societal Challenges, SME instrument,
Eurostars, other EU programmes?
• Are you ready to be the Coordinator? How
do you find partners?
• What are the participation/funding rules?
• How do I write and submit a proposal?
• The participant portal is collapsed, where
can I get support?
• What happens if I’m successful?

4. Targeted Approach
• “We would like to apply for Europe Smart award. I note the
deadline is only 45 working days away. Please can you send
me full details of how to apply ASAP.
• I looked at Eurostars but we cannot apply for it as the
company has less than 5 full time researchers
• Just to double check, is there anything other than the
following 3 calls we could apply for:
• H2020 ICT 37
• H2020 ICT16
• UK SMART Programme”

5. Horizon 2020 is different
• A strong challenge-based approach, allowing applicants to
have considerable freedom to come up with innovative
solutions
• Emphasis on innovation, with continuing support for R&D
• Less prescriptive topics, strong emphasis on expected
impact
• A strategic approach, with two-year work programmes
• Focus areas bring together different technologies, along
entire innovation chain

6. Horizon 2020 Priorities
Excellent
Science
 European Research
Council
 Future & Emerging
Technologies
 Marie Curie
 Research Infrastructures
Industrial
Leadership
 Leadership in enabling
and industrial
technologies
 Access to risk finance
 Research and innovation in
SME's (SME Instrument)
Societal
Challenges
 Health, demographic
change and wellbeing
 Food security, sustainable
agriculture 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

7. SME Instrument – KEY FEATURES
• Targeted at all types of innovative SMEs showing a strong ambition to grow
(and to develop and internationalize)
• Only for profit SMEs allowed to apply for funding (single company support,
but collaboration is certainly advisable)
• Competitive, EU dimension - only the best ideas pass
• Market-oriented, close-to-market activities: 70% co-funding
• Entrance in both Phase 1 and 2
• Embedded in societal challenges and key enabling technologies
• Evaluators: market perspective
• Time to grant*: 400 days in 2008 - > 150 days in 2014

8. Target Group
• Innovative for-profit SMEs showing a strong ambition to develop, grow
and internationalise
• Single company support is possible or consortium of for-profit SMEs
• Highly competitive, market-oriented, EU dimension
• Other partners (research providers like universities and research
institutes, large companies etc.) can be involved as third parties
(subcontractors)
• SMEs need to be established in the EU-member states or associated
countries

9. SME instrument
?
IDEA continued support throughout the project MARKET
Concept &
Feasibility
Assessment
Demonstration
Market Replication
R&D
Commercialisation
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
SME window EU
financial
facilities

10. Phase 1: Concept
and feasibility
assessment
Phase 2: R&D,
demonstration,
market replication
Input: Idea/Concept:
"Business Plan 1"
(~ 10 pages)
Activities:
Feasibility of concept
Risk assessment
IP regime
Partner search
Design study
Pilot application
etc.
Output: elaborated
"Business plan 2"
Input: "Business plan 2"
plus description of
activities under Phase 2
(~ 30 pages)
Activities:
Development,
prototyping, testing,
piloting, miniaturisation,
scaling-up, market
replication,
research
Output: "investor-ready
Business plan 3"
Lump sum: 50.000 €
~ 6 months
No direct funding
Phase 3:
Commercialisation
1-3 (5) M€ EC funding
~ 12 to 24 months
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?)

11. Specific Calls
• BG-12-2015-1: Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication
of innovative solutions for blue growth
• BIOTEC-5b-2015-1: SME boosting biotechnology-based industrial processes driving competitiveness
and sustainability
• DRS-17-2015-1: Critical infrastructure protection topic 7: SME instrument topic: Protection of Urban
soft targets and critical infrastructures
• ICT-37-2015-1: Open Disruptive Innovation Scheme (implemented through the SME instrument)
• INSO-10-2015-1: SME business model innovation
• INSO-9-2015-1: Innovative mobile e-government applications by SMEs
• IT-1-2015-1: Small business innovation research for Transport
• NMP-25-2015-1: Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced
manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs
• PHC-12-2015-1: Clinical research for the validation of biomarkers and/or diagnostic medical devices
• SC5-20-2015-1: Boosting the potential of small businesses for eco-innovation and a sustainable
supply of raw materials
• SFS-08-2015-1: Resource-efficient eco-innovative food production and processing
• SIE-01-2015-1: Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon energy system
• Space-SME-2015-1: SME Instrument

13. Submission Dates
• Rolling programme so no fixed deadline
•17th December 2014
•18th March 2015
•17th June 2015
•17th September 2015
•16th December 2015
• Evaluation begins at submission, not closing date,
so submit early to get a less stressed evaluator
–80% of submissions to first call were in last 48 hours

14. Evaluation
• Three Criteria
–Excellence
–Impact (1.5. times weighted for SME Instrument)
–Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation
• Scores out of 5
• Phase 1
–At least 4 out of 5 for each criteria
–Threshold is at least a total of 13 points
• Phase 2
–Impact must be at least 4 out of 5 (and is assessed first)
–Threshold is at least a total of 12 points

15. Evaluator’s Perspective
• Tell a gripping story
–First two pages are critical, difficult to recover from a bad first
impression
• Demonstrate that you know your user
–Why are they going to buy (i.e. pay real cash) your product?
–What is going to make them change the way they do things
now?
• Show you have the business expertise not just technical
–It’s not a mechanism to fund a hobby
–Include the CVs of sales manager types
• How is this going to make money?
–This is a business plan not a research proposal, think of it as
Dragon’s Den

16. First Phase 1 Submission June 14 cut off
• 2602 eligible applications received, 317 (12%) were
evaluated above threshold.
• Based on the positively evaluated applications per
topic 155 projects could be funded (6%)
– 49% of applications above threshold were funded due to
budget constraints
• 105 out of 155 (68%) of the SMEs reportedly are
newcomers to Framework Programmes.
• Countries with highest success rate were:
– Ireland (20%), Austria (15%), UK (11%), Israel (10%) and
Spain (9%)

17. • The Commission received 1,944 proposals by the second cut-off date of
Phase 1.
• 237 received an evaluation score above the application threshold and 75%
have been selected for funding.
• Together with the first selection round earlier this year, Spanish SMEs have
been particularly successful in Phase 1 with 71 beneficiaries in total
accepted for funding, followed by firms from Italy (58) and the UK (46).
SME Instrument Phase 1
September 24th 2014 cut off

18. SME Instrument Phase 2
October 9th 2014 cut off
The Commission received 580 project proposals involving 785 SMEs by the
first cut-off date of Horizon 2020’s SME Instrument programme Phase 2 (9
October 2014).
Evaluation by independent experts showed that 132 of the proposals met
the evaluation standard. 60 (45.45%) have been selected for funding.
UK companies (10 participants) on track to receive over €17 million. They
are closely followed by France, the Netherlands and Spain, which actually
has the biggest number of single beneficiaries (12).
The biggest number of proposals came from Italy - 70, followed by Spain –
69 and United Kingdom with 61 proposals.
Of the applications received, 78% were submitted by a single company. In
total 785 SMEs are participating in this cut-off.

19. H2020 SME Instrument – Lesson Learned
Most of the non-selected proposals were:
1. Too much focused on the project and not enough on the business
opportunity;
2. Not convincing when describing the company (you have to explain
why your company will succeed and not your competitor);
3. Not providing enough information on competing solutions;
4. Having a too low level of innovation, planning to develop a
product that already exists on the market;
5. Proposing just an idea without any concept for its
commercialisation;
6. Just trying their luck (the SME Instrument is not a lottery!).

20. Contact details
Dr Jane Watkins
UK Horizon 2020 National Contact
Point for SMEs
Email:NCP-SME@innovateuk.gov.uk
• Tel: +44(0)7500051146
• IF YOU WISH TO BE KEPT INFORMED ABOUT
EUROPEAN HORIZON 2020 FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES PLEASE REGISTER YOUR
INTEREST ON www.h2020uk.org