Javier Ferrís Oñate, Cristina Sorolla Ballesta, Montse Blanco Bahamonde, Begoña Mateo Martínez, Inés Pereira Carrillo, Carlos García Molina, Rosa Porcar Seder, Miguel Tito Malone, Jaime Prat Pastor
Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV)
Universitat Politècnica de València
Camino de Vera s/n. Edificio 9C
46022 Valencia, España
The SME Instrument is an important new phased funding scheme of the European Commission set up to finance SME innovation projects. The Biomechanics Institute of Valencia (IBV), as a specialised entity hired by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) to support Spanish companies taking part in Horizon 2020, has proved to be a competent ally of the Spanish SMEs when it comes to preparing SME Instrument proposals, with a success rate that is two and a half times higher than the general call for proposals rate.
INTRODUCTION: HORIZON 2020 DEDICATED SME INSTRUMENT
Horizon 2020 (H2020)is the new EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for the period 2014-2020. It has a total budget of 77,028 million euros to finance research, technological development, demonstration and innovation projects and initiatives that are clearly valuable for Europe.
The programme has been set up to tackle the main challenges of society, to create and maintain the European industrial leadership, and also to consolidate the excellence in Europe's science base, which is essential for its long-term sustainability, prosperity and well-being.
The SMEs get special attention in H2020, as they are a significant source of innovation, growth and employment in Europe; they also have the potential and the adaptability needed to provide the market with revolutionary technological innovation and novel services; not only the domestic market, but also the European and international ones. H2020 has a wide range of resources available to support the research and innovation activities of the small and medium sized companies, which include the SME Instrument.
The SME Instrument is a new funding scheme that is intended to help traditional or innovative SMEs that want to grow, develop and internationalise through a European innovation project. This initiative, which has a budget of 2,800 million euros for the 2014-2020 period, is used to tackle the main societal challenges and speed up the entry into the market of enabling and industrial technologies. The call for proposals is open throughout the year and different cut-off dates are set to evaluate the proposals.
SME Instrument has no minimum consortium requirements, companies are free to define their idea or concept according to their needs, which means they can take part individually or as a consortium. Moreover, the SME can subcontract any activity that is needed to develop the innovative solution until it is launched on the market to other companies, technology centers, universities, end users, etc.
The SME Instrument is structured into three phases (Figure 1):
Figure 1.Phases of the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument.
♦ Phase 1: Feasibility Study.Assistance is given in this initial phase to analyse the technological and economic viability of an innovative idea that is groundbreaking in the sector or market that it is intended for. Activities such as risk assessment, market study, user involvement, intellectual property management, innovation strategy development, partner search and/or feasibility of concept are considered. At the end of this phase the SME must draw up a business plan used to create an innovation project which enables it to market its idea. The activities involved in this phase must be completed within a maximum period of 6 months and the funding for such consists in 50,000 € (a lump sum payment) to carry out the activities.
♦ Phase 2:Innovation Project. Assistance is given in this second phase to the SME innovation projects that are based on a strategic business plan drawn up in Phase 1 or by other means (it is not obligatory for SMEs that want to apply for Phase 2 to have taken part in Phase 1). The company must carry out innovation activities such as prototyping, testing, demonstration, piloting, design, industrial scale-up, market replication, although certain research activities can be included too. At the end of this phase the SME must have a commercialisation plan ready that is used to launch its product, process or service and to find investors. The activities carried out in this phase must last for a period of between 12 and 24 months and the funding available for such amounts to 70% of the total eligible costs, generally a grant of between 0.5 and 2.5 million euros.
♦ Phase 3: Commercialisation.In this final phase, the projects that have been carried out successfully in Phase 2 will get support from the European Commission (EC) so that the SME can launch its innovative product, process or service on the market, although the EC does not provide any direct funding in this phase. The indirect support in this third phase is mainly given through networking, training, guidance and information activities, etc., and it is especially designed for the management of industrial and intellectual property rights, knowledge sharing, communication and dissemination activities.
Furthermore, another plus is that beneficiaries of the SME Instrument will also have a specialised consulting service available in Phases 1 and 2 provided by independent European experts who have extensive experience in the field of business and entrepreneurship. This coaching service is optional and it is directly financed by the EC.
THE IBV SUCCESSFULLY SUPPORTS SPANISH COMPANIES IN THE SME INSTRUMENT
The Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (IBV) has been hired by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) as a specialised entity to support Spanish companies taking part in H2020. Through this contract the IBV provides services to identify new companies and new leaders that have the potential to take part in H2020 projects, and give them technical assistance to improve the quality of their proposals to get the funding they need.
In the context of this contract signed with the CDTI, and in line with the mission of the IBV to increase the competitiveness of the companies that supply services and products aimed at improving the quality of life of people, the Institute actively gives support to the Spanish companies taking part in the SME Instrument.
The IBV assistance includes activities such as giving advice on how to define the business idea or concept, adapting the idea to the call for proposals, searching for partners, writing the proposals and management support while preparing and submitting the application. In addition to this, if the proposal is funded in Phase 1 and/or Phase 2, as a technological ally, the IBV can help the SME carry out certain project activities, thus acting as a subcontractor.
Table 1 contains the success rates of the IBV assistance given to Spanish companies up to the different cut-off dates set in 2014 in Phase 1 of the SME Instrument. As shown in this table, the IBV helped out with a total of 18 proposals submitted in 2014 and thanks to its support four SMEs managed to be Phase 1 project beneficiaries, and their proposals in Phase 2 will be prepared and submitted in 2015.
Table 1.The success of the IBV support given to Spanish companies up to the different cut-off dates set in 2014 during Phase 1 of the SME Instrument and the comparison of the call success rate on a European level.
The success rate of the Phase 1 proposals supported by the IBV (22.22%) is more than two and a half times higher than the European call success rate (8.49%). In turn, the success rate of the proposals submitted by Spanish companies in 2014 was 11.86% (1,037 proposals submitted, 123 of which have been funded). Therefore the success rate of the proposals supported by the IBV is almost double the success rate in Spain.
The four Phase 1 project Spanish SME beneficiaries that have been supported by the IBV are:
♦ ILERIMPLANT. An R&D-intensive SME based in Catalonia that makes implants, prostheses and biomaterials for the dental industry. With the SolDent project, which has funding from the area of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes, this company wants to market an innovative generation of dental implants with osteoinductive properties acquired by means of a bioactive sol-gel coating (Figure 2a).
♦ KELME. An international manufacturer and distributor of casual footwear and sports shoes that is based in Elche (Alicante). The RUNSAFER project, with funding from the ICT area, is a continuation of a European R&D project with the same acronym supported in the 7th Framework Programme. With the new project, the company wants to speed up the commercialisation of innovative running shoes fitted with embedded sensors that help plan the training and reduce the risk of injuries (Figure 2b).
♦ ONCOVISION. A Valencian company that designs, develops, makes and markets diagnostic medical devices based on molecular vision technology in neurology, oncology and cardiology. The objective of the CAREMiBRAIN project, with funding from the Health area, is to launch a new brain-dedicated Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of cognitive decline (Figure 2c).
♦ Tecnologías DIM. A SME based in Murcia that specialises in developing interactive applications to simulate virtual environments. The VisuaLook project, with funding from the ICT area, will help speed up the launching of an innovative virtual clothing and footwear e-commerce application for reliable size assignment and realistic fitting and visualisation of garments by means of personal 3D avatars (Figure 2d).
Figure 2.Spanish company projects funded in 2014 in Phase 1 of the SME Instrument that have had the help of the IBV: a) the SolDent project by the company ILERIMPLANT, b) the RUNSAFER project by the company KELME, c) the CAREMiBRAIN project by the company ONCOVISION, and d) the VisuaLook project by the company Tecnologías DIM.
CONCLUSIONS
The SME Instrument is an important new phased funding scheme of the European Commission set up to finance innovation projects in companies. However, in view of the success rates reached in the first editions of the calls for proposals, it is a very competitive instrument.
The IBV has proved to be a competent ally to help applicants prepare SME Instrument proposals, with a Phase 1 success rate that is two and a half times higher than the general call for proposals success rate.
The reasons why applicants should put their trust in the IBV when it comes to taking part in the SME Instrument are: (1) highly successful in preparing proposals; (2) extensive experience in international projects, seeing as the IBV was involved in 64 European projects in the 2007-2013 period, leading 23 of them; (3) technological and scientific expertise in ten fields of activity; and (4) supporting the SME throughout the application preparation and submission process, as well as it being able to help out while the project is being carried out if the SME gets the funding.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To all the Spanish companies up to now that have put their trust in IBV and have received our support to take part in Phase 1 of the SME Instrument; in particular, many thanks to ILERIMPLANT, KELME, ONCOVISION and Tecnologías DIM, with whom IBV is working on the Phase 1 projects funded and also on the preparation of the Phase 2 proposals.
To the CDTI, for having chosen the IBV to be one of the 50 specialised entities hired to support the Spanish companies taking part in Horizon 2020.
The SolDent, RUNSAFER, CAREMiBRAIN and VisuaLook projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreements No 650946, 672605, 651145 and 662847, respectively.
The content of the “Guía del participante Horizonte 2020”, written by the EU Programmes Division of the CDTI together with the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the European Office (FECYT-MINECO) has been used to write this paper.
