SME Instrument Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 (EIC Accelerator) Part 2

• Number of pages: Sections 1-3 (the main proposal) are 10 pages long for Phase 1 and 30 pages for Phase 2.

• Content: Naturally, in a Phase 2 proposal, you can go into more depth in each section but there are also a few parts that are unique compared to the Phase 1 template (e.g. "Communication and access to research data")

• Work packages: This is an important one. Phase 1 applications are for a feasibility study and you do not need to have a fixed business plan in place but for Phase 2, you will need to have a very detailed cost structure for the next 2 years of developments. You must know who will perform each task, how much it will cost and what the deliverable will be. Plan about 7 to 15 pages just for the work packages.

• Budget: Phase 1 is fixed at €50,000 while Phase 2 can be set to €2,500,000 or higher in some cases.

These tips are not only useful for European startups, professional writers, consultants and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) but are generally recommended when writing a business plan or investor documents.

Deadlines: Post-Horizon 2020, the EIC Accelerator accepts Step 1 submissions now while the deadlines for the full applications (Step 2) under Horizon Europe are:

The Step 1 applications must be submitted weeks in advance of Step 2. The next EIC Accelerator cut-off for Step 2 (full proposal) can be found here. After Brexit, UK companies can still apply to the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe albeit with non-dilutive grant applications only - thereby excluding equity-financing.

Contact: You can reach out to us via this contact form to work with a professional consultant.

AI Grant Writer: ChatEIC is a fully automated EIC Accelerator grant proposal writer: Get it here.

EU, UK & US Startups: Alternative financing options for EU, UK and US innovation startups are the EIC Pathfinder (combining Future and Emerging Technologies - FET Open & FET Proactive) with €4M per project, Thematic Priorities, European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), Innovate UK with £3M (for UK-companies only) as well as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants with $1M (for US-companies only).

Any more questions? View the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

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