Deadline: 2 October 2024
The European Cluster Collaboration Platform is seeking applications for its xBUILD-EU Innovate, Global and Digital and Green Grants.
Goal
- Innovate Grant: to identify and bring to market new-to-firm products and/or services to make SMEs more resilient against value chain disruptions.
- Green and Digital Grant: to assess technologies and adopt business processes to enable the green and digital transition to make SMEs more competitive, ready for a resilient future and for global growth.
- Global Grant: facilitate internationalization of SMEs in selected target countries.
Scope
- Innovate Grant: This instrument is aimed at the innovation for SMEs to become more resilient with an increased portfolio of new-to-firm products and services to adapt to VUCA environment, increasing their capacity to respond and adapt easily in case of value chain disruptions.
- Green and Digital Grant: This instrument is aimed at the adoption of processes and technologies by SMEs to become more competitive and resilient with focus on green and digital transition to ensure the sustainability and connectivity of the value chain. While this grant will not fund technology acquisition, the goal is to raise awareness with small pilots to test and adapt business processes to facilitate the twin transition, particularly technologies that can drive both simultaneously.
- Global Grant: This instrument is aimed at facilitating the internationalization of SMEs to become more resilient and globally competitive with facilitated access to third markets to ensure supply and production with a broader customer portfolio to facilitate overcoming regional value chain disruptions. SMEs must targe one of the prioritized target countries by xBUILD-EU.
Funding Information
- Innovate Grant
- Grant per project: Lump sum of 20.000€
- Grant duration: 4 months
- Green and Digital Grant
- Grant per project: Lump sum of 50.000€, with a maximum 35.000€ per SME
- Grant duration: 4 months
- Global Grant
- Grant per project: Lump sum of 25.000€
- Grant duration: 4 months
Eligible Cost
- SMEs Direct staff costs: cost hours of the staff of the beneficiary dedicated to actual work under the project.
- Other direct costs: further direct incurred costs directly related to the implementation of the action can be claimed for supplies and small prototype services, communication materials for exploitation, travel to international missions (in GLOBAL grant only), etc.
- Subcontracting costs such as expert services by Research Technology Organization (RTO), Universities, Research Institutes, living labs and similar, but could be also public research center or other, large companies, other specialized SMEs and similar. Those costs are the services/products carried out by a provider subcontractor via a legal agreement between them, which set out the rights and obligations of both parties for the sake of the project completion. Subcontracting may cover only a limited part of the action.
- For xBUILD-GLOBAL subcontracting is expected up to 15k€ to conduct custom market assessment, identification of opportunities in the third country, database of contacts, prepare custom agendas and meetings, introductions to their country potential stakeholders, etc.
- In any case, beneficiaries must and should justify subcontracting properly to ensure good value for money.
- Indirect costs: costs incurred within the context of a project that cannot be attributed directly to the project, e.g. room rent, energy costs or general administration costs. A flat rate of 7% of the eligible costs shall be applied.
Eligibility Criteria
- Proposals will be eligible only if all the following conditions are met:
- All applicants must be private-for-profit companies with SME status in accordance with the SME definition of the European Union as part of the application. In cases of partner or linked companies, consult the guide of the SME definition.
- Applicants must be established in one of the 27 EU member states.
- Beneficiaries from first call can only apply to grants different from the ones they received funding with a different project.
- Applications must be written in English (applications partially written in another language are not eligible), complete and legible, and must not exceed maximum number of characters stated in each text box of the application form.
- For Innovate and Global, SMEs must apply as single entity only. For Green and Digital Grants only consortia of 2 SMEs from different sectors will be eligible.
- SMEs applying to the call as a consortium should fill in one (1) proposal. For xBUILD-Global grant, the application must target one or more of the prioritized Middle east countries: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates.
For more information, visit ECCP.