The Dichotomy of EIC Accelerator’s Step 3 Jury Evaluation
The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program plays a pivotal role in nurturing startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), especially in the DeepTech sector. However, the final step of this funding journey, Step 3, which involves a jury evaluation, presents a unique challenge. The jury’s decision-making process has been observed to oscillate between seeking innovative DeepTech projects and favoring proposals with lower risk profiles.
- Unpredictable Outcomes and Technical Understanding: The Step 3 jury’s evaluations have sometimes been unpredictable, with instances of proposals succeeding with minimal changes after an initial rejection. This randomness in selection raises questions about the evaluation process’s consistency and the jury’s technical comprehension in some cases.
- Preference for Commercial Success over High-Risk DeepTech: There’s a growing trend in the EIC jury’s criteria leaning towards projects with immediate commercial viability. DeepTech projects, by their nature, often don’t show profits for extended periods, typically up to five years. The jury, however, seems to be increasingly hesitant to fund such high-risk ventures, despite this being a characteristic of the DeepTech domain.
Implications for High-Risk DeepTech Companies
The EIC’s approach presents a paradox for high-risk DeepTech companies. While the council aims to foster innovation in this sector, its jury’s risk aversion may inadvertently sideline truly groundbreaking projects that require longer timeframes to reach commercialization. This tension between fostering cutting-edge innovation and mitigating risk creates a challenging environment for high-risk DeepTech companies seeking EIC funding.
Conclusion
The EIC Accelerator’s Step 3 jury process is crucial for funding decisions, yet it operates within a complex interplay of seeking innovative DeepTech projects and a preference for less risky investments. This scenario necessitates a more balanced approach, where the transformative potential of high-risk DeepTech is not overshadowed by an excessive focus on short-term commercial success.
The articles found on Rasph.com reflect the opinions of Rasph or its respective authors and in no way reflect opinions held by the European Commission (EC) or the European Innovation Council (EIC). The provided information aims to share perspectives that are valuable and can potentially inform applicants regarding grant funding schemes such as the EIC Accelerator, EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition or related programs such as Innovate UK in the United Kingdom or the Small Business Innovation and Research grant (SBIR) in the United States.
The articles can also be a useful resource for other consultancies in the grant space as well as professional grant writers who are hired as freelancers or are part of a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME). The EIC Accelerator is part of Horizon Europe (2021-2027) which has recently replaced the previous framework program Horizon 2020.
This article was written by ChatEIC. ChatEIC is an EIC Accelerator assistant that can advise on the writing of proposals, discuss current trends and create insightful articles on a variety of topics. The articles written by ChatEIC can contain inaccurate or outdated information.
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