Fast Track to Innovation Pilot
The
Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) pilot provides funding for bottom-up
proposals for close-to-market innovation activities in any area of
technology or application. This thematic openness – combined with the
possibility for all kinds of innovation actors to work together and
deliver innovation onto the market and/or into society – should nurture
trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation.
The aim is to:
Proposals should build on a business plan, and focus foremost on achieving high impact (corresponding to a score of minimum 4 out of 5 during evaluation). As for proposals for other Horizon 2020 innovation actions, “excellence” and “implementation” will also be assessed, yet only if the minimum threshold for “impact” is achieved. Other factors playing a role during the evaluation process will be the size of the budget allocated to industry participants (especially SMEs), the number of industry participants and gender balance of the staff representing the consortium in the proposal.
Time-to-grant for participants will be six months at most. As for other innovation actions, EU funding levels are fixed at 70% of the eligible costs. The indicative EU contribution per action is expected to be between €1 million and €2 million; in duly justified cases, an EU contribution of up to €3 million can be considered.
source: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fast-track-innovation-pilot
The aim is to:
- reduce time from idea to market,
- stimulate the participation of first-time applicants to EU research funding, and
- increase private sector investment in research and innovation.
Who can participate in the FTI Pilot?
Proposals for funding must be submitted by consortia comprising between three and five legal entities established in at least three different EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon 2020. Actions funded under the pilot are to be ‘business-driven’ because they are intended to give promising innovation ideas the last push before entering the market. Therefore, substantial industry involvement in FTI actions will be mandatory to ensure quick market take-up (‘quick’ meaning within a three-year period after the start of the FTI-action). This industry involvement will imply:- either the allocation of at least 60% of the budget to industry participants in the consortium,
- or the presence of a minimum number of two industry participants in a consortium of three or four partners, or of three industry participants in a consortium of five partners.
How will the FTI pilot be implemented?
The FTI Pilot will be implemented in 2015 and 2016 with a total budget of €200 million (€100 million per year) across the Horizon 2020 priority “Societal Challenges” and the specific objective “Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs)”, without further topical restrictions. The pilot will be implemented through one common and continuously open call, meaning that proposals can be submitted at any time. Proposals will be evaluated and ranked and funding decisions taken after three cut-off dates each year.Proposals should build on a business plan, and focus foremost on achieving high impact (corresponding to a score of minimum 4 out of 5 during evaluation). As for proposals for other Horizon 2020 innovation actions, “excellence” and “implementation” will also be assessed, yet only if the minimum threshold for “impact” is achieved. Other factors playing a role during the evaluation process will be the size of the budget allocated to industry participants (especially SMEs), the number of industry participants and gender balance of the staff representing the consortium in the proposal.
Time-to-grant for participants will be six months at most. As for other innovation actions, EU funding levels are fixed at 70% of the eligible costs. The indicative EU contribution per action is expected to be between €1 million and €2 million; in duly justified cases, an EU contribution of up to €3 million can be considered.
When has the FTI pilot been launched?
The Fast Track to Innovation scheme is open for applications since January 6, 2015. Proposals can be submitted at any time, yet will be ranked following three cut-off dates in 2015: April 29, September 1 and December 1. The three cut-off dates for 2016 will be made public at a later time.What happens to the FTI pilot after 2016?
Continuation of the Fast Track to Innovation beyond 2016 will depend on the results of an in-depth evaluation of the pilot scheme.More Information
Please have a look the slideshow that was presented at the FTI Pilot launch event and/or watch the video of this event, which was held on 9 January, 2015. The FTI pilot is implemented by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which on its website features a specific page on this initiative.source: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fast-track-innovation-pilot
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