Horizon 2020 SME Innovation Associate programme aims to build a bridge of knowledge connecting small business and researchers. With the call deadline drawing near, they are publishing a series of 3 blog posts to help you with the application. This series will focus on the 3 main criteria that are used to rate the submitted projects: excellence, impact and quality & efficiency of the implementation.
Proposals will be evaluated by independent experts based on the aforementioned award criteria. Each one will be evaluated out of 5 points and should score at least 3 out of 5, while the overall threshold for all 3 criteria is 10 points.
The serie starts with analysing the second criterion addressed in the submission template – impact, and the ways it should be addressed in the application, in particular, you should:
-explain how the Innovation Associate (the researcher) will contribute to your innovation through to the specialised skillset,
-explain the barriers to the recruitment, in particular you should explain if you already tested the job vacancy before submitting the proposal (i.e. if you published a call for manifestation of interest on EURAXESS). In case you have, cover the outcome of this pre-publication and demonstrate how it impacted the final version of the vacancy,
-explain what will be your communication strategy to promote your vacancy, reach the right audiences and recruit the best talent,
-demonstrate that you would not be able to recruit this profile without the support of the European Union.
The deadline for the SME Innovation Associate call is on 30 June.
If you have more questions, consult the FAQs http://europa.eu/!tt89VB!
More on Horizon 2020 SME Innovation Associate programme: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/news/sme-innovation-associate-guide-great-proposal-impact
