Go to news

A call for an EIC Airdrop by the European Working Group of Innovation Consultants

The position paper by the European Working Group of Innovation Consultants (EWGIC) focuses on one of the most fragile components affected by the crisis – SMEs – and the role that the European Commission must play to protect them, via the Horizon 2020 EIC Accelerator programme.

April 8, 2020
European project funding

We live in unprecedented times. While the most serious healthcare crisis of the last 100 years is unfolding in real-time right in front of our eyes, the economy is crashing and all components of our economic infrastructure are at risk. Through the release of this new Position Paper, the EWGIC calls on the EU Parliament and European Commission to take immediate action, through implementing an EIC Accelerator Airdrop that can offer liquidity to start-ups and innovative SMEs affected by the current crisis.

The position paper focuses on SMEs and the role that the European Commission must play to protect them, via the Horizon 2020 EIC Accelerator programme.
The EWGIC has summarised the most urgent problems to solve, with regards to the EIC Accelerator Programme, highlighting the following challenges to address:

Oversubscription will have serious adverse effects on the programme unless the effort is made to increase budgets or curb the number of submissions,
Evaluation criteria must be clarified to ensure fair treatment of all proposals,
Running EIC projects must be protected, with additional pre-financing and simplified periodic reporting, and
It’s time for an #EICAirdrop!

The EC, along with EASME, REA and the EIB, all have a strong influence on the future of European SMEs, which is why the EWGIC now urges them to save our European SME champions.

Download the EWGIC’s Position Paper here.