Horizon Europe Programme

EIC Accelerator Full proposal
Application Form

Project full proposal – Technical description (Part B) 

Version 1.3
15 December 2023

Structure of the Proposal 

The proposal contains two parts:

•	Part A of the proposal is generated by the IT system. It is based on the information entered by participants within the submission system in the Funding & Tenders Portal. Participants can update the information in the submission system at any time before final submission of the proposal.
  
•	Part B of the proposal is the narrative part that includes different sections covering the different evaluation criteria. Part B needs to be uploaded as a PDF document using the templates that can be downloaded in the submission system for the specific call or topic. 

The electronic submission system is an online step-by-step guide through the preparation of your proposal. The submission process consists of 6 steps:

- Step 1: Logging in the Portal 
- Step 2: Select the call, topic and type of action in the Portal
- Step 3: Create a draft proposal: Title, acronym, summary, main organisation and contact details
- Step 4: Manage your parties and contact details: add your partner organisations and contact details. 
- Step 5: Edit and complete web forms for proposal part A and upload proposal part B
- Step 6: Submit the proposal

		
HISTORY OF CHANGES	
Version	Publication date	Changes	
1.0	02.06.2023	•	Initial version	
1.1 	07.06.2023	•	Change regarding page limit (recommended instead of fixed) 
•	Terminology updated	
1.2	14.07.2023	•	Clarification (and numbering) if the tables needed in chapter 9 are for the grant component, the investment component, or both 
•	Description of risks is requested in both chapter 7 and in chapter 9, clarification inserted in chapter 7 
•	Clarification of the description of effort in table 3.1.b 
•	For grant only and grant first, applicants are requested to provide information on the activities needed to deploy the solution into the market and commercialize it 
•	For grant first, applicants have to estimate resources to commercialize their solution 
•	Introduction of a question under section 12: “Explain whether and how your proposal contributes to the development of technologies that are of strategic Example, importance to Europe”	
1.3	15.12.2023	•	New version adapted for Work Programme 2024: removal of grant first option, new challenges, removal of rebuttal comments
•	Introduction of a table detailing the capitalization table
•	Change of page limit: mandatory instead of recommended
•	Streamlined questions
•	New mandatory annexes: ownership control declaration (for AI/quantum applications), lump sum template and video pitch
•	Simplified annex “Financial plan and equity needed”
•	Evaluation results from previous evaluators no longer available	

Proposal template Part B: technical description

The structure of this template must be followed when preparing your proposal. It has been designed to ensure that the important aspects of your planned work are presented in a way that will enable the experts to make an effective assessment against the evaluation criteria.
Please be aware that proposals will be evaluated as they were submitted, rather than on their potential if certain changes were to be made. This means that only proposals that successfully address all the required aspects will have a chance of being funded. There will be no possibility for significant changes to content, budget and consortium composition during grant preparation.
 Maximum page limit: The maximum page limit is 50 pages (including the cover page). At the time of submission, you can remove the text on the structure of the proposal, the history of changes, the technical description, the table of content and the instructions (including the list of annexes). Please keep the headings. 
If you attempt to upload a proposal longer than the specified limit before the deadline, you will receive an automatic warning and will be advised to shorten and re-upload the proposal. After the deadline, excess pages (in over-long proposals/applications) will be automatically made invisible and will not be taken into consideration by the experts. The proposal is a self-contained document. Experts will be instructed to ignore hyperlinks to information that is specifically designed to expand the proposal.
 The following formatting conditions apply. 
The reference font for the body text of proposals is Times New Roman (Windows platforms), Times/Times New Roman (Apple platforms) or Nimbus Roman No. 9 L (Linux distributions).
The use of a different font for the body text is not advised and is subject to the cumulative conditions that the font is legible and that its use does not significantly shorten the representation of the proposal in number of pages compared to using the reference font (for example with a view to bypass the page limit).
The minimum font size allowed is 11 points. Standard character spacing and a minimum of single line spacing is to be used. This applies to the body text, including text in tables.
Text elements other than the body text, such as headers, foot/end notes, captions, formula's, may deviate, but must be legible.
The page size is A4, and all margins (top, bottom, left, right) should be at least 15 mm (not including any footers or headers).

The structure of the part B is shown below in the left column, you can see the related evaluation criteria in the right column.

	

Part B – Table of content	
Main evaluation criteria addressed	
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	
PART 1 – BUSINESS CASE	
1	COMPANY DESCRIPTION	

EXCELLENCE	
2	THE PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY		
3	THE INNOVATION: SOLUTION/ PRODUCT OR SERVICES (USP)		
4	MARKET ANALYSIS AND COMPETITION ANALYSIS	
IMPACT	
5	MARKETING AND SALES PLAN		
6	TEAM AND MANAGEMENT	
LEVEL OF RISK, IMPLEMENTATION AND NEED FOR UNION SUPPORT	
7	RISKS		
8	FINANCIAL PLAN		
PART 2 – EIC SPECIFIC INFORMATION	
9	IMPLEMENTATION PLAN	
LEVEL OF RISK, IMPLEMENTATION AND NEED FOR UNION SUPPORT	
10	HOW EU SUPPORT TAKES THE COMPANY TO THE NEXT VALUE POINT		
11	THE FUNDING REQUEST		
12	BROAD IMPACT	IMPACT	

 Fill in the title of your proposal below.
Title of the Proposal
List of participants 
Participant 	Participant organisation name	Country	
1 (Coordinator)			
2 Affiliated entity(ies), if any. 
Please explain the link with the coordinator and the role in the project.			

Which EIC topic do you want to apply for?
1. EIC Accelerator Open
2. EIC Accelerator Challenges 2024:
2.1 Human Centric Generative AI made in Europe
2.2 Enabling virtual worlds and augmented interaction in high-impact applications to support the realisation of Industry 5.0  
2.3 Enabling the smart edge and quantum technology components
2.4 Food from precision fermentation and algae
2.5 Monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for new variants of emerging viruses	
2.6 Renewable energy sources and their whole value chain including materials development and recycling of components

In case you opt for an EIC Challenge, describe how your application fits within the scope of the Challenge and how it will meet the expected outcomes and impacts.

Executive Summary – approx. 2 pages
Prepare an executive summary of maximum 2 pages.

Part 1 – Business case
1.	Company description – approx. 3 pages

-	Explain the core mission and vision of your company. 
-	Explain who are the key partners and their expected contributions (e.g. a first lead customer, a university, potential user groups, partners for clinical trials, etc.).  
-	Describe the key assets of your company (e.g. offices, laboratories, access to production facilities). 
-	Highlight the top 3 to 5 clients or sell side partners and their share of revenues (if applicable), the top 3 to 5 suppliers and share of cost of goods sold (COGS) or operational expenses (OPEX), and the top 3 to 5 advisors (business, scientific, other) their role and their OPEX cost.
2.	The problem/opportunity – approx.  3 pages

-	Describe the problem you have identified and explain why it is a problem and for whom.
-	Describe the unsatisfied need of potential customers.

3.	The innovation: Solution/Product or Services (USP) – approx.  9 pages

-	Explain in simple terms and with graphs if needed, how your solution works, its main features and what key areas are still subject to improvements/innovation.
-	Value proposition: explain what is unique and has breakthrough potential; how this addresses the problem; how it is better than existing solutions; and why now is the right time to bring it to the market.
-	Development stage: describe your technological achievements so far; specify which Technology Readiness Level this has attained; and describe to what extent your solution has been validated/certified and by whom. Please explain using a case study (test, pilot, PoC, etc.). For health companies, explain the specifics of what clinical trials you have conducted, if any, and to what level.
-	IP strategy: explain your strategy to protect your intellectual property.  List your key patents including their registration number and their status, mention key relevant scientific publications. Specify patents from others for which you have secured the right of use. Explain if you are combining patents and trade secrets. Explain how you ensure your freedom to operate and provide supporting documents in the mandatory annex “Results of the freedom to operate Analysis”.

4.	Market analysis and competition analysis – approx. 5 pages

-	Describe the targeted market - Total Addressable Market (TAM); Serviceable Available Market (SAM); Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM); and market growth (Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)).  
-	Willingness to pay: explain why there is a willingness to pay from your targeted market customers. List POCs run with users and clients.
-	Competitors and threats: who are your competitors? what are their limitations compared to what is offered by your expected solution? 
5.	Marketing and sales plan – approx. 4 pages

-	Business model: what will be your business model, including the revenue model: key activities, resources, customer relationship, channels, revenues, scalability, geographical market.
-	Describe your Go-to-Market Plan with milestones. What are the existing key barriers preventing market entry, and how can you overcome these barriers?
-	Commercialisation strategy: what is your marketing approach and pricing policy? (upload any letters of intent as a separated annex, if relevant).
-	Describe the potential for scaling up (turnover, licensing).

6.	Team and management – approx. 2 pages
-	Present your team, including: the track record of the founders and key managers; available skills and experience; how you plan to ensure gender balance among your team members, including those in executive positions (at least CEO, CSO and CTO); missing skills identified (target recruitment); recruitment plans, and employee retention plans designed to address the identified missing skills. 

Team Member (Name and Surname)	Gender (man/woman/non binary)	Founder (Y/N)	Position -
department	Key competences	Commitment (from 1% to 100%)	

 		 	 	 	 	

-	Governance: describe your board of directors, consultants and advisors, and explain their added value and defined role in the project.
-	Do you have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in place to incentivise key non-founding members of your team? 
-	Detail your capitalization table.

Name	Type (founder, investor, other)	% fully diluted	

			
TOTAL		100%	

7.	Risks - approx. 2 pages
-	Describe the financial risks and those risks linked to the technology, the market, the competition, the team; and outline their likelihood, their expected effects and planned mitigation methods.
-	Legal and regulatory requirements to be fulfilled: describe the strategy for regulatory approvals and compliance; and what applicable EU legislation or standard might affect your project or, conversely, be affected by your projects?
8.	Financial Plan – approx. 2 pages
Describe your main hypothesis supporting figures in the mandatory annex “Financial plan and equity needed”, e.g. the projection of your turnover, the important capex and the main elements of your costs of goods sold. Use this space to comment on the figures shown in the excel table.

Part 2 – EIC Specific information
9.	Implementation Plan – approx. 12 pages, including tables

Work plan and resources 
Please provide the following:
i.	Brief presentation of the overall structure of the work plan. The work plan should be a narrative presenting the logical sequence of the work packages corresponding to the key project deliverables.
ii.	Timing of the different work packages and their components (Gantt chart or similar).
iii.	Detailed work description, including:
o	 List of work packages (table 3.1a) for the grant component, up to TRL 8 activities.
WP Number	Type of WP	WP title	Objectives of the WP	Lead participant	PM
(Persons/ Month)	Start month	End month	Targeted TRL	
1	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
3	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
…	 	 	 	 	 	 	 		

Type of WP: indicate the type of WP by choosing among the following categories: development/technological development, preparation to market activities, project management 

o	 List of work packages (table 3.1aa) for the investment component (TRL 9 and below, if necessary). 
WP Number	Type of WP	WP title	Objectives of the WP	Lead participant	Start month	End month	Targeted TRL	
1	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
3	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
…	 	 	 	 	 	 		

o	Description of each work package (table 3.1b) for both the grant and investment components.
•	For each work package: 
Work package number 		
Work package title		

Objectives 

Description of work: Please describe the tasks to be performed. For grant work packages, you will be requested to indicate (i) the estimated distribution of the effort among the tasks in terms of percentage (Example, task 1.1 15%, task 1.2 50%, task 1.3 35%) and (ii) the involvement of other participants (subcontractors, etc.). Deliverables and milestones linked to each WP are listed respectively in table 3.1c and 3.1d, therefore no need to repeat the information here.	

o	For Grant Work Packages: a list of deliverables (table 3.1c);
Deliverable number	Deliverable name	Short description	Related WP number	Lead participant	Type of deliverables	Dissemination level	Delivery date (in months)	
1	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
3	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
…	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Only include those deliverables that you consider essential for effective project monitoring.

Deliverable numbers in order of delivery dates. 
Please use the numbering convention <WP number>. <number of deliverables within that WP>. 
(For example, deliverable 4.2 would be the second deliverable from work package 4).

Types of deliverables
Use one of the following codes: 
R:	Document, report (excluding the periodic and final reports) 
DEM:	Demonstrator, pilot, prototype, plan designs 
DEC:	Websites, patent filing, press & media activity, videos, etc.
DATA:    Data sets, microdata, etc.
DMP: 	Data management plan
ETHICS:	Deliverables related to ethics issues.  
SECURITY: Deliverables related to security issues
OTHER: Software, technical diagram, algorithms, models, etc.

Dissemination level: 
Use one of the following codes: 
PU – public, fully open (deliverables flagged as public will be automatically published on the corresponding project overview on the EU CORDIS website)
SEN – Sensitive, limited under the conditions of the Grant Agreement	
Classified R-UE/EU-R – EU RESTRICTED under the Commission Decision No2015/444
Classified C-UE/EU-C – EU CONFIDENTIAL under the Commission Decision No2015/444
Classified S-UE/EU-S – EU SECRET under the Commission Decision No2015/444

Delivery date
Measured in months from the project start date (month 1)	

o	a list of milestones (table 3.1d) for both grant and investment components;
Milestone number	Milestone name	Related WP	Due date (in months)	Means of verification and link to the objectives of the WP	
1	 	 	 	 	
2	 	 	 	 	
…	 	 	 	 	
Due date
Measured in months from the project start date (month 1)

Means of verification 
Show how you will confirm that the milestone has been attained. Refer to indicators if appropriate. For example: an existing laboratory prototype; software released and validated by a user group; field survey complete and data quality validated. Please also how the milestone will contribute to achieving the objective of the WP (including achievement of a specific TRL level). 	

ONLY FOR GRANT WORK PACKAGES: 
i.	a list of critical risks, relating to project implementation, that may hinder the achievement of the project’s key objectives. Detail any risk mitigation measures. You will be able to update the list of critical risks and mitigation measures as the project progresses (table 3.1e);
Description of risk (indicate level of (i) likelihood, and (ii) severity: Low/Medium/High)	Work package(s) involved	Proposed risk-mitigation measures	

			

Definition of critical risk 
A critical risk is a plausible event or issue that could have a strong negative impact on the ability of the project to achieve its objectives. 
Level of likelihood to occur: low/medium/high
Assessment of the probability that the risk will materialise, even after taking account of the mitigating measures put in place.
Level of severity: low/medium/high
The relative seriousness of the risk and the significance of its effect.	

ii.	A table showing the description and justifications of subcontracting costs (table 3.1g). Please note that core tasks of the project should not be subcontracted. 
	Cost (€)	Description of tasks and justification of the best value for money principle (i.e. criteria and/or procedure used for the selection of the subcontractors)	
Subcontracting 			

iii.	A table showing the justifications for ‘purchase costs’ (table 3.1h) where those costs exceed 15% of the personnel costs (according to the budget table in proposal part A). Please list cost items starting with the highest cost, with the remaining costs not exceeding 15% of personnel costs. 
	Cost (€)	Justification	
Travel and subsistence 			
Equipment 			
Other goods, works and services			
Remaining purchase costs (<15% of pers. Costs)			
Total			

iv.	If applicable, a table showing justifications for ‘other costs categories’ (table 3.1i).
	Cost (€)	Justification	
Internally invoiced goods and services			
…			

v.	If applicable, a table showing in-kind contributions from third parties (table 3.1j, non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties). Please note that in-kind contributions provided by third parties free of charge are declared as eligible direct costs in the corresponding cost category (i.e. personnel costs or purchase costs for equipment).
Third party name	Category	Cost (€)	Justification	
	Select between
Seconded personnel
Travel and subsistence
Equipment
Other goods, works and services
Internally invoiced goods and services 			

10.	  How EU support takes the company to the next value point – approx. 3 pages
-	Explain why you have not been able to raise sufficient investment to carry out the project, and why you need the support of the EIC. 
-	Are you in discussion currently, or planning to start a discussion, with private or public investors? If so, please explain.  
-	What is your overall funding strategy for the future? 
-	Elaborate on how the EIC funding will benefit the development of your innovation and scalability of your business. 
-	Which exit strategy do you foresee including the timeline and expected return on investment? Explain the assumptions behind this. 
-	Are there any financing issues that could compromise the ability of a project partner to exploit the innovation? 

11. The EIC funding request – approx. 1 page
Please explain:
-	which type of EIC funding are you requesting (i.e. grant only, blended, equity only). 
-	If you are requesting investment only, please provide the number of the previous grant received under H2020 SME Instrument/EIC Accelerator Pilot or HE EIC Accelerator.
-	Companies submitting a grant only proposal must provide detailed information on the activities and evidence that they have (or are in the process of obtaining) sufficient financial means (e.g. revenue flow, existing investors or shareholders) to finance the deployment and scaling up of your innovation. 
-	Companies submitting a blended finance or equity only proposal must explain if they are a subsidiary of another company (parent or holding) which is established in the territory of a Member State or Associated Country and itself eligible for EIC Accelerator support, and if the intended investment should in their view take place in the parent company or holding.

12. Broad impacts – approx. 2 pages

-	Describe the societal, economic, environmental and/or climate impact of your proposal. 
-	Describe your company’s potential to create jobs each year for the next 5 years, including indirect jobs if applicable. 
-	Explain how your proposal contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
-	Explain whether and how your proposal contributes to the development of technologies that are of strategic importance to Europe.

ANNEXES TO PROPOSAL PART B 
Please upload the following documents. The annexes must be uploaded as separate documents in the submission system. For some of them, standard templates are published in the Horizon Europe Funding & Tenders portal: 

Mandatory
•	Pitch deck. There is no pre-defined template nor limit of slides, however, please keep in mind that you will have 10 minutes to present this pitch deck if you are invited to the face-to-face interviews. The pitch deck should be provided in PDF file format.
•	Video:  You must upload a video pitch of up to three minutes. You may decide to reuse or update the video pitch submitted with your short proposal.
•	Lump Sum.  Please use the template for the lump sum detailed budget breakdown
•	Financial plan and equity needed (both for grant only and blended finance proposals). Please use the template provided. 
•	Mandatory data and consent. Please use the template provided.
•	Results of the freedom to operate (FTO) analysis. If you do not have one, please upload a note of maximum 2 pages outlining your freedom to operate and providing as much information as possible on this issue. In cases where the FTO is not relevant (e.g. software), please upload a simple statement. 
•	Data management plan (DMP). If you do not have one, please upload a note of maximum 1 page describing the underlying issues (open access to data, access of public authorities in case of emergencies) and explaining how you would tackle the identified issues where needed.
•	CVs of key personnel. Please merge them all in one pdf document.
•	Letters of intent. Please merge them all in one pdf document.
•	Ownership control declaration. For applications to challenge 1 (Human centric Generative AI made in Europe) and challenge 3b (Emerging quantum technology components), as well as for open applications falling within the scope of the above mentioned challenges.
Optional
•	10 pages maximum with any additional information you would like to add.