SME innovation calls accept final applications
Two specialist calls focusing on innovation in small and medium sized enterprises will accept their final applications this week.
The European Commission will close the one-stage and the first step of the two-stage ‘Enhancing SME innovation capacity by providing better innovation support’ calls. According to the 2014-2015 Work Programme, the calls are part of a “broader action” and aim “to develop the ecosystem of innovation support to SMEs in Europe”.
The €1.7m one-stage call opened on 25 July 2014 and runs until 29 April 2015. As part of the Industrial Leadership pillar, it encompasses the single topic of ‘Professionalization of open innovation management in SMEs’. The Commission says the call focuses on “studying how collaboration and/or open innovation is managed and organised in SMEs”, and the EU institution is therefore seeking applications that collects and analyses data, case studies of successful SME open innovation, developing assistance for management support tools in the area of open innovation indicators, and creating “practical management tools”.
The second call, also under the Industrial Leadership pillar, has a budget of €24.9m call. The two-step call began receiving applications on 25 July 2014 and its first stage application deadline is 30 April 2015, followed by a stage two deadline of 9 September 2015. The single topic is ‘Cluster facilitated projects for new value chains’, which aims to “to develop new cross-sectoral industrial value chains across the EU, by building upon the innovation potential of SMEs”; the Commission is therefore looking for proposals that “outline a strategic vision for building new industrial value chains across the EU and Associated Countries”.
