In a statement issued on Wednesday 5 April, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Board of Directors welcomed the intention of the European Commission and EISMEA to improve the platform for applicants for European support under the EIC Accelerator to submit their business plans.
This platform also provides candidates with a self-diagnosis tool based on artificial intelligence. The EIC notes that it has so far achieved the target of evaluating 8,000 proposals from European technology start-ups under the short procedure (Stage 1) and over 5,000 business plans under the full procedure (Stage 2).
However, some stakeholders and users have pointed out several areas for improvement. Users have mentioned the length and complexity of the processes, the lack of interoperability with other widely used platforms and technical shortcomings. Accordingly, in its statement, the EIC Board sets out a number of criteria which it believes should guide the improvement of the platform.
In particular, the board would like the platform to allow the selection of the most appropriate companies to receive EIC support, to be more efficient and interoperable, and to allow the information provided to be reused for other funding applications.
In addition, the EIC Board makes three specific recommendations: - the revised structure should closely follow the industry standard; - it should allow start-ups to apply without the need for consultants; - the usability of the platform should be improved for evaluators and for decision-making on investments and grants.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/67r (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)