Eureka Eurostars 2 Call 8

Key Features

EUREKA Eurostars is aimed at innovative small to medium enterprises (SMEs) wanting to take part in collaborative research with partners across Europe and associated countries. Innovate UK manages UK applications.

Programme:     Eureka Eurostars

Award:     Up to around £320k

Opens: 24th Jul 2017

Closes: 14th Sep 2017

! This scheme is now closed

Eurostars is the only European funding programme to be specifically dedicated to support R&D-performing SMEs in their innovative R&D projects. Its bottom-up approach, which gives companies full control over project content. It supports international collaborative research and innovation projects that will be rapidly commercialised.

Small businesses working on high-quality research and development projects across national borders often find it difficult to attract public-sector funding. Eurostars was set up to overcome this barrier to innovation.

Eurostars will help SMEs to lead international collaborative research and innovation projects by:

  • easing access to support and funding
  • the possibility to innovate by cooperating with other SMEs

A research-performing SME is one which:

  • invests 10% or more of turnover into research, or
  • has 10% of full-time equivalent staff working on research activities, or
  • has 5 or more full-time staff working on research activities, if the SME has 100 or fewer employees, or
  • has 10 or more full-time staff working on research activities, if the SME has 100 or more employees

 

Eligibility

In the UK, only SMEs are eligible for funding. The main partner must be a research and development (R&D) performing SME.

The following eligibility criteria must be met at the closing date for the application. The eligibility criteria is applicable throughout the whole duration of the project.

  • UK SMEs can only take part in one Eurostars project at any one time
  • your final project report on an existing project, must have been accepted by the Eurostars secretariat before the application deadline. Holders of existing Eurostars projects can apply for other Innovate UK funding without this restriction
  • participants must be separate non-linked legal entities
  • companies must be registered at Companies House and trading for 12 months at the closing date for applications
  • all work must be carried out in the UK and project costs must be incurred in the UK
  • labour costs have to be PAYE
  • UK subcontracting is capped at 20% of the UK partner eligible costs
  • UK lead projects must be managed by an SME as per the Eurostars criteria. Project Management cannot be subcontracted

Funding

UK SMEs who are successful in this competition will receive either 360,000 euros or 60% of their eligible projects costs, whichever is the least.