FAQ

1. About SynergistEIC

1.1 What is SynergistEIC?

SynergistEIC’s long term strategic objective is to help European technology startups scale, contributing towards the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the EU and fulfilling its ambitious Net Zero goals. The project will have two waves of open calls to identify innovative greentech solutions that require additional support to refine their products and increase their market presence. The selected startups will receive assistance to become better prepared to apply for and potentially win EIC Accelerator.

1.2 How can SynergistEIC help me ?

The SynergistEIC project will provide selected startups with sub-grants, advisory services, and connections to successful EIC Accelerator startups and innovation ecosystem players. The project will also educate companies about EU funding and procurement opportunities, while helping startups acquire business and market-oriented skills to improve their applications and gain access to potential funding sources.

1.3 How does SynergistEIC work?

SynergistEIC will distribute €1.5M via grants to the third parties (startups, SMEs and scaleups) and will provide services according to their individual needs by the industry impact builders.

1.4 Where does the funding come from?

Funding is given by the SynergistEIC consortium under a Sub-Grantee Agreement signed by the selected proposers and SynergistEIC consortium. The funds are given by the European Commission (Horizon 2020 Framework Programme), which uses SynergistEIC accelerator as intermediary.

1.5 What is the duration of the project?

Annually for 2 years (in 2023 and 2024), a call will be launched to select 5 startups who previously applied to the EIC Accelerator but did not pass Step 2, and 10 startups who have never applied to the EIC Accelerator before. The selected startups will then receive support from the SynergistEIC program for a period of 6 months and will continue to stay connected with the program network afterwards.

2. About the programme

2.1 What’s the deadline for the second open call?

The 13th of March 2024 at 17.00 pm CET. There will not be deadline extensions unless a major problem, caused by SynergistEIC and not by the applicants, makes the system unavailable.

2.2 Can I submit several projects?

Only one proposal will be accepted for funding per start-ups/SMEs.

Given the fact this call is a competitive one, and the teams will focus on a specific challenge or project, only one proposal per start-ups or SMEs will be evaluated. In the case of a multi-submission by a start-ups/SMEs, only the last one received (timestamp of the system) will enter into our evaluation process, being the rest declared as non-eligible.

If the last submitted proposal is declared then not eligible or fails the thresholds of the evaluation, the rest of proposals will not be considered for evaluation in any case.

2.3 Where can I find information about the SynergistEIC cohorts, the services provided and the programme timeline?

You can find the information on the Open Call page and the Guidelines for applicants.

2.4 How do I apply?

The online submission platform provided by F6S is the entry point for all proposals. Submissions received by any other channel will be automatically discarded.

Submissions for Open Call 2, EIC-Applicants : https://www.f6s.com/synergisteic-oc2-eic-applicants/apply
Submissions for Open Call 2, Non-EIC Applicants: https://www.f6s.com/synergisteic-oc2-non-eic-applicants/apply

The application and all requested documents must be in English.

2.6 What is the evaluation procedure?

The evaluation process will consist of four steps:

Eligibility Criteria: To that the applicant complies with all the eligible requirements of the SynergistEIC Call.
External Evaluation: An external evaluation board will be appointed to review the applications. The evaluators will be selected from a pool of experts that will be established through a call for expressions of interest. The call will invite experts to provide their expertise in the domains of GreenTech, professional and/or academic experience, as well as experience in evaluations.
Ranking List: At the end of the remote external evaluation process, the scores of a panel of evaluators will be considered to calculate the average scores. All proposals will be ranked in lists.
List of finalists: The team of evaluators and representatives from each consortium member will form the Selection Committee, who will decide by consensus, and based on the ranking obtained as result of the External Evaluation, the “List of finalists” for allocation of financial support. The goal is to select 5 EIC-applicant finalists and 10 non-EIC-applicant finalists for this open call. A reserve list will be available based on the ranked list of finalists.

2.7 How much time will I need to dedicate to the effort?

The Synergist EIC programme will take 6 months.

2.8 Where does the programme take place?

SynergistEIC is an online program; however, there is a possibility that you may need to attend some in-person events. If this is the case, we will notify you in advance.

2.9 Are you sharing any information about my proposal?

Yes. A summary of the proposals and the participants’ information will be shared with the European Commission. Moreover, we will publish a list with the beneficiaries of our open call including their basic information data and funding received in our project website.

All the information that will be made public is clearly indicated in the Guidelines for applicants. Unless you agree on that, no technical insights will be published anywhere.

3. About Startup Eligibility Criteria

3.1 Who is eligible in the calls?

The call is dedicated to European impact-driven startups, notably in the sectors of climate-tech, clean-tech, circular economy and agri-food (further called “greentech”).

There are two type of applicants who are eligible for this call:

EIC-applicant startups – digital and deep tech startups in green-tech field that:

Have applied for EIC Accelerator and were preselected after Step 1, not selected or have not applied to Step 2, can provide proof of Seal of Excellence OR proof of successful Step 1 application for EIC Accelerator and evaluation feedback

Have implemented an SME Instrument Phase 1 project, can provide proof of Seal of Excellence OR proof of successful SME Instrument Phase 1 and evaluation feedback

Non-EIC-applicant startups – digital and deep tech startups in green-tech field that:

Have not applied for EIC Accelerator or SME Instrument,

and

Have not received private or other EU, national or other types of grant funding more than €500,000 and can provide proof of it,

and

Minimum TRL level 4.

3.2 What type of innovations are eligible?

Startups who are developing:

An Innovative solution addressing at least one of the following GreenTech sectors :

- Climate Tech
- Clean Tech
- Circular economy
- Agri-food

As well as a Digital and deep tech solutions (based on AI, Machine learning and language processing, Big data, Advanced Computing, Bioengineering, Next Generation Internet, Blockchain, IoT)

3.3 Which countries are eligible for the programme?

Companies established or operating in Europe and the Widening area, defined by the European Commission as:

EU member States and Widening countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden

Associated countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye and Ukraine

Outermost Regions (defined in Art. 349 TFEU): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

4. Funding

4.1 When are we going to be paid?

Each applicant will be able to apply for sub-grants of up to €50,000 to be valorized over the duration of the activity (6 months). Payments will only be initiated once the selection and evaluation period is closed. Payments will be made no later than thirty (30) calendar days after receiving all the documents required by the sub-grant agreement. Each startup will receive 70% out of the total agreed amount in month 1 of the programme and 30% in month 4, after the mid-term checkpoint in month 3.

4.2 Do I have to keep track of my expenses to justify the costs?

Yes, you have to do this. You will be asked to send two waves of financial documents including: signed contract including terms and conditions, list of services, deadlines and guarantees, invoices, payment confirmations, service delivery acts, contractor reports.

4.3 Is subcontracting allowed?

Yes, subcontracting is allowed, but up to 15% of the total foreseen costs.

4.4 What if I secure funds from other Startup Europe project(s) for the same project?

You can apply to different sub-calls for financial support to third parties to receive several vouchers under one or more Startup Europe project(s) as long as the scope of the third party scheme is different and different activities are supported (no double funding), a startup working on one or more Startup Europe projects can receive services from different projects and their calls.

Please be aware that you can apply to sister projects of SynergistEIC (X2.0 or Ventures Thrive) as long as their cumulated amount received/granted is not above 60,000 EUR.

If you think you need further help, why don’t you get in touch? If we haven’t answered all your questions so far, or you think that you need to address some specific topic, please contact us by email : info@synergisteic.eu

FAQ