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Guide for applicantsBoosting business growth through open innovation

The INVITE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement N° 763651.

History of Changes

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LEGAL NOTICE

The information and views set out in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.

© INVITE Consortium, 2019

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3

2. AN INNOVATION VOUCHER SCHEME TO FACILITATE OPEN INNOVATION.................................................4

2.1 Contextual overview.........................................................................................................................42.2 Open innovation support services.....................................................................................................4

2.2.1 Smart Matchmaking...........................................................................................................................4

2.2.2 Open Innovation Management...........................................................................................................4

2.2.3 Links to Financing Solutions................................................................................................................5

2.3 Suite of digital tools...........................................................................................................................5

2.3.1 Online Collaboration Space.................................................................................................................5

2.3.2 E-Learning Environment......................................................................................................................5

2.3.3 Open Multisided Marketplace.............................................................................................................5

3. BOOSTING BUSINESS GROWTH THROUGH OPEN INNOVATION.............................................................6

3.1 What are we looking for?..................................................................................................................63.2 Who can apply? Application requirements.......................................................................................6

3.2.1 Applicants...........................................................................................................................................6

3.2.2 Applications........................................................................................................................................7

3.2.3 Funding...............................................................................................................................................7

3.2.4 No Conflict of Interest.........................................................................................................................7

3.2.5 Eligibility Review.................................................................................................................................7

3.3 How to apply? Application process...................................................................................................8

3.3.1 The main steps to apply:.....................................................................................................................8

3.3.2 After finalizing your submission..........................................................................................................8

3.4 What to submit?...............................................................................................................................83.5 Evaluation process............................................................................................................................9

3.5.1 Evaluation criteria...............................................................................................................................9

3.5.2 Evaluation Committee.......................................................................................................................11

3.6 Selected teams: Administrative duties............................................................................................12

3.6.1 Sub-Grant Agreement Preparation Process.......................................................................................12

3.6.2 Obligations of voucher winners.........................................................................................................13

3.6.3 Calendar............................................................................................................................................14

3.7 Funding Scheme..............................................................................................................................153.8 Language, results and deliverables.................................................................................................163.9 Monitoring teams............................................................................................................................16

Guide for applicants, Version 1.0, 02 September 2019 Page 1

3.10 Other Considerations......................................................................................................................17

3.10.1 Legal Framework..............................................................................................................................17

3.10.2 Privacy..............................................................................................................................................17

3.10.3 Useful Documents.............................................................................................................................18

3.10.4 Questions..........................................................................................................................................18

3.10.5 IPR.....................................................................................................................................................18

ANNEX A: PRIVACY STATEMENT.........................................................................................................19

1. Introduction................................................................................................................................................192. Which data do we collect and process and when?.....................................................................................193. Is this collection and processing necessary?...............................................................................................204. Is this data and information private?..........................................................................................................205. Is this data and information subject to further publication?......................................................................206. How do we process your data?..................................................................................................................217. Who has access to your data?....................................................................................................................218. What happens to data and information provided by non-successful Applicants.......................................219. For how long will we keep your data?........................................................................................................2210. How do we protect your data?.................................................................................................................2211. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?............................................................................2212. Special provisions concerning the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) Database.....................2213. Contact information.................................................................................................................................23

ANNEX B: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS..........................................................................................24

Who can apply to this open call?....................................................................................................................24How do I submit my application?...................................................................................................................24How did you find me?.....................................................................................................................................24What sort of information should I include in my response?...........................................................................24Can I include confidential information in my proposal?.................................................................................25How long does it take to review a submission?..............................................................................................25If I respond to a project, how do I protect my Intellectual Property (IP)?......................................................25I have more questions about this open call. How do I get additional information?.......................................25I know someone who might be interested in a project – can I share the project page with them?...............25How do you protect my data?........................................................................................................................25What can I use the 5000€ voucher for?..........................................................................................................26Am I allowed to use the voucher to pay myself or my employees?...............................................................27What should my application describe?...........................................................................................................27How does the process look like after the voucher winners are being announced?........................................27Even if I manage to initiate a co-development process for my proposed project with my partner through the voucher, I may still need additional funds to continue the development and make it to the market– can the OI2Lab help?...................................................................................................................................................27


1. Introduction INVITE is an innovation project co-funded by the EU with a view to co-creating a well-connected European Open Innovation (OI) ecosystem in which knowledge meaningfully flows across borders and is translated into marketable innovations. To this end, a novel digital platform, the Open Innovation 2.0 Lab (OI2Lab), has been co-designed and implemented under the framework of INVITE aiming at:

better linking the currently fragmented innovation systems of the EU; empowering EU businesses with the skill to tap into Europe’s knowledge-base and turn it into

value; and increasing the participation of private investors in OI and collaborative innovation projects.

The OI2Lab along with its services and digital tools are now being put to the test and validated within real-life settings and operational environments in order to address pressing business and societal challenges through a series of demand-driven open calls and competitions launched throughout the course of INVITE.

In this context, the OI2Lab is encouraging SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs to participate and submit proposals to its new need-driven open call for “Boosting business growth through open innovation”. This guide will provide you with all the information to find out if, as well as how, you can participate in the open call and benefit from the OI2Lab to bring your idea to life, to improve your products / services and ultimately to boost your business.


2. An innovation voucher scheme to facilitate open innovation

2.1 Contextual overview

The OI2Lab is running this open call to identify and select motivated SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs to apply and participate in INVITE’s innovation voucher scheme for cross-border open innovation. INVITE is an innovation project co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme to stimulate and support open innovation across Europe. With that in mind, INVITE’s innovation voucher scheme is aimed at facilitating the creation of cross-border open innovation collaborations, helping promising ideas and projects get off the ground and find their way to the market across Europe. Up to 36 selected SMEs can join and benefit from the voucher scheme for a maximum period of 4 months. During this period, the selected voucher winner will need to use their voucher to start a collaborative project with a suitable partner from another European country, with a view to bringing a new business idea into life and/or improving their current products, services or processes.

The selected SMEs, start-ups or entrepreneurs (voucher winners) will become INVITE Sub-Grantees and will be required to sign a Sub-Grant Agreement with INVITE’s consortium partners. All documents that need to be submitted are listed in sections 3.4 and 3.6.2 of this guide. The proposals submitted to this open call by the applicants will become an attachment to the Sub-Grant Agreement. Once all the administrative formalities are taken care of, selected SMEs will be able to benefit from all of OI2Lab’s value propositions. An account manager from the OI2Lab will be assigned to the selected voucher winners to discuss and co-define their exact business’ need or the assistance required to start with the realization of the proposed idea, before guiding them through the appropriate services or tools of the OI2Lab, which are concisely presented in the following subsections.

2.2 Open innovation support services

2.2.1 Smart Matchmaking

The smart matchmaking service is aimed at catalysing demand-driven and meaningful knowledge flows across borders. In the framework of this service, open innovation advisors of the OI2Lab will cooperate with you to help you articulate your open innovation requirements/needs as well as to identify and screen potential collaboration partners according to your vision and ambitions. The advisors will reach out to potential partners and facilitate the connection with the help of the OI2Lab and large European networks and platforms accessible to INVITE project partners (e.g. Enterprise Europe Network, NINESIGMA, STEINBEIS).

2.2.2 Open Innovation Management

The aim of this service is to support SMEs as they undertake their collaborative open innovation projects across long distances. OI2Lab open innovation advisors will help you better structure your open innovation activities and keep your collaboration focused, while resolving potential issues which may arise in the


process. More specifically, this service offered by the OI2Lab will carry information about the key stages and metrics within the process of innovation-driven cross-border collaboration together with sources of specialist advice on relevant commercial, legal and financial issues.

2.2.3 Links to Financing Solutions

Small businesses require a clear steer in terms of funding and finance support in order to expedite their open innovation and business journey. Therefore, the aim of this service is to support SMEs in identifying sources of public and private finance that can enable them to further develop and scale their collaborative project and/or to improve their investment readiness. Open innovation advisors of the OI2Lab will offer you expert guidance and signposting toward the correct funding/finance solution for their endeavour.

2.3 Suite of digital tools

2.3.1 Online Collaboration Space

The online collaboration space of the OI2Lab is aimed at building a pan-European online community where ideas can be exchanged, where groups of people that share similar interests can be created and where an online knowledge library can be built. It offers a digital working place enabling long distance collaboration for innovation as well as for creation, management and expansion of open innovation networks.

2.3.2 E-Learning Environment

In the e-learning environment of the OI2Lab you can access the e-learning programme and resources developed by INVITE, including a rich variety of e-learning courses, classes and webinars that will help you understand and make the most out of open innovation.

2.3.3 Open Multisided Marketplace

In the open multisided marketplace of the OI2Lab you can easily search and find opportunities for further developing your ideas with the help of open innovation. It gathers technology offers and demands from different innovation platforms into one global system. With the use of a match-making engine it discovers and matches offers and demands to facilitate your quest towards finding the most suitable solutions.


3. Boosting business growth through open innovation

3.1 What are we looking for?

Customer needs are changing faster than ever; products commercialized today could be easily considered outdated tomorrow. SMEs have to anticipate and adjust faster and faster to the challenges of this everchanging market environment. However, coping with those challenges while also running and growing a business, can be an impossible task for many SMEs that struggle with the relatively limited resources at their disposal. External support could prove vital in this context but is rarely for free or without strings attached. This is where the OI2Lab comes into play.

The OI2Lab is running this open call to support motivated SMEs, start-ups or entrepreneurs who want to take their products, services or processes to the next level and better meet the requirements of their customers with the help of a partner from abroad. We will offer 36 selected SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs free support to find, collaborate and take the next step with the right partner, along with a small motivation of a €5000 in the form of an Open Innovation Voucher to initiate and fund the initial stages of the collaboration. Our open call could be the means that can help you co-design specs, integrate key components to an existing / new product, run a first trial or purchase consultancy services and take the first step towards developing the new or upgraded product or service your customers need.

Each selected voucher winner that generates results within this framework shall own the attached Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as well as any results that are not IPR. Each of the selected SMEs is responsible for the management and protection of its IPR and bears the costs associated with this. All applications made to this open call must address a specific need, challenge or new idea that, once solved or developed, may/will improve the applicants’ business. In the following sections of this guide we present further details about the open call. The open call will remain open for three months counting from the date of its publication, the 2nd of September 2019.

3.2 Who can apply? Application requirements

The following eligibility criteria must be complied to, to get through to the evaluation process:

3.2.1 Applicants

Applicants must be based in one of the EU Member States (MS), one of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the MS of the EU, an H2020 Associated Country2 (AC) or one of the other countries listed in the General Annex A of the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2018-2020.

Applicants must be a SME or a start-up participating on their own (i.e. only one SME or start-up) or entrepreneurs (social or not) participating individually or in groups of up to four people. Consortiums are not allowed to apply. In case an entrepreneur hasn’t established his/her own SME, they’ll be required to found one before being able to be awarded with a voucher.


http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32003H0361&from=EN

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/wp/2018-2020/annexes/h2020-wp1820-annex-ga_en.pdf


Applications will not be accepted from persons or organisations that are partners in the INVITE consortium or are formally linked in any way to consortium partners.

Applicants must be legal entities in a situation to receive public funding (Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014).

3.2.2 Applications

The described project must address an idea to be realized or a specific challenge/need the SME, start-up or entrepreneur is currently facing and, once solved, leads to innovation inside the organization.

All elements of the application must be submitted in English and contain all requested elements specified in this Guide for Applicants. Uncomplete proposals will not be taken into consideration.

Applicants may submit more than one proposal to the open call. Still, only the proposal that has achieved the highest ranking during the evaluation process may be awarded with a voucher.

In case two or more applications describing the same idea, need/challenge are submitted by the same applicant, only the one that was submitted last will be considered.

3.2.3 Funding

Only one proposal per applicant may be selected for funding under this open call. Absence of double public funding: The very same project activities cannot receive other public

funds. In case the party already receives or has received European Union financing for the same activities, it shall not be eligible for Union financing for those activities. The legal framework is provided by Article 191 of Financial Regulation of the European Commission ("Financial regulation applicable to the general budget of the Union", https://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/publications/2018/financialregulation_en.pdf.

3.2.4 No Conflict of Interest

All applicants will be required to declare that they know of no such potential conflicts of interest that would prevent them from applying.

3.2.5 Eligibility Review

INVITE will review each application in conformity with the eligibility criteria. The applicants might be requested to provide additional explanations clarifying, in particular, their legal status, but no changes to the application documentation are allowed once the application is submitted. If so, applicants may dispose on 7 - calendar day term to correct or provide documents to complete their initial application.

Complementary information (including correcting an obvious mistake) may concern:

Lack of information in the application about the applicant, the incompatibility of signatures with the legal representation, the illegibility of the application, including the illegibility of signatures.

Lack of conformity of the information of the application with the company documentation. Ambiguity of the information included in the application on activities planned to be done, results

planned to be achieved.


https://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/publications/2018/financialregulation_en.pdf

Inconsistencies of the information in the application which are obvious error.

Complementary documentation or information will be electronically submitted via a dedicated email to [email protected]

Such a complementary information should be submitted by the applicant in English. Submitted information and/or documents will become part of the Applicant's application.

Ineligible proposals will be marked and the applicant will be informed by the consortium within 3 weeks after the closing date of the open call. Later to such verification, INVITE will transfer the full applications to the Evaluation Committee for evaluation.

3.3 How to apply? Application process

3.3.1 The main steps to apply:

1. Visit the OI2Lab webpage (https://oi2lab.com), start the short registration process and visit the opportunities tab. Go to the ‘open call’ tab, select the open call entitle ‘Boosting business growth through open innovation’ in order to find and download the documentation informing you about the open call and all its aspects.

2. Check your compliance with the eligibility criteria for participating in the open call as they have been presented in section 3.2 of this Guide for Applicants.

3. Prepare your application. All SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs participating in the open call should use the application form template available on the web site https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/open-calls-profile/30 to prepare their application. The form will only be available for registered OI2lab users. Please register first before being able to download the application form template. Applications must be filled in English.

4. The legal representative of the applicant has to sign the Declaration of Honour, which is also available online (link).

5. Submit your application, together with the signed Declaration of Honour. All SMEs and entrepreneurs interested in participating in the open call should submit their application and declaration of honour by emailing the completed documents, as pdf’s, along with any supporting information to [email protected] by the 2nd of December 2019 17:00 CET (Brussels time).

3.3.2 After finalizing your submission

Once your proposal is submitted and validated, a confirmation email will be sent to the applicant’s email address to acknowledge the application submission.

3.4 What to submit?

The Proposal must follow the templates of the Application Form provided for this purpose. Max. 5 pages per project application including the following content:

Provide some necessary general information (e.g. Organization name, VAT nr, year of foundation, ...) as well as the title of your proposal.


mailto:[email protected]

https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/open-calls-profile/30


https://oi2lab.com/


Detail the idea / need that should be addressed. Define the expected impact of the project to your business and your customers, as well as any

broader environmental / social / business impact, if there is any. Include and describe a short work plan, including timelines and milestones, for the implementation

of the project (maximum 4 months). Describe your organizations competences/ expertise and what kind of external support you are

expecting from the OI2Lab. Provide any experimental or real-world data or references to support the above sections. Such data

will make your proposal stronger but are not compulsory. Add a signed declaration of honour as a second attachment to the email containing the application.

This Declaration certifies that all information provided is correct, that you are committed to participate in the proposed project and comply with the eligibility criteria as well as that it does not receive funds from elsewhere.

General remarks

The detailed open call description , the sub-Grant agreement, this Guide for Applicants and the declaration of honour are available online, without registration or being connected to the OI2Lab.

The application form template can be found at https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/open-calls-profile/30 but it only becomes available when registered and connected to the OI2Lab platform.

Late submissions will not be accepted. Applications which contravene ethical principles or any applicable legislation, or which does not

fulfil the conditions set out in Decision No 2013/743/EU, in the work programme, in the open call may be excluded from the evaluation, selection and award procedures at any time.

OI2Lab will check the completeness of documentation submitted by all applicants before forwarding the application to the Evaluation Committee. (i.e. application form and declaration of honour). Uncomplete proposals will not be taken into consideration.

3.5 Evaluation process

3.5.1 Evaluation criteria

The evaluation process initiates after the application submission deadline and consists of the eligibility check done by INVITE and the qualitative evaluation performed by an Evaluation Committee for the eligible proposals. Evaluators will score and rank each proposal according to a grid consisting of a quantitative score for each evaluation criteria.

Need/ innovation project: Is there an innovation aspect in the proposed project? Will it pave the way for new and/or improved products, services and/or processes? Is there an actual demand for the innovation? Is the submitted idea/need/challenge description suitable in the context of the Innovation Voucher Scheme as will the collaborative project lead to a new/ significantly improved product/ service/ process?

Expected Impact: Is there a significant impact to the business growth of the SME proposing the project? Will there be any positive impact for the society and/or environment as well?


https://goo.gl/NUwYn9




Team experience/ expectations: Is the described team in the proposal fit and committed to carry out the project? Are their open innovation expectations realistic in a short period of time? Is the breakdown of the budget and the workplan realistic?

Each criterion is subdivided into several sub-criteria as described in the table that follows. Each sub-criterion will be scored. The addition of the score of the sub criteria will be the final score out of 100. Ratings given for criteria that could be considered as subjective have to be explained with a comment by the evaluators.

An overall threshold, applying to the sum of the individual scores, will be defined by the Evaluation Committee during the evaluation period. Applications passing this threshold will be ranked following the priority based on obtained score. The Committee will prepare a ranking list of applications. According to the remaining budget of INVITE, the first 36 applications, highest in the ranking will be proposed for funding. The other eligible applications will not be automatically considered for funding but integrated into a reserve ranked list because of having fulfilled all evaluation criteria and thresholds for funding. In case of a tie score between multiple proposals, the Evaluation Committee will have the opportunity to (digitally) meet, to deliberate and select the, to their knowledge, best applications to be awarded with the Innovation vouchers.

The Evaluation Committee will prepare an Evaluation Report for the open call, including a ranking list, a reserve ranking list and a rejected applications list, together with the reasons of rejection. The Chairman of the Evaluation Committee will sign the Evaluation report. The applicants listed in the first 36 positions will be nominated as the winners of a voucher.

The chairman will transfer the evaluation report to INVITE that will individually notify any applicant by email about the result of the evaluation and the fact of the application being rejected or awarded a voucher. Negotiations will start with the applicants ranked in the first 36 positions with a view to begin the respective matchmaking and open innovation projects.

If no good enough application is detected for the open call, we will not award a voucher.

The evaluation criteria with their sub-criteria are defined below:

Criteria Explanation Evaluation MarksEvaluator’s comment

Your solution (30 points)

1. Idea/need description

Is the submitted idea/need/challenge description suitable in the context of the Innovation Voucher Scheme as will the collaborative project lead to a new/ significantly improved product/ service/ process?

(0: merely – 5: moderately – 10: absolutely)

0-10

2. Actual business request

Does the applicant describe the actual/ potential demand of the proposed innovation project?

(0: demand of low credibility - 10: very credible demand)

0-10


Criteria Explanation Evaluation MarksEvaluator’s comment

3. Innovativeness/creativityHow innovative/ creative is the idea/need/challenge to be solved? (0: not innovative - 10: very innovative)

0-10

Expected Impact (30 points)

4. Added value

The development of the proposed idea or solving the described need has an added value compared to the current situation.

(added value to the SME’s business or to the market; 0: no added value - 10: high added value)

0-10

5.Industry wideness

The solution fits various industries such as automotive, healthcare, etc.

(0: no industry - 5: 1 industry - 10: multiple industries)

0-10

6.Social/ Environmental

The proposal clearly describes its (potential) societal/ environmental impact

(0: no impact - 10: very high impact)

0-10

Team experience and budget (40 points)

7. Team description

Internal expertise and skillset

Participant’s internal expertise is comprehensive and convinces the jury member that the participant has expertise in at least one aspect of his proposed project and acknowledge that external expertise is required to complete the proposed project

(0: no relevant internal expertise; 10: highly relevant internal expertise)

0-10

8. Team’s expectations

The participant has realistic expectation that their (technological) need can be solved or their idea can be developed by purchasing services from an external company

(0: not realistic expectations - 10: very realistic expectations)

0-10

9.Budget breakdownIs the proposed budget breakdown feasible with 5000€?

(0: not feasible - 10: very feasible)0-10

10. WorkplanIs the workplan described by the applicant realistic?

(0: not realistic - 10: very realistic)0-10

3.5.2 Evaluation Committee

Each eligible proposal submitted to the open calls of the voucher scheme will be evaluated and marked individually by at least 2 independent expert evaluators of the 5 membered Evaluation Committee including:


1 member of INVITE’s Advisory Board. 2 experts from the public regional development agencies that are part of INVITE’s consortium (1

from NELEP and 1 from WRS). 2 external experts.

A chairperson of the Committee will be nominated by INVITE.

All members of the Evaluation committee have signed a letter of “Independency and No Conflict of Interest” prior joining the Committee.The role of the Evaluation Committee is to:

Implement and oversee the proper execution of the evaluation process, and guarantee its coherence, fairness and transparency

Assure that no conflict of interest or fraud during the evaluation process has taken place. Assure that the maximum amount that a SME receives is 5,000€ If there are ethical considerations, the proposal will be carefully studied.

At least 2 out of 5 Evaluation Committee members will evaluate and mark each of the submitted proposals on a “competitive basis of award”, according to Evaluation Criteria. An Evaluation Template will be used for evaluation of each received application and signed by each evaluator after completion.

3.6 Selected teams: Administrative duties

In the context of this open call, applicants ranked in the first 36 positions will win a voucher (voucher winners). The administrative tasks for the voucher winners, including activity reporting obligations and related documents are described in section 3.6.1 of this guide. Voucher winners will not become members of the INVITE consortium but considered as Financially Supported Third parties and named as such in the OI2Lab and INVITE official websites as well as in relevant communication and dissemination material of the project. For this reason, the agreement signed to access the financial benefits of the open call is named Sub-Grant Agreement. A template of this agreement is presented at https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/open-calls-profile/30 . To access this document, registration to the OI2lab is required.

3.6.1 Sub-Grant Agreement Preparation Process

After sending the notification of being awarded, INVITE will send the Sub-Grant agreement to the selected voucher winner for being signed by its legal representative(s). INVITE is responsible for the completeness and correctness of the document provided to the voucher winner.

The selected voucher winners will be requested to sign a Sub-Grant Agreement. The Sub-Grant Agreement will be signed between an INVITE consortium partner (i.e. WRS, SEZ, NELEP or RTC NORTH), and the selected voucher winner, settling the specific conditions, rights and obligations for the concession of a grant to the voucher winner for participating in INVITE’s innovation voucher scheme. The main objective of the Sub-Grant Agreement preparation is to validate financial and technical operational capacity from the voucher winners’ teams, and to establish some minimum ground rules for receiving support from INVITE.



All documentation for grant preparation is to be submitted electronically via email, in the English language. The day of the last signature will formally signal participation of the selected applicants in INVITE’s innovation voucher scheme enabling them to access and benefit the support provided by OI2Lab.

In case voucher winners fail to deliver the documents in due time or have any other relevant disagreement with INVITE, the consortium may refuse to sign the Sub-Grant Agreement. If signing the Sub-Grant agreement fails with some of the first 36 applicants, the next following applicants will be approached by INVITE.

3.6.2 Obligations of voucher winners

Successful applicants formally accept the following conditions in case of being awarded as voucher winners:

The voucher winners accept their responsibility on accuracy and veracity of data and documents submitted for proving the fulfilment of the eligibility criteria when submitting their applications.

The voucher winners will provide the documentary evidence proving the collaboration with the identified partner by means of invoices or receipts.

The voucher winners are obliged to store receipts, invoices and the Final Progress Report for external audit purposes until December 2022 either on paper or electronic version.

The knowledge provider of the collaboration should be based in any eligible country other than the country of origin of the voucher winner.

The voucher winners are in general bound to art. 35 (Conflict of interest), art. 36 (Confidentiality and Data Protection), art. 38 (Visibility of EC funding) and art. 46 (Liability) of the Annotated Model Grant Agreement - AGA of the H2020 Programme, without prejudice to the provisions set out in this Call and in the Sub-Grant Agreement. With regards to art. 38 (Visibility of EC funding), voucher winners will make references to public funding from EU, including suitable logos, and EU flag. Voucher winners will include references to INVITE and specifically show that funding is under European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme - Grant Agreement No. 763651.

The voucher winners must allow the EC, the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) and the Court of Auditors to exercise their powers of control, audit and monitoring on documents, information, even stored on electronic media, or on the final recipient's premises, and shall comply with the Regulation for the Protection of the financial interests of the Union.

The voucher winners will participate in the innovation voucher scheme of INVITE in compliance with all the conditions and obligations set out in Regulation (EU) 1290/2013, the open call and the Sub-Grant Agreement. The voucher winners shall make no commitments which are incompatible with the Regulation or the Sub-Grant Agreement.

Selected voucher winners will become INVITE’s Sub-Grantees. The voucher winners will need to validate their financial and technical operational capacity.

Contracts with the Sub-Grantees will be managed by INVITE. The administrative tasks for the Sub- Grantee, including activity reporting obligations and related documents will be provided during the negotiation and contracting phase.


https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/amga/h2020-amga_en.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/amga/h2020-amga_en.pdf

Before completing their participation in the voucher scheme, the voucher winners will have to deliver a short Final Progress Report describing the activities done and the results achieved, as well as a clear justification of the expenses incurred, with all accompanying evidence, e.g. final invoice, proforma invoice, purchase order or comparable proof. Part of the report may be used by the INVITE consortium for inclusion in the reporting documents to the EC and in public presentation. Inclusion of confidential information should therefore be expressly annotated, and the limits of its authorized handling specified beforehand. A publishable summary of the short final progress report, destined to publications on the INVITE website, will also be required.

The structure of the short final progress report and of the publishable summary are described in 3.8 and will be shared again at the beginning of your project if selected.

An invoice or receipt for every payment requested needs to be reported and stored so as it is available upon request in case of an audit. In case of applicants being natural persons below 18 years old, the document will be issued by the identified tutor or guardian. Should any of the above reports and documents be missing, INVITE may suspend the payment even in the presence of an approved output of the underlying project.

As the voucher winner will be linked to the INVITE consortium as Financially Supported Third parties only, no input will be asked to them for the fulfilment of any of the periodic project reports, which the INVITE consortium needs to submit to the EC.

However, participation and/or involvement in the technical support activities may require the signature of attendee lists, the compilation of forms and templates, and other forms of written interaction, which will never be made compulsory for the successful applicants and/or the members of their teams and networks, but in some cases are specifically demanded for the effective/efficient delivery of related service. In such cases, the refuse to sign, compile or interact in writing may lead to the suspension of the support and the applicants falling in that position will receive a written alert in that sense.

Another consequence of participating in this open call, and of being awarded a Sub-Grant, is that the projects selected for funding must agree to be surveyed by INVITE across the funded period. These activities may include, inter alia: providing data to the INVITE partners and evaluation teams on their experiences of participating in the voucher scheme, and its outcomes; using the tools provided for the purposes of data collection and reporting.

Again as above, the refuse to provide answers to the surveys or data for monitoring purposes can lead to the suspension of the financial support and the applicants falling in that position will receive a written alert in that sense.

3.6.3 Calendar

Launch open call 2nd of September 2019 Deadline for applications 2nd of December 2019 Announcement of voucher winners January 2020 Deadline for sub-grant agreement signature January 2020


Matchmaking with knowledge provider January 2020 Open innovation process January to April 2020 Reporting by voucher winner End of April 2020

3.7 Funding Scheme

The 5000€ innovation voucher is provided as an incentive for purchasing the services of a suitable knowledge provider (company, research institution, etc.) in order to start a collaborative open innovation project in view of tackling the internal need/challenge or start the development of a new idea proposed by the applicant. The scope of the projects proposed by applicants to this open call should encompass either or both of the following activities:

Collaboration for the development of an innovative idea and/or solution to support innovation inside the SME to maintain, and if possible, boost its business potential. The project has to be quite practical in nature, addressing, for example, either a small-scale issue (e.g. technological, functional, etc.) or setting out possible solutions for a more complex, large-scale problem. It may concern, the co-creation of a new concept and/or solution, the adoption and/or adaptation of an existing solution, the (re-)design and/or operational improvement of business practices/processes, the guidance and/or support towards the introduction of a new product or service to a new market, etc.

Collaboration on the co-creation of a cross-border open innovation network. It may concern, the co-development of a strategy and/or action plan for setting up a cross-border open innovation network, the identification of potential collaborators, i.e. cross-border value chain actors of complementary nature, the preliminary contacts and exchanges with them, etc.

Overall, the services that can be purchased include but are not limited to consulting services (business or technological), feasibility studies, software / hardware development services, demonstrations, provision of specific product components/ licenses or running a first trial.

Applicants selected to win a voucher under this open call will carry out their proposed project and deliver a Final Progress Report, before receiving the lump sum payment of € 5.000 (maximum) to be paid by INVITE upon reception and approval of the report. Two cost categories are foreseen as eligible:

A. Purchase of a service by a knowledge provider on a daily fee basis and at reasonable market rates. The indirect costs charged by a knowledge provider shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%). This cost category can be up to 100% of the voucher;

B. Travel costs up to 20% of the voucher.

In case the delivered Final Progress Report is not approved by the INVITE consortium, based on objective circumstances and with the appropriate motivations, no payment will be effected and the applicant can decide to resubmit a new version of the Final Progress Report or simply withdraw from the contractual relationship with INVITE. Sub-grants are fully funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme - grant agreement No. 763651. It is not possible to accumulate this sub-grant with


any other public aid. In principal, the planning of the whole voucher scheme and its respective is associated with the expected time-plan of INVITE’s funding so as to ensure its smooth implementation.

The voucher winner will be responsible for the payment of any additional amounts over and above the 5,000€ voucher as well as the VAT associated with their entire proposed project.

3.8 Language, results and deliverables

Applicants must clearly indicate in their proposal, the expected achievements from participation in the open call. This information will be used during the final reviews.

The official language of the open calls in the framework of INVITE is English and any proposals submitted in another language will not be evaluated.

Deliverables:

The progress of each proposed project that will be selected for receiving a voucher as well as the quality of the Final Progress Report will be reviewed by experts from the INVITE consortium. Accepted projects will be invoiced and reimbursed with lump sums (i.e. 5,000€).

Each of the voucher winners will be required to clearly justify and report the cost of the project by providing the necessary agreements and invoices. The reporting requirements of the projects to be financed by INVITE will be as follows:

o At the end of the project, the voucher winners will be required to submit a Final Progress Report including their proposal as the unique, obligatory deliverable of their project.

o The report will follow a standard template as provided by INVITE at the beginning of the project:

Publishable summary (500 words max) containing information intended for use in public documents and reports by the INVITE consortium;

Detailed description describing the sections about the concept and the objectives, are the objectives reached, lessons learned, impact, were they able to identify a suitable partner, rate of the trustful relationship (without requiring a NDA) between voucher winner and service provider (1-10), validate if the collaboration continued after the service was provided, how important the voucher was to convince the applicant to participate in the open call, why INVITE was useful for the financial supported party and if the voucher winner labels the cross-border OI project as successful.

o Further evidence on the collaboration outcomes could be attached to the report as annex.o The Template of the Progress Report will be provided by the voucher’s winner appointed

account manager.


3.9 Monitoring teams

As briefly explained in Section 2, all the selected applicants are entitled to start their own open innovation projects and receive open innovation support services. All awarded SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs will be assigned an OI2Lab account manager who will mentor and guide them through the whole open innovation journey. They will be discussing with the teams and making recommendations to align the support with the specific needs of a given team, helping setup the best possible service package for each one to achieve its objectives.

The account managers of OI2Lab are part of the INVITE consortium and will be carefully monitoring the project status.

3.10 Other Considerations

3.10.1 Legal Framework

This open call is launched as a pilot under INVITE (Grant Agreement No. 763651) and is co-funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and is issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2013.

Applicants must be aware that their information and documents will be used by the INVITE consortium, EC and other entities involved in processing this competition from application to certification procedures. Specifically, voucher winners must be aware that, following the H2020 guidelines, INVITE project partners will keep internal records of, among others:

A list of applications received, identifying the name and address of applicants. All communications with applicants before call closure and during the evaluation. The names and affiliations of the members of the Evaluation Committee. For each application, a copy of the filled forms used in the evaluation. A record of all incidents which occurred during the evaluation (e.g. how conflict of interests was

handled if they were detected during the evaluation process) and any deviation from standard procedure (e.g. if a proposer selection was not the highest scoring application, you must document the objective reasons why the highest scoring one was passed over).

Copy of requests for payment and attached documents.

Subject to the conditions established in the Sub-grant agreements, decisions or contracts, any data, knowledge and information communicated as confidential in the framework of an action shall be kept confidential, taking due account of European Union law regarding the protection of and access to classified information.

The voucher winner shall comply with national legislation, regulations and ethical rules in the countries where the voucher scheme will be carried out.


3.10.2 Privacy

Personal data shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, also known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Please refer to Annex A of this Guide for Applicants for a complete Privacy Statement.

3.10.3 Useful Documents

All the templates pertaining to this open call can be download as a package in the website https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/open-calls-profile/30. This package contains:

Detailed open call description (available without registration) Guide of applicants (available without registration) Declaration Honour Template (available without registration) Sub-Grant Agreement model (available without registration) Frequently Asked Questions (available without registration) Application Form Template (Registration required)

3.10.4 Questions

For further questions you can check the FAQ or you can contact us by email: [email protected]

The mere fact of participating in this open call means that the applicant knows and fully accepts the present rules.

3.10.5 IPR

The following Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) conditions will be followed in the framework of this open call:

The proposals submitted should be solely based on original works by the applicants and their foreseen developments are free from third party rights, or they are clearly stated.

All IPR created by the applicants via the funding they received from INVITE will remain to the applicants, who will be the unique owners of the solutions created within the framework of their proposed projects.

Any communication or publication by the funded applicants shall clearly indicate that their project has received funding from the European Union, the INVITE project and Horizon 2020 displaying the EU logo on all printed and digital material, including websites and press releases.

Non-confidential information collected by INVITE from the voucher winners during the implementation of their proposed projects may be used in the framework of INVITE (e.g. for dissemination purposes, development of case-based e-learning material, etc.).




Annex A: Privacy statement

1. Introduction

This Privacy Statement explains the reason for the collection and processing of your personal data, the way we protect your personal data provided and what rights you may exercise in relation to your data (the right to access, rectify, block etc.). The evaluation of applications presented in reply to this open call and the management of funded actions requires the processing of personal data and is therefore subject to Regulation (EU) No 2016/679 – also known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This Privacy Statement thus concerns the processing of Applicants and Voucher Winners (as well as Third Parties) personal data within the context of this open call. Applicants are the legal entities that apply for funding through the submission of proposals. Voucher Winners are the successful Applicants, i.e. proposers of the awarded Actions, which may also imply the involvement of active Third Parties. It should be noted that in addition to receiving a sub-grant, Voucher Winners operations in the context of the awarded Actions are also supported by the technical advice of one or more INVITE partners. Therefore, the relevant processes for this Privacy Statement do not only include the reception of Applications under the provision of the Call, their evaluation, award or rejection, and the subsequent signature of the sub-grant agreement, its management and follow-up; but also a more direct involvement in the development of awarded Actions while their results are being produced. In all these processes, the INVITE Consortium is committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of Applicants, Voucher winners and Third Parties and the remainder of this Privacy Statement outlines our Privacy Policy as of the date of publication of the Call.

2. Which data do we collect and process and when?

The personal data and information relevant for this Privacy Statement is provided in your application form for the immediate purpose of allowing a full and hopefully successful evaluation of the Application. This includes:


- Name of the Voucher Winner;

- Tax (or Social Security) Identification Code or VAT Registration Number;

- Bank account reference (IBAN and BIC codes);

- Contact details (e-mail, telephone number, fax number, postal address, country of residence, internet site);

- Declaration on honor that the Voucher Winner is not in any exclusion situation referred to in articles 106 and the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 2015/1929;

- Information about the Voucher Winner's representative: Name and Surname, Birthplace and Date of Birth, Title, Position, Telephone number, Mail address, Passport/ID number, Tax (or Social Security) Identification Code, Signature;

- Information about the list of people mentioned in the Application as involved in the tasks described therein: indicate gender, role, relevance and experience related to the project execution.

Other personal data and information, particularly concerning Third Parties, possibly including pictures and photos if provided, will be delivered by you within the technical and financial reports related to the Action and the justifications of the costs you have incurred into, with the purpose of receiving the payment of the sub- grant, in line with the provisions of the open call.

In addition to the above, information on the pilot’s progress including some personal data of the participants may be shared verbally by you with the INVITE partner in charge of providing advice and support during the execution of the pilot activities.

3. Is this collection and processing necessary?

Unless we collect the above data and information, it will not be possible for us to evaluate and award the applications received; it will not be possible to enter into a sub-grant agreement with the successful Applicants; it will not be possible to effect the final payment demanded at the end of a successful Action; it will not be possible to support it with advice during its course. However, all partners and stakeholders involved in data collection and processing are reminded to use the personal data and information only for the purpose for which they were transmitted and to disregard all irrelevant and excessive data received with the applications.

4. Is this data and information private?

Generally speaking, no. For example, the address, city, country, telephone and fax numbers, bank account numbers as well as e-mail addresses provided in the proposal are usually the professional ones related to the legal entity submitting the application. Thus, as a general rule (with the exception of cases where the Applicant is a natural person), private addresses or bank account numbers etc. are not processed. Data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union


membership, health or sexual orientation may be received only in as much as these data appear spontaneously in the CV provided by the Applicants. Such information is however not pertinent and therefore not processed during the management of the open call or the execution of the sub-grant agreement.

5. Is this data and information subject to further publication?

Generally speaking, yes. For example, a limited subset of personal data (including, if provided, pictures and photos) may be published on the INVITE website as well as on other portals of the European Union and/or disseminated by any other means, including the identification of the Voucher Winner, any personal data included in the publishable summary of the short final report of the Action, and the names and contact details of the administrative contacts of the Voucher winner. However, the contents of the Action’s short final report may be restricted or even denied publication, e.g. in case there are specific intellectual property rights to be protected. Further personal data (usually anonymized or treated in aggregate form) may be processed for the purpose of delivering statistical studies, impact evaluation analyses of the project, or policy recommendations based on the Open Call results.

6. How do we process your data?

The data you provide in your application forms are collected via email on the dedicated oi2lab.com server and will be forwarded to the INVITE members who will do the eligibility check. When the open call closes, all received applications will be shared with at least 2 members of the Evaluation team to evaluate them.

If the application is successful, an INVITE partner will use some data to prepare and share the sub-grant agreement to be signed by you. In addition, the full details of the application will be shared with the INVITE partner (known by you as its name will be included in the sub-grant agreement) acting as a “patron” to your project. At the end of the Action, we will receive the contractually required reports and the additional documentation, that will be stored by the INVITE partner with which you have signed the sub-grant agreement.

7. Who has access to your data?

As a general rule, staff of all INVITE partners, to the extent they have been appointed to work at the project, may receive full or partial access rights to your data and information. A limited subset of this information may be used by some Partners for external communication purposes, e.g. within presentations delivered to conferences or articles prepared for scientific journals. Staff members of EU bodies and agencies may be granted access for the execution of institutional duties, such as the verification of compliance with the law of Open Call related operations. All recipients are reminded of their obligation to process the personal data provided to them only for the purposes for which they were transmitted.


8. What happens to data and information provided by non-successful Applicants

As the general principle is that personal data and information must be collected as necessary for the purposes for which they were provided, they are not retained if becoming irrelevant. However, there is a legal need to keep records of the evaluation process, therefore we will actually store all applications in our secure servers for a certain period of time (see next point below). Another exception to this rule may be that the INVITE consortium decides to monitor the underlying initiative and ask its proposers to supply some ‘ad hoc’ information with the purpose of publishing it on the INVITE website or using it in the context of studies of various scientific nature. These circumstances will be expressly described and a specific consensus to publication will be required.

9. For how long will we keep your data?

For information on Voucher Winners receiving EU funding, personal data (in electronic and/or any other format) is retained for 10 years after the closing of the Action. Personal data related to unsuccessful proposals are kept for up to 5 years after the closure of the open call for which the data have been collected or updated. This applies also to data contained in previous outdated versions of proposals and in withdrawn proposals.

Anonymous or encrypted data can be retained for a longer period and further processed for historical, statistical, or scientific purposes, in accordance with the procedures established by the data controller. Should you provide an extract of your judicial records, it would not be kept for more than 2 years following the accomplishment of the particular procedure. In any case, personal data contained in cost justification documents are deleted where possible when this data is no longer necessary for budgetary control and audit purposes.

10. How do we protect your data?

All data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, uploaded batches of data etc.) are stored on secure servers of the INVITE Consortium, the European Commission or of selected sub-contractors. Access rights and controls are enabled via authentication systems granting access to specific documents only to authorized persons.

11. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

At any point in time, any natural person or legal entity is entitled to access own personal data and information, asking for their rectification or erasure in case they are inaccurate or incomplete. One can exercise the above rights by contacting the INVITE project by sending an email to [email protected] or directly the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): [email protected].



12. Special provisions concerning the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) Database

In some cases, information provided may lead to an entry in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) Database directly managed by the European Commission, in compliance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/1929. Information exchanged within the EDES is centralized in this database. The database contains information on economic operators that could represent a threat to the Union's financial interests, economic operators who are in one of the exclusion situations listed in Article 106 (1) and economic operators on which financial penalties are imposed as per Article 106 (13) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/1929, in the form of cases created therein. The EDES foresees the right of economic operators to be informed of the data stored in the database upon their request to the Commission. The information contained in the database will be updated, where appropriate, following a request for rectification or erasure of the data stored. For more information, please visit:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm#SAP

The detailed description of the processing operations relating to financial controls and external audit for Research projects are described in the notification DPO-3852 of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, published in the register of the European Commission Data Protection Officer (http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register). The Privacy Statements of the Controllers for external audit and control are published on the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal of the European Commission (see https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/legalnotice .

13. Contact information

If you have comments or questions, any concerns or a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please feel free to contact the INVITE project by sending an email to [email protected]. For general information on data protection, you may also contact the European Data Protection Supervisor.

The Commission Data Protection Officer publishes the register of all operations processing personal data. You can access the register on the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register. This specific processing will be notified to the Commission DPO.


http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register


https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/legalnotice

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm#SAP

Annex B: Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply to this open call?

Our target audience are SMEs participating on their own (i.e. only one SME) or entrepreneurs (social or not) participating individually. In addition, the applicants should be based in one of the EU Member States (MS), one of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the MS of the EU, an H2020 Associated Country2 (AC) or one of the other countries listed in the General Annex A of the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2018-2020.

How do I submit my application?

First, we advise you to read the Guide for Applicants carefully. Next you should download the application to properly prepare your application offline. Once you are happy with the result, you should convert your word document into a pdf version and send it as an attachment to [email protected] together with supporting information and a signed version of the Declaration of Honour.

How did you find me?

All partners of the INVITE consortium have dedicated teams of researchers who identified your interests as related to the topic areas within a specific project. Your email was found in the literature, digital or otherwise, by one of our research teams or was present in one of our databases which are currently at our disposal. In some cases, you were recommended to our research team by a colleague, or a friend.

What sort of information should I include in my response?

Your response should be short and address the questions posed in the online available application form template. Supporting documentation can be attached to your submission email. The purpose is to stimulate the interest of our evaluation committee. Most importantly, the submission may not contain any proprietary or confidential information.

Your response should emphasize the following bullet points:

Need/ innovation project: Is there an innovation aspect in the proposed project? Will it pave the way for new and/or improved products, services and/or processes? Is there an actual demand for the innovation?

Expected Impact: Is there a significant impact to the business growth of the SME proposing the project? Will there be any positive impact for the society and/or environment as well?

Team experience/ expectations: Is the described team in the proposal fit and committed to carry out the project? Are their open innovation expectations realistic in a short period of time? Is the breakdown of the budget and the workplan realistic?






If you have any questions, concerns about how or what to submit, please contact us via email: [email protected]

Can I include confidential information in my proposal?

Your submission should not contain any confidential information that could allow someone to reproduce your proposal without compensating you for it. Your response should focus on the potential impact of your proposed project and the theory/rationale behind them, as opposed to the technical method used to achieve these results. All responses are screened by the open call administrators, and those containing confidential information will not be conveyed to the evaluation committee.

How long does it take to review a submission?

The review process may require up to 3 weeks after the deadline date - depending on the amount of received applications. Ultimately, we expect to announce the voucher winners of the first open call latest by February 2020.

If I respond to a project, how do I protect my Intellectual Property (IP)?

Your response should include only non-confidential information, enough to garner our evaluation committee’s interest, but not enough for someone to replicate your proposed project. During the entire project, the IP that you develop, stays yours.

I have more questions about this open call. How do I get additional information?

The Guide for Applicants contains the full description and eligibility criteria, the evaluation process and all other guidance you need in order to prepare and submit your application. If you have specific questions that are not addressed in the “Guide for applicants”, please send your questions to our open call administrator ([email protected]) and we’ll attempt to obtain the information you are seeking.

I know someone who might be interested in a project – can I share the project page with them?

Absolutely! Thank you for your response and for forwarding our request to your colleague.

How do you protect my data?

All data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, uploaded batches of data etc.) are stored on secure servers of the INVITE Consortium, the European Commission or of selected sub-contractors. Access rights and controls are enabled via authentication systems granting access to specific documents only to





authorized persons. More information about our privacy policy is available in section 3.10 and as Annex A of the Guide for Applicants.

What can I use the 5000€ voucher for?

The 5000€ innovation voucher is provided as an incentive for purchasing the services of a suitable knowledge provider (company, research institution, etc.) in order to start a collaborative open innovation project in view of tackling the internal need/challenge or start the development of a new idea proposed by the applicant. The scope of the projects proposed by applicants to this open call should encompass either or both of the following activities:

• Collaboration towards the initial development of an innovative idea and/or solution to support innovation inside the SME to maintain, and if possible, boost its business potential. The project has to be quite practical in nature, addressing, for example, either a small-scale issue (e.g. technological, functional, etc.) or setting out possible solutions for a more complex, large-scale problem.

It may concern, the co-creation of a new concept and/or solution, the adoption and/or adaptation of an existing solution, the (re-)design and/or operational improvement of business practices/processes, the guidance and/or support towards the introduction of a new product or service to a new market, etc.

• Collaboration on the co-creation of a cross-border open innovation network. It may concern, the co-development of a strategy and/or action plan for setting up a cross-border open innovation network, the identification of potential collaborators, i.e. cross-border value chain actors of complementary nature, the preliminary contacts and exchanges with them, etc.

Overall, the services that can be purchased include but are not limited to consulting services (business or technological), feasibility studies, software / hardware development services, demonstrations, workshops or trainings, provision of specific product components/licenses or running a first trial.

Applicants selected to win a voucher under this open call will carry out their proposed project and deliver a Final Progress Report, before receiving the lump sum payment of € 5.000 (maximum) to be paid by INVITE upon reception and approval of the report. Two cost categories are foreseen as eligible:

A. Purchase of a service by a knowledge provider on a daily fee basis and at reasonable market rates. The indirect costs charged by a knowledge provider shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%). This cost category can be up to 100% of the voucher;

B. Travel costs up to 20% of the voucher.

In case the delivered Final Progress Report is not approved by the INVITE consortium, based on objective circumstances and with the appropriate motivations, no payment will be effected and the applicant can decide to resubmit a new version of the Final Progress Report or simply withdraw from the contractual relationship with INVITE. Grants are fully funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme - grant agreement No. 763651. It is not possible to accumulate this grant with any



other public aid. In principal, the planning of the whole voucher scheme and its respective payments will be associated with the expected time-plan of INVITE’s funding so as to ensure its smooth implementation. The voucher winner will be responsible for the payment of any additional amounts over and above the 5,000€ voucher as well as the VAT associated with their entire proposed project.

Am I allowed to use the voucher to pay myself or my employees?

No, you are not allowed to use the voucher for paying your employees or yourself for the efforts spend on this project. The vouchers are purely an incentive to stimulate collaboration with external, cross-border partner with the aim to initiate an open innovation project to develop the proposed idea or to address your or your SME’s need described in your application. However, 20 % of the voucher can be used to cover traveling fees.

What should my application describe?

Your application should describe a current need you or your business is or will be facing, and which requires to be addressed in order to maintain or, ultimately, improve your business. In our detailed open call description, we have listed some examples to illustrate what kind of ‘needs’ or ‘challenges’ you or your organization may have to deal with, that could apply for the open innovation vouchers.

How does the process look like after the voucher winners are being announced?

Immediately after the evaluation round, the Evaluation Committee’s chairman will inform the INVITE partners about who the selected voucher winners are. Consequently, a deliberation round will take place to dedicate an account manager to each of the 36 voucher winners. The proposed solution and the region may affect who the appointed account manager could be. He/she will assist with defining the voucher winner’s exact need and he will recommend what approach would be advisable to increase chances of successfully identify and initiate contact with a potential knowledge provider.

Even if I manage to initiate a co-development process for my proposed project with my partner through the voucher, I may still need additional funds to continue the development and make it to the market– can the OI2Lab help?

Of course! You may request and get assistance from the OI2Lab’s open innovation advisors in order to spot suitable sources of funding and/or financing that can get your solution closer to the market. Perhaps you may also be interested in “Improving your Investment Readiness”!


https://oi2lab.com/opportunities/competitions-profile/2

