Opportunities for SMEs in Internationally Funded

Research

IBEC ISA, 2 May 2012

imelda.lambkin@enterprise-ireland.com

+353-1-727 2665

http://www.fp7ireland.com

FP7…

The biggest research fund in the world - growing in scale – recession

proof

A fifth of the budget (€9 Billion) will be available from July

If looking for research funding there is something in it, if looking for

something else it’s there too…

Ireland’s SMEs…

508 SMEs have submitted 1056 proposals

174 companies have been successful in 244 projects

They’re getting funding of €66 million

They are accessing total R&D project funding of €957 million

% € to SMEs, per country

EU-15, FP7 Cooperation Programme - Themes

22.2%

20.8%

14.5% 14.5%

16.4%

9.9%

15.0% 15.1%

20.7%

14.5%

18.7%

12.7%

21.8%

12.4%

13.5%

15.0%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

% € to SMEs 22.2% 20.8% 14.5% 14.5% 16.4% 9.9% 15.0% 15.1% 20.7% 14.5% 18.7% 12.7% 21.8% 12.4% 13.5% 15.0%

AT BE DE DK ES FI FR GR IE IT LU NL PT SE UK EU-15

**4th**

EU-15

Number of SMEs participating in EU funded Research (FP7)

per 100.000 SMEs (Contracts signed in 2011), per country

-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

SME participation degree 48 49 37 24 13 28 15 85 10 22 39 8 17 16 28 19

AT BE DK FI FR DE GR IE IT LU NL PT ES SE UK EU-15

Number of SMEs

AT 308.941

BE 440.772

DK 206.247

FI 223.346

FR 2.673.799

DE 1.897.142

GR 719.772

IE 85.729

IT 3.728.934

LU 27.672

NL 598.814

PT 1.087.066

ES 2.421.876

SE 591.498

UK 1.672.037

Source:

- SMEs in Grant Agreements signed in FP7 (EU funded Research), European Commission - CORDA data warehouse (1 January 2012)

- Source SMEs per country: EUROSTAT, 2011

**1st**

***Ireland’s SME participation in FP7 is a HUGE

SUCCESS STORY…***

Averaging >30 companies and €13 million per year

Funding to date is three times the FP6 funding

SMEs range from start-ups to established companies

Industry success rate is exactly the same as that of the academics

Take home message 1…

Research for the Benefit of SMEs

For low to medium tech SMEs with little or no research capability

Supports outsourcing of research and technological development by

SMEs and SME associations [1-2 years; €0.5M-€1.5M]

At least 3 independent SME participants, established in 3 EU countries

with at least 2 RTD performers [typically 5-10 partners]

Bottom-up – no pre-defined topics or themes

Funding to SMEs: 110% of the estimated price to be invoiced by the

RTD providers

SMEs own the IPR

Scenario: 1 Irish SME with 1 Institute of Technology + EU counterparts

Mentor provided to handhold through the proposal preparation

Marie Curie – People…

Making partnerships between academia and industry by knowledge

sharing and inter-sector mobility, based on targeted human resources

interaction across borders [2+ partners; easy IPR]

Bottom-up – no pre-defined topics or themes

Funds staff exchange (100%) of early stage (PhD) , experienced

researchers (Postdocs) , Technical, Research managerial. Also funds

hiring of additional staff (experienced researchers) [3-4 years; €0.5M-

€2.0M]

Success rate: >35%

Scenario: Irish start-up with Irish university + UK university and SME

30% of mobility can be between the Irish partners

Cooperation…ICT and other sectors

Theme specific R&D collaborations with multiple partners (academics,

large and small companies etc) [6-25 partners; €3M-€25M]

Minimum of 3 EU countries – Northern Ireland is one of those; FP7 is

global – you can include e.g. USA, China, Japan

75% funded; 100% management costs

Success rate - 1:4

Over 90% of evaluators rate FP evaluation system similar or better than

national system

Scenario: Irish SME with Irish R&D partner(s) (MNC, university) +

international counterparts

R&D goal can fit your local agenda (e.g. CSET, technology centre)

Take home message 2

Research for the Benefit of SMEs: Eblana Photonics, Innopharma, Holfeld Plastics,

Infrasonics, HKPB, Sigmoid Pharma, Solearth Eco Architecture, Bioatlantis, Brandon

Products, Solarprint are doing it…

Marie Curie: Eirgen Pharma, OncoMark, SlidePath, DecaWave, ABM Construction,

Cellix, T.E Laboratories are doing it…

Cooperation: Sensl, Firecomms, Movidius, Eblana Photonics, Noho, InTune Networks,

SkyTek, Columba Global Systems, Steripack are doing it…

***The July Calls are YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO

DO IT TOO…***

The National Support Network for FP7

There’s more help than ever before…

We’ll…

…guide you to the piece of the programme that’s right for you right now

…or influence next year’s Call to position you for success

…help you find the right partners

…and handhold you through the writing of your application

…help you find the time to do it

…and make you feel at home abroad

But?…

FP7 is collaborative – yes, it’s typically a minimum of 3 Member States

and often substantially more in practice

You can do it! There are exceptions e.g. Marie Curie IAPP 1-1

FP7 takes too long

Preparation 3 months; evaluation 3 months; contract negotiation 3 months

Project length 2-5 years

FP7 is very bureaucratic

Financially – you get a lump sum up front

FP7 success rates are very low

SFI 20%; IRCSET 20%; Ireland in FP7 23% and higher in specific areas