Call: EIC Fast Track to Innovation (FTI)

23/04/2020. Projects that also help to prevent or combat epidemics such as Covid19 are particularly welcome.

OBJECTIVE:
Fast Track to Innovation finances “Bottom-Up” projects whose innovation activities are close to the market, regardless of their technological area and/or application. It is a financing tool designed to promote interdisciplinary cooperation between companies from different sectors and countries. The objectives of this initiative are to stimulate the participation of new companies in European public funding programmes and to increase private sector investment in R&D&I.

DETAILS:
Proposals for funding must be submitted as a consortium including between three and five legal entities established in at least three EU member countries or associated countries. In each consortium at least 60% of the budget must be allocated to industry participants, or the consortium must include at least two industry participants who are in a consortium with three or four partners. Another option is to have three industry participants in a consortium with five partners.

BENEFICIARIES:
This is a call open to any area, sector or theme with pillars of industrial leadership and social challenges (industries, universities, research centres, industrial associations, incubators, public sector) whose projects can be interdisciplinary and preferably oriented towards generating an impact on sustainability, climate change or any of the transversal objectives of Horizon 2020.

BUDGET: The maximum budget amounts to 3 million euros per proposal (funding rate of 70% for for-profit entities and 100% for non-profit entities).

DEADLINE: The deadline for submitting projects is 5 p.m. on 9 June 2020. (Brussels).

Contact: Adrian Noheda: adrian.noheda@finnova.eu

Grants for communication and information activities on matters within the remit of the State Secretariat for the EU

19.03.2020. As a consequence of the declaration of a state of alert for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, terms are suspended and the deadlines for the processing of procedures by public sector entities are interrupted. The calculation of terms will be resumed at the moment that the Royal Decree loses its validity or, if applicable, the extensions thereof. The validity of the Royal Decree is 15 calendar days from its publication in the BOE.

The new closing date of the procedure at Headquarters will be from 24:00 on 25 March to 24:00 on 9 April 2020, unless the state of alarm is extended

This procedure makes it possible to apply for grants to finance activities related to the European Union, taking place during the year 2020, from the time when the grant is known until 30 September 2020, in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

To apply for a grant, you must submit the forms and documents referred to in point 5 of the call for proposals.

Applications may be submitted electronically via the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation: www.sede.maec.gob.es

Beneficiaries:

Any natural or legal person, not belonging to the public sector, legally constituted, who, in any case, meets and is able to prove the following requirements:

  • No profit-making activity.
  • Compliance with tax and Social Security obligations, in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of Royal Decree 887/2006 of 21 July.
  • To have sufficient means and capacity to carry out the activities and to guarantee compliance with the objectives set out in those activities.
  • Not be covered by any of the cases set out in Article 13(2) and (3) of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2003 on the prohibition on obtaining public aid or subsidies.

Limit: The maximum amount of the grant requested may not exceed 15% of the total expenditure authorized to finance the call, set this year at 279,540.00

Contact: Finnova Foundation: jrequena@finnova.eu

The Firefighting Open Innovation Lab as an example of innovation in entrepreneurship days for young people

05.02.2020. On February 4, 2020, a conference on Training, Employment and Young Entrepreneurship was organized at the Spanish Embassy in Brussels, by the Finnova Foundation.

The General Director of the Finnova Foundation, a beneficiary of the CILIFO project (Iberian Center for Research and Fight against Forest Fires), Juan Manuel Revuelta, participated in a day founded by the organization on Training, Employment and Young Entrepreneurship, on February 4th, 2020. The event, which took place in the LAB Space of the Spanish Embassy in Brussels, was held with the aim of bringing the private programs that support young people to new generations so that they can get to know first-hand the work that is being done from the different organizations. Finnova Foundation organized the event, aimed at Spanish youngsters residing in Belgium, in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy and the support of the Spanish Chamber.

The Iberian Center for Research and Fight against Forest Fires was one of the projects of entrepreneurship, self-employment and return of talent, presented as an example of job creation by the director of Finnova. CILIFO is a project approved by the Interreg POCTEP Program (2014-2020) Spain-Portugal, which belongs to the Thematic Objective 5 of the Program, which promotes adaptation to climate change in all sectors. In addition, it responds to the investment priority, with respect to the POCTEP Program, 5B: Promotion of investment to address specific risks and the guarantee of adaptation to disasters and development of catastrophe management systems. One of the objectives of the CILIFO project is the promotion of the creation of durable and quality employment in the area and the reduction of the economic cost of fires creating a rural economy linked to the landscape.

In addition, the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab was presented, it is an accelerator managed by Finnova Foundation, based in Seville, which has the vocation of promoting a network of incubators, under a private-public partnership scheme, worldwide, to capture innovation and technology that pursues the fight against forest fires and the mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Currently, youth unemployment has reached more than worrying levels. The European Union and the governments of the different member countries have implemented measures to try to solve the problem through entities such as the European Social Fund and the European Commission. In addition, many autonomous and municipal governments such as the local deputies have carried out actions that can be an example of good practices to combat youth unemployment. The European Union is committed to creating more and better jobs and contributing to a more inclusive society. These objectives constitute the core of the Europe 2030 strategy, which seeks to generate smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU. In addition to the measures promoted by European institutions or by regional and municipal governments, there are also private programs, promoted by different organizations that aim to support young people and the fight against unemployment through entrepreneurship.